52nd Annual Country Music Association Awards


The 52nd Annual Country Music Association Awards, commonly known as the 52nd CMA Awards, were held on November 14, 2018, at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee and was hosted by CMA Award winners Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood.
The nominations for the 52nd CMA Awards were announced on August 28, 2018, on Good Morning America by Luke Bryan, Dan + Shay and Sugarland.

Winners and nominees

The winners are shown in Bold.
Entertainer of the YearAlbum of the Year

  • Golden Hour - Kacey Musgraves
  • * The Mountain – Dierks Bentley
  • * Life Changes – Thomas Rhett
  • * ' – Chris Stapleton
  • * Graffiti U – Keith Urban
    • Male Vocalist of the YearFemale Vocalist of the Year
  • Chris Stapleton
  • * Dierks Bentley
  • * Luke Combs
  • * Thomas Rhett
  • * Keith Urban
  • Carrie Underwood
  • * Kelsea Ballerini
  • * Miranda Lambert
  • * Maren Morris
  • * Kacey Musgraves
    • Vocal Group of the YearVocal Duo of the Year
  • Old Dominion
  • * Lady Antebellum
  • * LANCO
  • * Little Big Town
  • * Midland
  • Brothers Osborne
  • * Dan + Shay
  • * Florida Georgia Line
  • * Maddie & Tae
  • * Sugarland
    • Single of the YearSong of the Year
  • "Broken Halos" - Chris Stapleton
  • * "Drinkin' Problem" – Midland
  • * "Drowns the Whiskey" – Jason Aldean ft. Miranda Lambert
  • * "Meant to Be" – Bebe Rexha ft. Florida Georgia Line
  • * "Tequila" – Dan + Shay
  • "Broken Halos" - Chris Stapleton, Mike Henderson
  • * "Body Like a Back Road" — Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne
  • * "Drowns the Whiskey" – Brandon Kinney, Jeff Middleton, Josh Thompson
  • * "Drunk Girl" – Scooter Carusoe, Tom Douglas, Chris Janson
  • * "Tequila" – Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Reynolds, Dan Smyers
    • New Artist of the YearMusician of the Year
  • Luke Combs
  • * Lauren Alaina
  • * Chris Janson
  • * Midland
  • * Brett Young
  • Mac McAnally
  • * Jerry Douglas
  • * Paul Franklin
  • * Dann Huff
  • * Derek Wells
    • Music Video of the YearMusical Event of the Year
  • "Marry Me" - Thomas Rhett
  • * "Babe" – Sugarland feat. Taylor Swift
  • * "Cry Pretty" – Carrie Underwood
  • * "Drunk Girl" – Chris Janson
  • * "Tequila" – Dan + Shay
  • "Everything's Gonna Be Alright" - David Lee Murphy and Kenny Chesney'''
  • * "Drowns the Whiskey" – Jason Aldean feat. Miranda Lambert
  • * "Burning Man" – Dierks Bentley feat. Brothers Osborne
  • * "Dear Hate" – Maren Morris feat. Vince Gill
  • * "Meant to Be" – Bebe Rexha feat. Florida Georgia Line

    • Performers

    Presenters

    Reception

    Underwood and Pasley's monologue was praised for ignoring the subject of politics, with Fox News stating that "despite avoiding controversial topics, Underwood and Paisley still delivered a joke-filled opening monologue that left many in the audience in stitches".
    In their review of the best and worst moments of the telecast, The Washington Post praised Stapleton's performance with Morris and Staples, Brooks' "sweet" and "adorable" tribute to Trisha Yearwood, Bryan's opening number, the "firey" Pistol Annies performance and the Ricky Skaggs tribute and celebrated Musgraves' Album of the Year win as well as the performances on newer artists such as Combs and Dan + Shay. However, they were critical of Paisley and Underwood's monologue, calling it "flat", "lame" and claiming that it "didn't make sense", leaving audience members "confused". Lauren Alaina's tribute to Dottie West was criticised for being too short and Midland's tribute to Burt Reynolds was described as being too confusing and unexplained.