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Ashley Gorley and Shaboozey won top honors at the 2025 ASCAP Nashville Songwriters Celebration, with Gorley winning ASCAP country music songwriter of the year for a record 12th time. That’s more times than anyone has won songwriter of the year at an ASCAP awards celebration in any genre.
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ASCAP celebrated the winners at an invitation-only party on Monday (Nov. 17) in Nashville. ASCAP chairman of the board and president Paul Williams, ASCAP CEO Elizabeth Matthews, ASCAP executive vp and head of creative membership Nicole George-Middleton and ASCAP vp of Nashville membership Mike Sistad handed out awards.
Among ASCAP’s most-performed country songs of the year, penned by Gorley, are “Fix What You Didn’t Break” (Nate Smith), “I Am Not Okay” (Jelly Roll), “Liar” (Jelly Roll) and “Park” (Tyler Hubbard). In June, Gorley was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Shaboozey received the ASCAP country music songwriter/artist of the year honor. In addition to his “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” earning ASCAP’s country music song of the year, his “Good News” (co-written by Sean Cook) is also among ASCAP’s most-performed country songs of the year.
“A Bar Song (Tipsy)” was co-written by Sean Cook, Jerrell “J-Kwon” Jones, Joe Capo Kent and Mark “Tarboy” Williams. It was published by Sony Music Publishing, Essancy Music, Seeker Music, Range Music Publishing, Tarpo Music Publishing, Hood Hop Music, Kreshendo and Warner Chappell Music. The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 for 19 weeks, tying Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” (featuring Billy Ray Cyrus) as the longest-running No. 1 song in Hot 100 history (which dates to 1958).
Additionally, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” won a CMA Award for single of the year, a Billboard Music Award for top country song and top-selling song, and a Brit Award for international song of the year. Shaboozey is nominated for new artist of the year at Wednesday’s CMA Awards and recently received Grammy nominations for best country solo performance, best country duo/group performance and best country song.
Sony Music Publishing is the ASCAP country music publisher of the year. Among their awarded titles are “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” for the second consecutive year, “Fix What You Didn’t Break” (Nate Smith), “Hard Fought Hallelujah” (Brandon Lake, Jelly Roll), “Good News” (Shaboozey), “Cowboys Cry Too” (Kelsea Ballerini, Noah Kahan), “Coming Home” (Old Dominion), “Country House” (Sam Hunt), “I Am Not Okay” (Jelly Roll), “4x4xU” (Lainey Wilson) and “Love You, Miss You, Mean It” (Luke Bryan).
The ASCAP writers and publishers of the most-performed Christian music songs also received their awards at the celebration.
A complete list of ASCAP country music winners can be found at the ASCAP site.
Trending on Billboard Just two years after singer-songwriter Dasha released her breakthrough hit “Austin (Boots Stop Workin’),” the dance-fueled song has surpassed one billion streams on Spotify, joining the streaming service’s Billions Club. Explore See latest videos, charts and news In reaching the milestone, Dasha becomes just the second solo female country artist to ever […]
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One of the Nashville music industry’s most festive weeks launched on Sunday night (Nov. 16), as performing rights organization SESAC honored the songwriters and music publishers behind the year’s most-performed country and Americana songs during its annual Nashville Music Awards. The soiree welcomed more than 500 songwriters, music publishers and other music creatives at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in downtown Nashville.
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Stephen Wilson, Jr., who is up for new artist of the year at Wednesday night’s CMA Awards, opened the show by offering a powerful rendition of his song “Gary.”
“That was the best way to start a show,” said SESAC Sr. VP, Head of Nashville Creative Shannan Hatch, who spearheaded the evening along with SESAC senior directors, creative services ET Brown and Lydia Cahill.
Emily Ann Roberts performed in honor of SESAC affiliates Jim Lauderdale and Steve Bogard’s recent induction to the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, with her renditions of the Bogard-written “Carried Away” (recorded by George Strait) and Lauderdale’s “Hole in My Head,” which was also recorded by The Chicks on their 1999 Fly album.
“This song raised me up and made me love country music,” Roberts said of “Hole in My Head.”
Kelsea Ballerini took part in the evening, honoring her longtime co-writer and producer Alysa Vanderheym with her honor for the song “Baggage,” from Ballerini’s current Grammy-nominated project Patterns.
“She’s one of the most inspired, hard-working and fearless people I’ve ever had the pleasure to know and make music with, and as her friend, it makes me really happy to see her honored by SESAC tonight,” Ballerini said of Vanderheym.
Megan Moroney’s “Am I Okay?” earned the song of the year title, and Moroney was honored for her role in writing, publishing and performing the song. Moroney is up for six CMA nominations this year, with three of those nominations being for “Am I Okay?” During the evening, Moroney was also honored for her work on the song “Break It Right Back.”
Songwriter Jessie Jo Dillon honored Moroney, saying, “You are an absolute force. There is no one like you in the country music genre right now. We are so lucky to have you not only as an artist but a songwriter… I’m blessed to watch how much your music connects to fans.”
Standing alongside Dillon, Moroney was visibly emotional in accepting the honor, telling the industry audience, “I don’t think I would get through life without this outlet [songwriting]… country music, hell yeah.”
Moroney also performed her recent release “Beautiful Things,” from her upcoming album Cloud 9, set to be released in February.
Warner Chappell Music was named publisher of the year, marking the music publisher’s fifth win in the last eight years. Among the hit songs the company was honored for publishing are “Cowboy Songs,” “I Am Not Okay,” “Single Again” and “Baggage.”
Michael Tyler was named songwriter of the year. Tyler has written hits including George Birge’s “Cowboy Songs,” Bailey Zimmerman’s “Holy Smokes” and Corey Kent’s “This Heart.” He was celebrated by receiving a custom-created Gibson guitar, while Jostens provided a custom ring.
“Thank you, Jesus, because without Jesus, I would be hanging shingles on a roof somewhere in Missouri right now,” Tyler said, before thanking his family (who were in attendance) and his publishers. He thanked some of his first co-writers in Nashville, Jaron Boyer and Ben Stennis. “They took me under their wing and how write a song and sing a demo vocal and most importantly, they taught me about Jesus and showed me what it means to be a good husband and father and friend… you don’t know how much it shaped me as a person.”
For a full list of honorees, visit sesac.com.
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This week, Carly Pearce gets vulnerable about the sacrifices often required to chase the dream of being in the spotlight, while Kashus Culpepper returns with smoldering track about heartbreak and denial. Also issuing new songs this week are Muscadine Bloodline, Waylon Wyatt, Owen Riegling and bluegrass artist Irene Kelley.
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Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of some of the best country, bluegrass and/or Americana songs of the week below.
Carly Pearce, “Dream Come True”
In her latest, Grammy Award and CMA Awards winner Pearce lays bare the deep sacrifices that have been required for her to chase her dreams in music, from missing a friend’s wedding due to being on the road, to seeing personal life splashed across the headlines. “Nobody tells you everything you’re gonna lose/ Tryin’ to make the dream come true,” she sings softly, putting her heart and vulnerability at the fore on this unfiltered, introspective track. She wraps the song with devastating final lines about about not seeing her mother as often as her parent grows older, and grapples with the temptation to quit music, though quickly remembering how hard not only she, but her parents, have worked for her to have the career she has. Pearce proves yet again why she’s an artist unafraid of writing deep and etching songs that cut to the core.
Kashus Culpepper, “In Her Eyes”
Since breaking through and gaining acclaim with songs such as “After Me?” and “Believe,” Culpepper follows with this eruption of raging soulfulness, as he sings of the tugging truth that a potential lover, whose “hair shined like sin” and who is as deceptive as she is tempting. “In Her Eyes” froths and surges into a percussion and electric guitar-ripped freefall, commandeered by Culpepper’s soul-scraping, angst-fueled rasp of a voice. Culpepper wrote “In Her Eyes” with Oscar Charles and Brent Cobb, and the song is part of Culpepper’s upcoming project Act I, out in January 2026.
Muscadine Bloodline, “Peter From Picayune”
Duo Muscadine Bloodline delivers its second album of 2025 with Longleaf Lo-Fi, veering from the grizzled rock and full-bodied sound of …And What Was Left Behind and offering up a scaled-back, low-production project that feels tailor-made for the season. Among the standouts is an official studio version of a song the duo first previewed for fans a few years ago. The duo’s Charlie Muncaster and Gary Stanton are heartfelt and unhurried as they unfurl a vivid tale of South Mississippi native Peter, a young man who enlists in the Marines to serve his country when he doesn’t have enough money to enroll in college. They chronicle his deployment overseas and his determination in the heat of battle, with the acoustic-centered production lending extra somberness to lines such as “That boy wouldn’t want a welcome home parade/ Wouldn’t wanna talk about it anyway,” as the song stands as a stellar, humble tribute to military members and their sacrifices.
Waylon Wyatt, “Frostbite”
In his latest, Arkansas native Wyatt delivers a haunting performance, with his voice threading through somber fiddle, organ and guitar. He draws a parallel between the bitter ache of heartbreak and loneliness and the stark, frozen quiet of deep winter. “I’ve been yearning for some burning back in my life/ But it seems to me to be more like frostbite,” he sings, as he distills the yearning for love and sting of loss into piercing lyrics.
Owen Riegling, “Phone Call From Home”
Canadian country singer Riegling has been piling up the career milestones this year, signing with Big Loud, and seeing his album Bruce County (From the Beginning) named album of the year at the Canadian Country Music Awards. He follows his breakthrough with songs such as “Taillight This Town” with this slice of polished, swaggering country-rock, which conveys feelings of chasing dreams through long flights far from home, and piling up bleary-eyed late nights and long days — but still knowing that that familiar feeling of home is there on the other end of the line. Here, Riegling offers more evidence why his smooth vocals and vibrant songwriting are making him an artist on the cusp of wider acclaim.
Irene Kelley feat. Kruger Brothers, “Coal Dust”
Kelley teams with The Kruger Brothers as she pays homage to her grandparents’ story of being hardworking immigrants seeking to build a new life in the United States, and particularly her grandfather’s journey of working in the unforgiving coal mines in order to provide for his family. Kelley’s warm, conversational singing style is astutely complemented by warm guitar, banjo and mandolin. Kelley wrote this tender tribute with Bobby Starnes.
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In its nascent days, Big Machine Label Group had a mantra: “Start at crazy and work backward.”
“It happened very early on in some of our marketing meetings, where, as a young label, we didn’t have a lot of marketing money, and so it was like, ‘What’s the craziest thing we could do? Let’s define the mile marker and work backward from that,’ ” BMLG founder and chairman/CEO Scott Borchetta remembers.
“It’s a very liberating concept and construct,” he continues. “I love working with artists who think big or people who see things in such bright colors. That’s when I feel I do my best work.”
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And for 20 years, Borchetta and his team have done their best work developing artists from scratch and taking established stars to new heights, including Taylor Swift, Reba McEntire, Thomas Rhett, Garth Brooks, Tim McGraw, Florida Georgia Line, Rascal Flatts, Mötley Crüe, Dolly Parton, Carly Pearce and Riley Green.
Borchetta started BMLG in September 2005 as a sister label to Toby Keith’s Show Dog Nashville (while that partnership dissolved six months later, Keith held equity in BMLG until 2019). Following in his father’s record-company footsteps (Mike Borchetta worked in promotions for Capitol Records, RCA Records and Mercury Records), the junior Borchetta became highly regarded for his promotional prowess at both MCA and DreamWorks, at a time when country radio was king.
After MCA parent Universal Music Group (UMG) bought DreamWorks, Borchetta decided to leave and start Big Machine, which takes its moniker from both the Velvet Revolver song of the same name and a reference to the “big machines” he drives as a sports car driver in the Trans-Am Series. (Borchetta also owns NASCAR Xfinity Series team Big Machine Racing.)
Big Machine’s initial roster included Jack Ingram, DreamWorks artist Danielle Peck and, thanks to his early discussions with her while at DreamWorks, a teenage Swift. Borchetta promised her that if she was interested, he would sign her as soon as he got Big Machine off the ground, and he made good on his word in 2005.
Borchetta and Swift at the 44th annual Academy of Country Music Awards in 2009.
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Nearly a decade-and-a-half later, Scooter Braun’s Ithaca Holdings bought the UMG-distributed label in 2019 for a reported $300 million. Then in 2021, HYBE bought Ithaca for $1.05 billion. Despite no longer owning Big Machine, Borchetta says he retains creative control.
BMLG operates four imprints: Big Machine Records, The Valory Music Co., Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment and Big Machine Rock (which HYBE sold to Gebbia Media in May, but the imprint remains under Borchetta’s remit). In 2012, the label group launched publishing company Big Machine Music, which includes such powerhouse writers as Jessie Jo Dillon (George Strait, Maren Morris) and Laura Veltz (McEntire, Kane Brown).
Helping guide BMLG from day one are Borchetta’s wife, executive vp of creative Sandi Borchetta, and president Andrew Kautz. Other key team members are COO Mike Rittberg and executive vp of A&R Allison Jones, as well as Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment president/CEO Jimmy Harnen, The Valory Music Co. president George Briner and Big Machine Records executive vp/GM Kris Lamb.
Twenty years in and with 185 No. 1 songs, 76 Grammy Award nominations and more than 225 million albums sold, according to the label, the mission remains largely the same, Borchetta says: “It’s all about cutting through the noise.”
What made you start your own label?
There was one really polar moment. Sandi and I were on vacation with Reba [McEntire] and [then-husband/manager] Narvel [Blackstock] in Cancún [Mexico], and he goes, “When are you going to run one of these things?” I thought, “Wow, if Narvel thinks I could do it…” That was really a boost to my thought process. There were certain mile markers on how I was thinking about the business, and one of the big things was Napster. When that came out, it scared everybody. It was a terrible time for the record industry. We’re suing college students and grandmas, right? “Is it a weed or a flower? Let’s just kill it.” That was a dead reckoning of [the conventional record industry not] seeing what the future is. Realizing that physical distribution at scale was a dead man walking over the next several years, it’s like, “I don’t see anybody getting ahead of this.” And that was the moment. It’s like, “There’s a lot of land out there that nobody’s claiming. Let’s go claim it.”
McEntire and Borchetta at the Music Biz 2017 Awards Luncheon in Nashville.
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Your first release was Danielle Peck’s “I Don’t,” which reached No. 28 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. Then, the label’s second single, Jack Ingram’s “Wherever You Are,” went to No. 1. Were you thinking, “Man, this is easy”?
If you look back to 2005 [and] that era, radio was still king, and I was the best in the business in promotion. I knew that I had a honeymoon period [and] that my first three or four records would get a chance. We really expected the label to be successful. I wanted to get our systems working before we got to Taylor [Swift] because I felt like that was going to be very special.
Taylor Swift launched as MySpace was taking off and you really harnessed the early power of social media. You also helped create the Great American Country TV series Short Cuts, which went behind the scenes. Tell us about launching her.
Out of nowhere, on May 1, 2006, Taylor starts showing up once an hour [on GAC] with these one-minute shorts to show her songwriting, her in the studio, her performing, etc. We intentionally didn’t release the first single, “Tim McGraw,” until the beginning of June because I wanted to see how hot we could make it. By the time we shipped that single, we were watching her MySpace increase [by] double-digit percentages week over week. When we shipped the record, I would call radio stations and say, “We have you surrounded and you don’t even know it.” It was just the beginning of a forest fire. We went everywhere because I knew she could back it up.
Did having a big star that early change the label?
A big lesson I learned at DreamWorks is Toby [Keith] got so big that we didn’t have anything else to balance it out and it became really challenging. As Taylor started to become the superstar that she became, I wanted to make sure that the label couldn’t be completely defined by one artist. Before you know it, we’ve got Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw, The Band Perry, Florida Georgia Line. Reba McEntire comes over. We built out a superstar label because that was the only way I felt we would be taken seriously. We couldn’t be a one-trick pony.
In 2012, you became the first American label to receive performance royalty rights at terrestrial radio, starting with iHeartMedia. How important was that to you?
In that moment, it was extraordinarily important, and we came so close to getting a blanket license, so to speak, for the industry. It’s a shame that it didn’t happen because we would be sharing in global terrestrial performance rights around the world. It was something that I realized really early on that we were going to have to do in the private sector. We were not going to get this done through a political pathway. This all started with a conversation that I had with [iHeartMedia chairman/CEO] Bob Pittman… [We were] able to go to all [our] artists and say, “We just got you another income source.”
You and your team seem much less risk-averse than a typical label. You launched Nash Icon with Cumulus in conjunction with the company’s country radio format of the same name, a rock label in partnership with fashion designer John Varvatos and a label with Blac Noize!, all of which are gone now. How do you decide what to take the risk on, and how upset are you if it doesn’t work?
Hey, everything has seasons. Nash Icon was incredibly successful not only with Reba, but Hank [Williams] Jr. and Ronnie Dunn. With John Varvatos, it just got to the point where rock is so hard to do, but we had a nice season with that. Everything doesn’t last forever. Sometimes they’re just moments, sometimes they become a movement. Even though the Blac Noize! imprint didn’t last that long, out of the box, you had a huge hit with GloRilla and a Grammy nomination. We have this new joint venture [Ascend Music] with [industry executive] Joel Klaiman, who brought a killer act, Marfa. This is really the key for these other joint ventures. It’s A&R opportunities. It’s like, “What do you see out there that we don’t see?”
Spotify started in 2006 and now streaming is the dominant means for people to listen to music. How has it changed how you do business?
It changed everything. We’ve gone from selling a CD to Walmart and Target for $12.02 to [song streams generating] 0.004 [cents] around the globe. It’s how you get [artists] to scale because now we have things that are doing real business that aren’t at radio. At the end of the day, we want it everywhere, but I don’t know that you have to have it everywhere. Does it change how we sign artists? It does. Is this going to stream or not? You’ve got to have a social story. You’ve got to have a streaming story. You’ve got to continually remain interesting. And it’s probably harder than ever for these new artists.
Scott and Sandi Borchetta at Big Machine Label Group’s celebration of the 58th Annual CMA Awards last year in Nashville.
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How do you look at terrestrial radio now?
It’s still very important. If you look at our more mature artists, it’s super important to reach their fan base, and not as important to the younger artists.
Swift’s deal with Big Machine ended in 2018. How much pressure did you feel to try to make up that market share?
Business as usual. “Let’s go to work.” You can’t just say, “Oh, let’s go get the next one.” There isn’t another one, right? There’s her. To this day, we still do great business. It wasn’t like, “How do you make that up?” Because if you got so focused on that, [other] parts of the business would fail. The best thing we could do is get up and go to work every day and do our best work.
When you sold Big Machine in 2019, you’d had a ton of suitors before. Why was it the right time to sell?
I felt like it was the right time to sell with where the market was at that point, with Taylor leaving and the writing was on the wall for Florida Georgia Line [the duo went on indefinite hiatus in 2022]. I’m thinking to myself, “I built this to win Super Bowls, and we won Super Bowls. And so now it feels like it was the right time to do it.”
You took some pretty nasty slings and arrows from Swift and her fans, as did Scooter Braun. How did you personally navigate that?
I know that I’m true to myself. I never did anything to intentionally hurt any artist. I never expected that kind of response, but it happened. It’s unfortunate, but again, I have to live with the decisions that I make and I know I’m a good person. The people around me are good. We didn’t die that day. It’s perseverance… You’ve got to be resilient in this business. You get knocked down and get back up. It’s not the first time you’ve been knocked down. Probably won’t be the last.
In 2021, HYBE bought Braun’s Ithaca Holdings. How did that change how you operate your company?
For Big Machine Label Group, I am the sole decision-maker. They’re not involved in our A&R. Obviously, we have to be fiscally responsible to them and we work on very specific projections. But that’s just the business side. From a creative [standpoint] and all that, that lives in Nashville.
You were in a near-lethal car racing accident in 2023 and had to learn to walk again. Did you think about leaving the label, or did it help you to have a goal to get back to?
I was very aware that I was pretty much dying in the ambulance. At that point in the ambulance, I couldn’t breathe and then I split up blood. I said, “Just give up.” I don’t mean give up living, just go to the pain and let it go. If you’re dying, then you’re dying and just accept it. And my mantra became “Get to the next minute,” because I knew as soon as I got to the hospital — whether I was dying or not — I’d be out of pain. So I went into this meditation. When I woke up and saw how busted I was head to toe, I’m like, “Well, I survived this and there’s no way in hell I’m going to let this define the rest of my life. I’ve been so blessed. There are so many people I’m responsible for, so how quickly can we start the healing process?” From that day to today, it’s “I will not lie down, I will not go quietly.”
So you did not think about leaving the label?
I didn’t think about not being me. And this is me.
As you look ahead to the next 20 years, how much longer will you stay?
I’m going to stay until I don’t want to stay anymore. I’m still really excited about being a student of this game. I’m learning stuff every day. I equate [artificial intelligence] somewhat to how Napster was. Nobody knew what it was. They were predominantly just afraid of it. [I’m like], “Well, let’s jump in there.” I look at the opportunities that we have to use [AI] as a marketing tool and in a creative way and to encourage our artists and our creators to get their arms around it. That’s exciting to me.
The Band Perry performs during the Big Machine 20th Anniversary concert this August in Nashville.
Catherine Powell/Getty Images
In August, Middle Tennessee State University named its College of Media and Entertainment after you even though you went to school in California. Why was that important to you?
That’s how I started my speech. I said, “You need to know that I dropped out of college after two semesters. And here’s the reason why: This didn’t exist.” There wasn’t a path to learn the record business 40 years ago. Now there is.
Also in August, to celebrate its 20th anniversary, Big Machine held a concert in Nashville that included Rascal Flatts, Riley Green, Sheryl Crow, Brett Young and The Band Perry. Why did you decide to make it free, and how did you decide on the performers?
I wanted everybody invited. I wanted the biggest party possible. I didn’t want any restrictions. Danielle Peck came back and opened the show with our very first single. Jack Ingram came back and did our first No. 1. I was filled with pride the whole day, and then the night was just magical. I’ll never forget it. It didn’t rain. It was a perfect day.
This story appears in the Nov. 15, 2025, issue of Billboard.
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When the country music industry comes together for the 59th annual Country Music Association (CMA) Awards on Nov. 19, the event could be considered a convention of the unconventional.
The ballot is stacked with artists and projects that are quirky and/or test the genre’s boundaries. New artist of the year nominee Shaboozey shifted over the last year from an R&B-flavored outlier to a major country artist. New artist contender Stephen Wilson Jr. packs a rough-cut blues-rock sound. Americana import The War and Treaty is a vocal duo finalist. Post Malone‘s F-1 Trillion is an album of the year option by a pop artist. Jelly Roll‘s musical event entry with Brandon Lake, “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” relies on a dramatic gospel performance. Vocal group finalists The Red Clay Strays paint an alternative country shade on the format. And six-time nominee Ella Langley, who was signed in New York and employs out-of-the-country-box marketing, broke out with “you look like you love me,” a Riley Green-assisted recitation that casts the female protagonist as sexually aggressive, which is uncharacteristic for country.
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“For Ella to come out and say, ‘Hey, it’s been a while,’ and take it from there, [she] just puts it out there,” Big Machine Label Group president/CEO Scott Borchetta says. “It’s amazing.”
Even some of country’s primary artists are using final-five videos to bring unconventionality to the format. Lainey Wilson‘s”Somewhere Over Laredo” employs computer imaging to drop the singer out of an airplane without a parachute and land her in the middle of a desert where the scenery rolls and folds beneath her. And Chris Stapleton‘s “Think I’m in Love With You” clip finds an eccentric character — comparable, perhaps, to Seinfeld’s Cosmo Kramer — dancing weirdly through his neighborhood unnoticed in a plot with deeper lessons about the afterlife.
All of these artists and nominated projects challenge country’s norms in different ways, each of them operating as a satellite hovering around the genre’s core. Since each of them tugs against the center from a different point in its orbit, country is operating — for the moment, at least — with an enviable sonic balance.
“Country has always been one of those formats where there’s a sound, there’s a look,” says Johnny Chiang, SiriusXM/Pandora vp of music programming, country. “But yet, over the past three or four years, and still today, I can’t think of a radio format that’s more diverse in sound than country.”
Historically, the genre has adhered closely to a central identity, guided to a degree by the traditionally minded segment of its customer base. A strong preservationist wing tended to guard against country losing its basic identity, and that part of the audience had some representation among the format’s creative class.
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But country has increasingly appealed to a younger demographic — particularly since the streaming business has matured — and that faction of its consumers grew up with a wider range of music. That’s reflected in the breadth of the country music those listeners are willing to engage. The variety of acts and projects on the awards ballot shows that diversity.
“It’s not necessarily that the CMA, as an organization, is rewarding them,” suggests BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville executive vp of recorded music JoJamie Hahr. “The consumers are telling us who the superstars are, and everybody who votes for the CMAs are listening.”
Those listeners don’t generally see country music in the same way that previous generations might have viewed it. Cheating, heartache and drinking were once perceived as the genre’s primary topics. Breakups are still key and so is drinking, though it’s as much a symbol of partying as a means of drowning sorrow. Those changes have made it easier to connect with audience segments that likely would have ignored country in the past.
“It’s rebellious, a little bit edgy,” Borchetta says of current country. “There’s not a lot of super-successful young rock bands right now, and I think country’s benefiting from that because these guys are out touring like rock bands did back in the day.”
The current wave of country artists is also better equipped to interact with the industry’s infrastructure. Its creators are increasingly educated through music business programs at Nashville’s Belmont University or Murfreesboro’s Middle Tennessee State University, where they’re trained to think more strategically about their careers. And since they’ve usually released an EP or two and built a following on social media before they sign with a major label, they also have a handle on what makes them unique.
The executives have likewise attended the music-business programs in large numbers, and they’re more prone to appreciate inventive marketing and branding strategies. There’s still pressure to conform to existing career templates, but artists and their teams are generally more focused on forging unique paths than in some previous eras.
Megan Moroney, whose voice benefits from an identifiable catch and smoky tone, rode her uniqueness to a female vocalist nomination. And while she met with pressure to smooth out her sound, producer Kristian Bush, who came to prominence as one-half of Sugarland, helped her resist.
“They were trying to get me to make Megan’s vocal cleaner,” he recalls. “And I was like, ‘No, man, this is what’s cool. This is her fingerprint.’ I’m an artist. I can tell you exactly what this is, right? This is what makes you [unique]. So don’t take it away from them. Turn it up. That’s kind of the way I treat my production stuff, which is, ‘Let’s find out what’s cool about you, and let’s just make that really loud.’ “
While the unconventional efforts might widen the country universe, the genre’s core is still significant. Nominees such as Green, Lainey Wilson, Cody Johnson and Zach Top become even more important in establishing a home base that holds all the satellite sounds together.
“I texted [Leo 33 label head] Katie Dean on my way home [on Nov. 12] because I heard a new Zach Top on [SiriusXM’s] The Highway,” Hahr notes. “I’m so thankful that a Zach Top exists, because the song was so cool. What he has done paving the way in the format, to bring back that ’90s country sound, I think it just makes our format maybe the most unique because we’re welcoming all sorts of sounds and, really, a combination of formats.”
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That provides some perspective, perhaps, regarding fans’ fervor surrounding Morgan Wallen. He moves freely between country’s center and its more expansive sounds, essentially representing the format’s elasticity.
“Morgan Wallen is country’s representative in today’s music and how today’s consumer, especially younger consumers, are blurring the genre lines,” Chiang suggests. “They love Morgan. One song sounds country, the next one is hip-hop, and he has collabs and so on. They love that, too, and they don’t punish him. They don’t say, ‘Well, you’re not supposed to sound like this.’ We have a whole generation of consumers that don’t think that way.”
Thus, the range of the CMA ballot adheres to a belief in risk and unconventionality that has long been heralded in country’s C-suites, though not always observed. Borchetta, for one, is following this batch of norm-busting nominees with other singular acts, such as bluesy Preston Cooper and the shape-shifting Jack Wharff Band.
“This format always does best,” Borchetta says, “when the net is the widest.”
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Little Big Town, Keith Urban, Billy Ray Cyrus, Lauren Daigle, Steve Martin and Alison Brown are all set to take part in the 2025 CMA Awards.
Urban and Little BIg Town are recent additions to the performers lineup, with Little Big Town having recently released a surprise original holiday song, “The Innkeeper.”
Also taking part in the evening is Cody Johnson, who is up for several trophies this year, among them entertainer of the year, while others who will appear during the evening include CMA Country Christmas co-hosts Daigle and Jordan Davis. Beyond musicians, others set to make appearances include comedian Leanne Morgan, actress/model/philanthropist Elizabeth Hurley, and Landman star Billy Bob Thornton.
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The ceremony is set for Wednesday (Nov. 19) and will be hosted by Lainey Wilson, broadcasting live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on ABC, with next-day viewing also being available on Hulu.
Leading up to this year’s CMA Awards, Ella Langley, Megan Moroney and Lainey Wilson tie for the most nominations, with six nominations apiece. Zach Top follows with five nominations, while Johnson and Riley Green have four nominations apiece. Vying for this year’s entertainer of the year honor are Johnson, Wilson, Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton and Morgan Wallen.
The CMAs also released information on CMA Awards Backstage Live, hosted by country artist Lauren Alaina and HaleyyBaylee, which will broadcast live on CMA’s TikTok channel and will take viewers behind the scenes at Bridgestone Arena during the CMA Awards.
Here are the performers and presenters that have been announced for the 2025 CMA Awards. Additional names will be added as they are announced.
Performers
Keith Urban
Little Big Town
Kelsea Ballerini
BigXthaPlug
Brandi Carlile
Kenny Chesney
Luke Combs
Riley Green
Miranda Lambert
Ella Langley
Patty Loveless
Megan Moroney
Old Dominion
The Red Clay Strays
Shaboozey
Chris Stapleton
Zach Top
Tucker Wetmore
Lainey Wilson
Stephen Wilson Jr.
Presenters
Lady A
Alison Brown
Jessica Capshaw
Billy Ray Cyrus
Lauren Daigle
Jordan Davis
Elizabeth Hurley
Cody Johnson
Bert Kreischer
Brandon Lake
Ella Langley
Steve Martin
Leanne Morgan
NE-YO
Chris O’Donnell
Kimberly Perry
LeAnn Rimes
Alan Ritchson
Lara Spencer
Billy Bob Thornton
Grace Van Patten
Gretchen Wilson
Bailey Zimmerman
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SNL has a country hit in the making with “I Miss My Ex’s Dad,” a musical parody starring new cast members Ben Marshall and Tommy Brennan as a convincing country duo. The pair reminisce about relationships lost in a pre-taped sketch that aired Saturday night (Nov. 15) on the late-night comedy show’s latest episode, hosted by actor Glen Powell.
“You ever miss someone much you lose sight of yourself?” Brennan asks at the bar.
“You think about them all the time and you wonder if life will ever seem normal again,” adds Marshall, sitting on the hood of a pickup truck.
“Haven’t felt the same since you’ve been gone/ Everyone else just feels so wrong/ By now I thought I’d be over you/ At the bottom of this bottle, I’ll know what to do/ I don’t know what else to say/ I just wanna hear about your day/ I can’t stop thinking ‘bout what we had,” they sing, and then comes the kicker comes in: “Oh man, I miss my ex’s dad.”
Glen Powell and Kenan Thompson play the beloved dads who’ve inspired the country duet.
“Your socks, your Crocs/ You’re the ideal male with your ponytail,” vocalists Marshall and Brennan lament on the chorus, which has the guys admitting, “I don’t miss his daughter at all, which I know is bad/ I just miss my ex’s dad.”
“Your grill, your Buick/ You’re the ideal man with your cardigans,” they sing later on. “Don’t remember his daughter’s name, which I know is bad/ I just miss my ex’s dad.”
As it turns out, the feeling is mutual. “I wish her new boyfriend was dead,” the dads (Powell and Thompson) sing.
Watch SNL‘s “I Miss My Ex’s Dad” music sketch below. Making her Saturday Night Live debut, Olivia Dean appeared as the actual musical guest on this weekend’s episode, performing “Man I Need” and “Let Alone the One You Love.”
Todd Snider, a singer whose thoughtfully freewheeling tunes and cosmic-stoner songwriting made him a beloved figure in American roots music, has died. He was 59.
His record label said Saturday (Nov. 15) in a statement posted to his social media accounts that Snider died Friday.
“Where do we find the words for the one who always had the right words, who knew how to distill everything down to its essence with words and song while delivering the most devastating, hilarious, and impactful turn of phrases?” the statement read. “Always creating rhyme and meter that immediately felt like an old friend or a favorite blanket. Someone who could almost always find the humor in this crazy ride on Planet Earth.”
Snider’s family and friends had said in a Friday statement that he had been diagnosed with pneumonia at a hospital in Hendersonville, Tennessee, and that his situation had since grown more complicated and he was transferred elsewhere. The diagnosis came on the heels of the cancellation of a tour after Snider had been the victim of a violent assault in the Salt Lake City area, according to a Nov. 3 statement from his management team.
But Salt Lake City police later arrested Snider himself when he at first refused to leave a hospital and later returned and threatened staffers, the Salt Lake Tribune reported.
The scrapped tour was in support of his most recent album, High, Lonesome and Then Some, which released in October. Snider combined elements of folk, rock and country in a three-decade career. In reviews of his recent albums, The Associated Press called him a “singer-songwriter with the persona of a fried folkie” and a “stoner troubadour and cosmic comic.”
He modeled himself on — and at times met and was mentored by — artists like Kris Kristofferson, Guy Clark and John Prine. His songs were recorded by artists including Jerry Jeff Walker, Billy Joe Shaver and Tom Jones. And he co-wrote a song with Loretta Lynn that appeared on her 2016 album, Full Circle.
“He relayed so much tenderness and sensitivity through his songs, and showed many of us how to look at the world through a different lens,” the Saturday statement from his label read. “He got up every morning and started writing, always working towards finding his place among the songwriting giants that sat on his record shelves, those same giants who let him into their lives and took him under their wings, who he studied relentlessly.”
Snider would do his best-known and most acclaimed work for Prine’s independent label Oh Boy in the early 2000s. It included the albums New Connection, Near Truths and Hotel Rooms and East Nashville Skyline, a 2004 collection that’s considered by many to be his best.
Those albums yielded his best known songs, “I Can’t Complain,” “Beer Run” and “Alright Guy.”
Snider was born and raised in Oregon before settling and making his musical chops in San Marcos, Texas. He eventually made his way to Nashville, and was dubbed by some the unofficial “mayor of East Nashville,” assuming the title from a friend memorialized thusly in his “Train Song.” In 2021, Snider said a tornado that ripped through the neighborhood home to a vibrant arts scene severely damaged his house.
Snider had an early fan in Jimmy Buffett, who signed the young artist to his record label, Margaritaville, which released his first two albums, 1994’s Songs for the Daily Planet and 1996’s Step Right Up.
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Megan Moroney cracks the top 10 of Billboard’s Country Airplay chart for a third time, as “6 Months Later” rises 11-10 on the ranking dated Nov. 22, up 6% to 18.3 million in audience Nov. 7-13, according to Luminate.
The track, which Moroney co-wrote with Rob Hatch, David Mescon and Ben Williams, brings the Georgian back to the Country Airplay top 10 just shy of, well, six months later, after her “Am I Okay?” hit No. 2 in June. She first reached tier with her debut entry, “Tennessee Orange” (No. 4, June 2023).
Dating to her first week in the Country Airplay top 10 in May 2023, Moroney ties Ella Langley for the second-most top 10s among women. Only Lainey Wilson has more in that span, with five. Six other women have notched one each in that stretch: Priscilla Block (“You, Me & Whiskey,” with Justin Moore); Ashley Cooke (“Your Place”); Dasha (“Austin”); Jessie Murph (“High Road,” with Koe Wetzel); Carly Pearce (“We Don’t Fight Anymore,” with Chris Stapleton); and Carrie Underwood (“I’m Gonna Love You,” with Cody Johnson).
Meanwhile, Moroney’s “Beautiful Things” picks up traction further down the latest list, climbing 39-37 (3.2 million, up 15%). Both “6 Months Later” and “Beautiful Things” will appear on Cloud 9, her third studio album, due Feb. 20.
CoJo Travels In
Cody Johnson & The Rockin’ CJB arrive at No. 57 on Country Airplay with a cover of The Chicks’ “Travelin’ Soldier” (1.2 million). The song, written and first recorded by Bruce Robison, has been part of Johnson’s live set for several years; he initially recorded it during a 2020 livestream before it became a frequent crowd request, prompting a new studio version released Nov. 7, just ahead of Veterans Day (Nov. 11).
The Chicks’ version of the song topped Country Airplay for a week in March 2003, becoming their sixth and most recent leader (a run halted soon after when, as since dissected in-depth, the group’s Natalie Maines spoke out against then-U.S. president George W. Bush).
