2008 Country Music Association Awards

Date

November 12, 2008 (2008-11-12)

Location

Sommet Center, Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.

Hosted by

Brad Paisley
Carrie Underwood

Most awards

Brad Paisley (2)
George Strait (2)
Sugarland (2)

Most nominations

Kenny Chesney (6)
Sugarland (6)

Television/radio coverage

Network

ABC

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CMA

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The 2008 Country Music Association Awards, 42nd Annual Ceremony, was held on November 12, 2008, at the Sommet Center (later the Bridgestone Arena) in Nashville, Tennessee and was hosted by CMA Award winners Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. Kenny Chesney and Sugarland led the night with 6 nomination each.

Winners and nominees

^[1] Winners are shown in bold.

Entertainer of the Year	Album of the Year
Kenny Chesney Brad Paisley George Strait Sugarland Keith Urban	Troubadour — George Strait Carnival Ride — Carrie Underwood Cowboy Town — Brooks & Dunn Good Time — Alan Jackson Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates — Kenny Chesney
Male Vocalist of the Year	Female Vocalist of the Year
Brad Paisley Kenny Chesney Alan Jackson George Strait Keith Urban	Carrie Underwood Alison Krauss Miranda Lambert Martina McBride Taylor Swift
Vocal Group of the Year	Vocal Duo of the Year
Rascal Flatts Eagles Emerson Drive Lady Antebellum Little Big Town	Sugarland Big & Rich Brooks & Dunn Montgomery Gentry The Wreckers
Single of the Year	Song of the Year
"I Saw God Today" — George Strait "Don't Blink" — Kenny Chesney "Gunpowder & Lead" — Miranda Lambert "Stay" — Sugarland "You're Gonna Miss This" — Trace Adkins	"Stay" — Jennifer Nettles (Sugarland) "Good Time" — Alan Jackson (Alan Jackson) "I Saw God Today" — Rodney Clawson, Monty Criswell & Wade Kirby (George Strait) "Letter to Me" — Brad Paisley (Brad Paisley) "You're Gonna Miss This" — Ashley Gorley & Lee Thomas Miller (Trace Adkins)
New Artist of the Year	Musician of the Year^[2]
Lady Antebellum Jason Aldean Rodney Atkins James Otto Kellie Pickler	Mac McAnally Jerry Douglas Paul Franklin Dan Huff Brent Mason
Music Video of the Year	Musical Event of the Year
"Waitin' on a Woman" — Brad Paisley "Don't Blink" — Kenny Chesney "Good Time" — Alan Jackson "Stay" — Sugarland "You're Gonna Miss This" — Trace Adkins	"Gone, Gone, Gone" — Robert Plant & Alison Krauss "Another Try" — Josh Turner featuring Trisha Yearwood "Every Other Weekend" — Reba McEntire featuring Kenny Chesney "Life in a Northern Town" — Sugarland featuring Little Big Town & Jake Owen "Shiftwork" — Kenny Chesney featuring George Strait
International Artist Achievement Award^[3]
Dierks Bentley Brooks & Dunn

Hall of Fame

Country Music Hall of Fame^[4]
Tom T. Hall Emmylou Harris Ernest V. "Pop" Stoneman The Statler Brothers

Performers

Artist(s)	Song(s)
Brad Paisley Keith Urban	"Start A Band"
Kellie Pickler	"Best Days of Your Life"
Alan Jackson	"Good Time"
Miranda Lambert	"More Like Her"
Lady Antebellum	"Love Don't Live Here"
Martina McBride	"I Don't Want to See You Again"
Rodney Atkins	"It's America"
Taylor Swift	"Love Story"
Kid Rock	"All Summer Long"
George Strait	"River of Love"
Jason Aldean	"She's Country"
Brooks & Dunn Reba McEntire	"Cowgirls Don't Cry"
Darius Rucker	"Don't Think I Don't Think About It"
Brad Paisley	"Waitin' on a Woman"
Keith Urban	"Sweet Thing"
Carrie Underwood	"Just a Dream"
Sugarland	"Love"
James Otto	"Just Got Started Lovin' You"
Kenny Chesney	"Everyone Wants to Go to Heaven"
Trace Adkins	"You're Gonna Miss This"
The Eagles	"Busy Being Fabulous"

Presenters

Presenter(s)	Award
Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman	Single of the Year
Billy Ray Cyrus and Miley Cyrus	Song of the Year
Heidi Newfield and John Rich	Vocal Group of the Year
Taylor Swift	New Artist of the Year
Julianne Hough, Jimmy Wayne, and Jake Owen	Vocal Duo of the Year
Lee Ann Womack and Josh Turner	Album of the Year
Vince Gill	Female Vocalist of the Year
Reese Witherspoon	Male Vocalist of the Year
Shania Twain	Entertainer of the Year

Vince Gill - recognized the Country Music Hall of Fame Inductees

References

^ "CMT : CMA Awards : Country Music Association Winners & Hall of Fame Inductees Announced Nov. 12, 2008". Archived from the original on 2014-07-24. Retrieved 2014-07-16.
^ "Past Winners | CMA AwardsCMA Awards". www.cmaworld.com. Archived from the original on 18 July 2014. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
^ "CMA World | International Awards - CMA World". Archived from the original on 2015-02-01. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
^ "Timeline | The 2019 CMA Awards - Wednesday, November 13th on ABC". 2019 CMA Awards | Wednesday, November 13 on ABC. Retrieved 2020-05-11.