2022 CMA Awards preview: Will Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen make comebacks?

Arguably the biggest prizes in country music, the Country Music Association Awards (CMAs) seek to honor the best in the industry. The award show features categories like Album of the Year, New Artist of the Year, Female and Male Artist of the Year, and the coveted Entertainer of the Year award. Let’s take a look at a few names that could pop up in the nominations list this year.

There are a couple of favorites who will get nominations without a doubt. Maren Morris’s “Humble Quest” is one of her best pieces of work and includes the hit “Circles Around This Town,” which could get into Song of the Year. There’s also Miranda Lambert, who will be in contention for her new album “Palomino” and the hit single “If I Was a Cowboy.” Similarly, Jason Aldean has found success with his album “Macon, Georgia,” led by his already-CMA-winning duet with Carrie Underwood, “If I Didn’t Love You.”

Speaking of Underwood, she will be back this year with “Denim and Rhinestones,” which features the hit “Ghost Story.” Underwood, Lambert, or perhaps Morris could also win Entertainer of the Year, which was last won by a female artist in 2011. Another likely returning champ is Luke Combs, who won Entertainer of the Year last year. While Combs’s new record “Growin’ Up” hasn’t been as big as its predecessor “What You See Is What You Get,” it still did great on the charts and has notched multiple hits. Watch out for other consistent nominees like Thomas Rhett, Chris Young, Carly Pearce, and Eric Church.

A few new artists will likely make a splash. One of the biggest country artists of the year is Zach Bryan, whose “American Heartbreak” was arguably the biggest new country album of 2022. Bryan should easily be the front-runner for New Artist of the Year, and his top-40 hit “Something in the Orange” could be a front-runner for Song of the Year. There’s also Bailey Zimmerman, who has achieved three top-40 hits in the span of a few months, and should surely be on voters’ radar. Artists like Walker Hayes, Priscilla Block, Lainey Wilson, and Elvie Shane have also made a splash on the charts in the past year, so don’t rule them out for nominations as well.

Just like last year, a big question will be how much the association embraces Morgan Wallen. Last year the CMAs made Wallen ineligible in any artist category, and banned him from attending. Wallen is still the top artist in country music right now, though, with his almost two-year-old album “Dangerous” remaining in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 (where it’s headed for the most weeks in the top 10 ever by a single artist). Wallen has also managed to earn multiple top-10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in the past 12 months, and has been re-embraced by radio. So a lot of people may think he should be coming back in full force to the CMAs. However, Wallen’s racially insensitive comments still seem to not be totally forgiven, as he was completely snubbed by the Grammys last November. The CMAs did give “Dangerous” an Album of the Year nomination last year though, so perhaps they are more open to a Wallen comeback than Recording Academy members were.

Finally, another big question this year is Taylor Swift. Last year Swift opted to not submit “Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” for the CMAs due to the original being the most awarded country album ever. Swift instead focused on her Grammy campaign for her indie pop album “Evermore.” This year, though, Swift could’ve sent “Red (Taylor’s Version)” for consideration. The record is bigger than “Fearless (Taylor’s Version),” has a higher score on Metacritic, and unlike the original “Fearless,” the original “Red” didn’t dominate the industry awards, losing both at the CMAs and the Grammys. Swift also doesn’t have another album in contention for this awards season, as her next album “Midnights” comes out after the eligibility period. So if it is eligible here, “Red (Taylor’s Version)” could be nominated for Album of the Year, and perhaps “All Too Well (10-Minute Version)” could be a surprise Single of the Year nominee.

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