Who Will Be Nominated for CMA Entertainer of the Year?

The nominations for the 2019 CMA Awards will be announced on Wednesday, with the announcement capped off with the names vying for the show’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year.

While some of the expected names can be easily guessed, there are a number of artists who have seen success this year, leaving the field of five with a few wide open spots just waiting to be taken. From past winners to first time nominees, we’re expecting to see some familiar names and hoping to see some new ones when the nominated stars are announced, with the honor going to the artist who has displayed the most competence in all areas of the entertainment field.

Scroll through for our predictions and tune in to Good Morning America tomorrow to see who scores the nomination.

Carrie Underwood

The American Idol winner has been nominated for EOTY just once, in 2016, but she’s only become more successful in the years since. In September 2018, Underwood released her latest album, Cry Pretty, which she co-produced, and kicked off its supporting tour this May, touring in both the U.S. and Europe.

Keith Urban

Urban is the reigning Entertainer of the Year at both the CMAs an ACMs and was previously crowned the CMA Entertainer of the Year in 2005. This year, he continued his Graffiti U World Tour and recently embarked on a string of new dates with totally revamped production.

Thomas Rhett

A potential first-time nominee, Rhett released his latest album, Center Point Road, in May. A few weeks prior, he kicked off his headlining Very Hot Summer Tour, which travels the country through the middle October. He also continues to excel at radio, scoring his 7th consecutive No. 1 single and 13th No. 1 overall in June with the album’s lead effort, “Look What God Gave Her.”

Jason Aldean

Aldean has been nominated for this award multiple times but has never won, so this could be his year to take home the trophy. He’s currently on the road on his headlining Ride All Night Tour and just notched his 23rd No. 1 song and fourth in a row with “Rearview Town,” from the album of the same name.

Kacey Musgraves

Musgraves has never been nominated for EOTY, but she has also never had a more successful year than this one, having won the CMA Award for Album of the Year in 2018 and  four Grammy Awards and the ACM Awards for Album of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year in 2019. She is two months away from wrapping up her long-running Oh, What a World Tour that has taken her literally around the world and recently opened her own exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Eric Church

Church took on one of the biggest challenges of his career this year when he embarked on his Double Down Tour, which saw him play back-to-back nights in cities around the country, changing his set list at every show. He also plays without an opener, treating audiences to hours of his extensive catalog. His latest album, Desperate Man, was released in October 2018 and his tour is scheduled to continue through the end of November.

Luke Bryan

Bryan is a consistent EOTY nominee and won the award in 2014 and 2015. He’s currently on the road on his Sunset Repeat Tour and will soon embark on his annual Farm Tour while judging American Idol between stops. He has continually released songs to radio and most recently released current single “Knockin’ Boots” in April.

Photo Credit: Getty / Emma Mcintyre/ACMA2018