It will be interesting to see if CMA voters nominate Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album for album of the year. The blockbuster is in its 22nd week at No. 1 on Billboard‘s Top Country Albums chart. Long-running No. 1 albums are usually nominated in this category. Of the 27 previous albums that have topped the country chart for 20 or more weeks, 20 have been nominated in this category. The most recent album to hit that mark before Wallen’s album, Luke Combs’ What You See Is What You Get, won in this category last year.
CMA voters may or may not be not be ready to let Wallen back in their good graces. He won new artist of the year at last year’s show in November 2020 — less than three months before the video that caused his high-flying career to implode.
The eligibility period for this year’s CMA Awards is July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021.
Here are seven other burning questions that this year’s nominations and awards will answer.