Kelsea Ballerini Fans Outraged That She Wasn’t Nominated For CMA Awards Entertainer Of The Year: “Kelsea Is The New Carrie”

Daniel Prakopcyk

Not even the biggest snub in the nominations.

The Country Music Association announced their 2025 CMA Award nominations yesterday, with Megan Moroney, Lainey Wilson and Ella Langley leading the way with six nominations each.

Traditional country newcomer Zach Top got quite a bit of love with five nominations, while reigning Entertainer of the Year winner Morgan Wallen is nominated in only 3 categories.

The nominees for the night’s top prize, Entertainer of the Year, include Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, Lainey Wilson and Cody Johnson, which is a little bit of a surprise because I expected Jelly Roll to be on that list (and I personally cast my vote for Eric Church, but he never gets the recognition he deserves so not a big surprise he was snubbed).

Some other head scratchers included the nominees for New Artist of the Year, which included Shaboozey and Zach Top for the second year in a row, and Duo of the Year, which continues to overlook Muscadine Bloodline in favor of the same lineup every year. Riley Green also didn’t get any solo nods, which is pretty surprising considering the monster year that he’s had with hits like “Worst Way,” “Jesus Saves” and of course his collaborations with Ella Langley.

And don’t get me started on Vocal Group of the Year: No Turnpike Troubadours, 49 Winchester or Treaty Oak Revival, but somehow Lady A and Little Big Town keep getting nominated year after year? Come on now.

Regardless, there are plenty of people who had thoughts on what the voters got right and what they got wrong when it came to choosing the final nominees. And one artist whose fan base was especially outraged was Kelsea Ballerini.

Kelsea was nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year, but was left out of Entertainer of the Year and Album of the Year. And fans also pointed out that neither Chris Stapleton nor Luke Combs were touring this year, nor did they release a new album, which left many scratching their heads at why they got the nod over Kelsea:

Of course some people argue that Kelsea’s music leans more pop these days and that’s why she’s not getting the recognition from the CMAs but…have you seen the rest of the nominees? Most of them aren’t exactly George Jones or Merle Haggard when it comes to making traditional country music.

Overall, the complaints that I’ve seen largely mirror those we’ve heard before, but at the same time there are some deserving artists who are up for awards so hopefully the trophies end up going to the right homes on November 19.