Country Music Association Awards

Defunct categories

• Comedian of the Year (1967-1970)
• Instrumental Group of the Year (1967-1986)

Radio awards

The Country Music Association Award for International Achievement is presented to international artists and executives.

Formerly presented as the International Touring Artist Award, this award recognizes outstanding achievement by a U.S.-based artist who has demonstrated the most significant creative growth, development and promotion of the country music industry outside of the United States during the eligibility period. The Dixie Chicks were the first artists to receive the award twice. 2008 is the only year in which there were multiple winners.[9]

• 2022: Ashley McBryde[10]
• 2021: Luke Combs
• 2020: Keith Urban
• 2019: Kacey Musgraves[11]
• 2018: Little Big Town[12]
• 2017: Carrie Underwood[13]
• 2016: Kacey Musgraves[14]
• 2015: Not presented
• 2014: Brad Paisley
• 2013: Taylor Swift[15]
• 2012: Lady Antebellum
• 2011: Brad Paisley[16]
• 2010: Not presented
• 2009: Taylor Swift[17]
• 2008: Dierks Bentley and Brooks & Dunn
• 2007: Dwight Yoakam
• 2006: Dixie Chicks
• 2005: Keith Urban
• 2004: Dolly Parton
• 2003: Dixie Chicks
• 2002: Bellamy Brothers
• 2001: Lonestar
• 2000: Reba McEntire
• 1999: Shania Twain
• 1998: Trisha Yearwood
• 1997: The Mavericks
• 1996: BR5 49

Named in honor of Jeff Walker, this award recognizes outstanding achievements by a country music artist signed outside of the United States. The artist must have furthered the popularity of country music as well as brought attention to the country music format in their territory. This award was first presented in 2003 and has been presented annually since, with the exception of 2015. The Global Country Achievement Award has been most frequently won by Australian artists.

• 2021: The Shires (UK)
• 2020: Ilse DeLange (The Netherlands)
• 2019: Travis Collins (Australia)[18] and Ward Thomas (UK)[19]
• 2018: Dean Brody (Canada)[20]
• 2017: The Shires (UK)[21]
• 2016: Gord Bamford (Canada)[22]
• 2015: Not presented
• 2014: Morgan Evans (Australia)[23]
• 2013: Gord Bamford (Canada)[24]
• 2012: Jasmine Rae (Australia)[25]
• 2011: The McClymonts (Australia)[26]
• 2010: Tommy Emmanuel (Australia)[27]
• 2009: Catherine Britt (Australia)
• 2008: Troy Cassar-Daley (Australia)
• 2007: Adam Harvey (Australia)
• 2006: Jason McCoy (Canada)
• 2005: Paul Brandt (Canada)
• 2004: Kasey Chambers and Slim Dusty (Australia)
• 2003: Lee Kernaghan (Australia)

This award recognizes outstanding achievement by a radio broadcaster outside the United States who has made important contributions for the development of country music in their country. Up to three recipients may be named in any year. Each recipient must represent a different territory.

• 2021: Baylen Leonard (UK)
• 2020: Ben Earle (UK)
• 2019: Baylen Leonard (UK)
• 2018: Chris Stevens (UK)
• 2017: Bob Harris (UK)[28]
• 2016: Paul McGuire (Canada)
• 2015: Not presented
• 2014: Ricky Ross (UK)[29]
• 2013: Bob Harris (UK)
• 2012: David Burton (Australia), Takehisa Matsuda (Japan) and Lee Williams (UK)
• 2011: Ken McLeod (Scotland), Felicity Urquhart (Australia) and Brian D'Arcy (Northern Ireland)
• 2010: Sandy Harsch (Ireland), Larry Cann (Australia) and Alan Watkiss (UK)
• 2009: Grant Goldman (Australia), Casey Clarke (Canada) and Brian Clough (UK)
• 2008: Pio McCann (Ireland), John Bond (Australia) and Joe Fish (UK)
• 2007: Nick Erby (Australia), Jackie-Rae Greening (Canada) and Georges Lang (France)
• 2006: Tim Rogers (UK), Ian Holland (Australia) and Helen Macpherson (Scotland)
• 2005: The Odd Squad (Canada), Ray Hadley (Australia) and Bryan Burnett (Scotland)
• 2004: Trevor Campbell (UK), Bob Harris (UK) and Nikos Garavelas (Greece)
• 2003: Pat Geary (Scotland), Johnnie Walker (UK) and John Laws (Australia)
• 2002: Stuart Cameron and David Allan (UK)
• 2001: Gary Beattie (Australia) and Bill Black (UK)
• 2000: Thomas Jeier (Germany), Korneliusz Pacuda (Poland), John Nutting (Australia) and Dick Barrie (Scotland)
• 1999: Trevor Smith (Australia), Dieter Vulpus and Bernd Schroeder (Germany), Country FM (The Netherlands)
• 1998: Ruud Hermans and Jan de Jong (The Netherlands), Lloyd Cole (Wales) and Kirsten Helm Petersen (Denmark)
• 1997: Walter Fuchs (Germany), Nick Erby and John Laws (Australia)

Only two artists have won the top four awards in a single year: Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, Male Vocalist/Female Vocalist/Group/Duo of the Year and Song of the Year: Vince Gill, in 1993 and Alan Jackson, in 2002.[32]

When presenting the Entertainer of the Year award at the 1975 ceremony, Charlie Rich, who appeared to be intoxicated after drinking backstage and was allegedly taking pain medication for a broken foot, opened the envelope to reveal the winner. When he saw that John Denver had been chosen, Rich pulled out his lighter and burned the envelope, sarcastically declaring that the winner was "my friend, Mr. John Denver". Many saw Rich's actions as a protest towards pop artists crossing over into country music and it remains one of the most talked about moments in CMA history.[33]

During a time when the rest of the entertainment industry were wearing red ribbons to signify solidarity and promote awareness of the AIDS epidemic, in an attempt to steer clear of controversy, the CMA instead encouraged guests to wear green ribbons to signify environmental awareness. This did not sit well with Kathy Mattea, who had lost several friends to the disease, and she requested the CMA's help in drafting a short speech on the issue but they ignored her request and she took matters into her own hands. At the 1992 ceremony while presenting an award, Mattea wore three red ribbons and one green one and announced the names of her friends who had passed and delivered an impassioned speech that created a discussion and elevated AIDS awareness among the Nashville community. Mattea went on to become a staunch advocate for the cause, releasing the album Red Hot + Country two years later to raise funds for AIDS charities.[34][35]

On May 8, 1999, George Jones released "Choices", a song written by Mike Curtis and Billy Yates, that featured an accompanying music video which depicted his struggles with substance abuse. The song subsequently became a Top 30 hit for Jones and was nominated for Single of the Year at the 1999 CMA Awards, with the CMA inviting him to perform a shortened version at the ceremony. Jones felt insulted that the CMA requested he remove part of the song and so he passed on the invitation. Alan Jackson, who was slated to perform his current single "Pop a Top", was offended that the CMA had denied Jones the opportunity to sing the full song and so, during his performance, he stopped his own band mid-song and instead sang a chorus of "Choices", which went on to earn a standing ovation from the crowd.[36]

At the 50th CMA Awards in 2016, the Dixie Chicks returned the CMA stage for the first time since their comments about George Bush resulted in them being blacklisted from the industry. They were joined by Beyoncé to perform a medley of "Daddy Lessons" from her 2016 Lemonade album and their own 2002 hit "Long Time Gone". While many viewers and critics praised the performance, it garnered criticism from some country traditionalists, who stated that Beyoncé, a pop/R&B artist had no place at a country music awards show. The comments polarized opinions, with some noting that they could be seen as a racist attack, as previous collaborations with non-country artists had not received the same amount of criticism and some suggesting that old grudges against the Dixie Chicks had fueled the extreme responses to their performance. Many artists including Dierks Bentley and Karen Fairchild defended the performance while others did not, including Alan Jackson who reportedly walked out of the arena.[37][38][39]