CMA Announces Balloting Timeline for the 54th Annual CMA Awards, Set for November in Nashville
The Country Music Assn. has announced ballot schedules for the 54th Annual CMA Awards. The CMA also revealed that the show is set for November in Nashville, though the association didn’t specify an exact date or a venue. The show has been held at Bridgestone Arena since 2006.
The eligibility period for this year’s CMA Awards is July 1, 2019 to June 30, 2020.
The first ballot and instructions will be emailed on July 2 to CMA members who are eligible to vote. Voting for the first ballot closes July 13.
The second ballot will be emailed to CMA members on July 31. Voting for the second ballot closes Aug. 10. The final nominees in each of the 12 CMA categories will be announced later this summer.
The third and final ballot, which determines the winners, will be emailed to CMA members on Oct. 1. Voting for the final ballot ends on Oct. 27.
The three-hour awards ceremony will broadcast live on ABC-TV.
Eligible CMA members may now submit applications for the 2020 CMA Broadcast Awards online at broadcast.CMAawards.com. The site will accept submissions until June 17. Awards are presented for broadcast personality, station and national broadcast personality of the year. Winners of the broadcast awards will be notified in early October and recognized on the CMA telecast.
Last year’s CMA Awards telecast was hosted by Carrie Underwood, Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton. Underwood has since announced that she won’t return as host this year. Her 12-year stint as host (she teamed with Brad Paisley for 11 years before taking part in last year’s all-female dream team) tied Vince Gill’s 12-year run as the longest hosting stint in CMA history.
The rival Academy of Country Music Awards are set to air Sept. 16 from Nashville for the first time. Keith Urban, the ACM’s reigning entertainer of the year, is set to host. The event was originally planned to air on April 5, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ACM Awards will emanate from three iconic Nashville venues—Ryman Auditorium, the Grand Ole Opry and the Bluebird Café. The Ryman was home to the CMA Awards from 1968-73. The Grand Ole Opry was home to the CMA Awards from 1974-04.
Nominees and winners for the CMA Awards and the CMA Broadcast Awards are determined by more than 7,200 professional members of CMA. The association, which was established in 1958, bills itself as the first trade organization formed to promote an individual genre of music.