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Among them is Ella Langley's juggernaut "Choosin' Texas," which has spent 17 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the fourth-longest reign in the chart's history. It has also ruled Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart for 35 weeks.

Other contenders include Megan Moroney's "6 Months Later," Luke Combs' "Be By You," Riley Green's "Change My Mind," Morgan Wallen's "I Got Better" and "Just in Case," Lainey Wilson's "Somewhere Over Laredo" and Cody Johnson's "The Fall."

Swift is credited as both artist and co-producer of "I Knew It, I Knew You" alongside Jack Antonoff. Laura Sisk is the mix engineer.

How CMA Awards voting works

The road to a CMA Award starts months before the trophies are handed out.

This year's eligibility period ran from July 1, 2025, through June 30, 2026. There are 7,044 CMA professional members eligible to vote, with balloting conducted online by Election Services Corp. and tabulated by Deloitte.

During the first round, which ran July 6-16, voters could write in any artist or project they believed deserved consideration. Entries that met the eligibility requirements counted toward determining which candidates advanced.

The top 20 vote-getters generally move to the second ballot, although entertainer of the year is limited to 15. Some categories can contain more candidates depending on category-specific rules and ties.

The second ballot was sent Aug. 4 and remains open through Aug. 17 at 6 p.m. CT. Members can vote for up to five candidates in each category.

The five highest vote-getters from this round will become the official nominees in each of the 12 categories. Those nominees will be announced later this summer.

A final ballot goes out Oct. 1. CMA members will then select one nominee in each category, with voting closing on Oct. 27 at 6 p.m. CT.

When are the CMAs?

The 2026 CMA Awards will air live on Nov. 18 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on ABC.

Swift's CMA Awards history

Swift's CMA history stretches back two decades.

She won the Horizon Award, now called new artist of the year, in 2007. Two years later, "Fearless" helped power a career-defining night at the 2009 CMA Awards. Swift won entertainer of the year, female vocalist of the year, album of the year and music video of the year.

She won entertainer of the year again in 2011 and received the CMA's Pinnacle Award in 2013, an honor recognizing an artist who has achieved extraordinary worldwide prominence through country music.

Even after Swift moved into pop, her songwriting kept a connection to the CMA Awards. In 2017, she won song of the year as the sole writer of Little Big Town's "Better Man."