The 2025 CMA Awards crowned a new winner for Male Vocalist of the Year.
Cody Johnson took home the award during the Wednesday, November 19, ceremony at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.
“The last time I accepted an award, I did the [wrestler] Ric Flair ‘woo,’ but I got back home and my wife [Brandi] said, ‘You didn’t even thank Jesus.’ So, thank you, Lord,” the country singer, 38, said in his speech. “Thank you so much for the guidance you’ve given me. Without his grace on my life, I wouldn’t be here tonight.”
Johnson also gave his wife a special shout-out, as they recently welcomed their third baby. (The couple share daughters Clara Mae, 10, and Cori, 8, and newborn son Jaycee.)
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“I wanna thank my wife and my now three little kids at home,” he said. “We just had our baby boy.”
Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, Zach Top and Morgan Wallen were also nominated in the Male Vocalist of the Year category.
Of the Male Vocalist of the Year nominees, Top, 28, led the pack with five total nods for the 2025 awards show. He was also up for New Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for Cold Beer and Country Music and Single of the Year and Song of the Year for “I Never Lie.”
Johnson followed closely behind with four nominations, including Entertainer of the Year, Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year for “I’m Gonna Love You” with Carrie Underwood. (Ahead of the live ceremony, Post Malone and Blake Shelton’s “Pour Me a Drink” and Ella Langley and Riley Green’s “You Look Like You Love Me” won Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year, respectively.)
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Combs, 35, Stapleton, 47, and Wallen, 32, trailed their competitors with three total nominations each: Combs for Entertainer of the Year and Single of the Year for “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma,” Stapleton for Entertainer of the Year and Music Video of the Year for “Think I’m in Love With You” and Wallen for Entertainer of the Year and Album of the Year for I’m the Problem.
Stapleton and Combs were both Male Vocalist of the Year winners in years past. Stapleton took home the honor eight times — more than any other artist in CMAs history — from 2015 to 2018 and 2021 to 2024, while Combs received the accolade twice in 2019 and 2020. Stapleton and Combs have been nominated in the category a total of 11 and eight times, respectively.
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While neither Johnson nor Wallen had won Male Vocalist of the Year prior to the 2025 awards show, both had a total of four nominations in the category throughout their careers. Top, for his part, earned his first Male Vocalist of the Year nod in 2025.
Among the Male Vocalist of the Year contenders, Stapleton was the most decorated heading into this year’s ceremony, with 19 career CMA wins, followed by Combs with nine, Johnson with three and Wallen with two. Top, meanwhile, landed his first-ever CMA nominations this year.
