Morgan Wallen, AI, Beyoncé & More

Morgan Wallen’s dominance in country music — and really all music — continued in 2025. Billboard named Wallen its top artist of 2025 on the year-end charts, making him the first male country act to lead the list since Garth Brooks in 1993. He also tops the year-end Top Country Artists chart for the fifth straight year, as he occupies the Nos. 1, 2 and 3 slots on Billboard’s year-end Top Country Albums chart. His current album, I’m The Problem, debuted at No. 1 on Top Country Albums upon its release in May and has stayed there. His achievements also include placing more songs on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the chart year than any other act in any genre. Wallen had 41 songs on the chart, including at No. 1, with “What I Want” (featuring Tate McRae).

Cindy Mabe, who became the first woman to lead a Nashville major label group in 2023, departed UMG Nashville (UMGN) at the end of January and was replaced by Mike Harris as CEO. The move marked a return to UMGN for Harris, who had served as executive vp/COO at the label until his departure in September 2024. Additionally, Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb joined the company as chief creative officer. Then in April, UMGN, home to Chris Stapleton, Eric Church, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan and Jordan Davis, rebranded as Music Corporation of America (MCA).  

It was a rough year for Nashville’s tightknit publishing and songwriting community. In January, highly respected Warner Chappell Music Nashville president/CEO Ben Vaughn died, leaving the music community reeling and without one of its biggest champions. (Warner Chappell Nashville named former Big Loud chief operating officer Austen Adams president in August.) Then, in September, Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame member and Grammy Award winner Brett James, who penned such hits as Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus, Take the Wheel” and Kenny Chesney’s “When the Sun Goes Down,” died in a plane crash.  

In November, Cris Lacy rose to the role of chair and president of the newly rebranded Warner Records Nashville, making her the first woman to solely lead the label. Lacy was previously named co-chair/co-president of the division alongside Ben Kline in 2023 and then served as co-chair/co-president with Gregg Nadel starting in September 2024 until taking the solo reins. Lacy’s tenure at Warner, home to such artists as Kenny Chesney, Cody Johnson and Ashley McBryde, started as an A&R executive two decades ago after a career in publishing.  

Beyoncé’s country-influenced 2024 album Cowboy Carter already made history last year when its first single, “Texas Hold ‘Em,” became the first song by a Black woman to top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. But it continued to blaze in 2025: In February, Cowboy Carter finally snagged Beyoncé a long-overdue album of the year trophy, but she also swept the country categories, winning three of the four awards. Bey took home the Grammy for best country duo/group performance, best country song and best country album, marking the first time a Black woman took home the best country album award.  Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter Tour was also the top country tour of 2025, grossing $407.6 million.  

In other Grammy news, in June, the Recording Academy announced that the existing best country album category would be renamed best contemporary country album and that a new category, best traditional country album, would be added. The move helped bring the country categories more in line with other genres, which separate contemporary and traditional albums or performances, including R&B, pop and blues. 

In a sign of the times and of what’s to come, in November, one-third of the top 10 of Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales chart was composed of AI-assisted artists, including “Walk My Walk” by Breaking Rust, which topped the chart. Elsewhere, AI-assisted artist Cain Walker occupied the No. 3 and No. 9 slots with “Don’t Tread on Me” and “Ain’t My Problem.” Though the numbers remain small — “Walk My Walk” sold more than 2,000 copies for the week, according to Luminate — the situation still spread concern through much of the Nashville music community, which prides itself on using real musicians and serving as a songwriting haven. 

While women continue to fight to be heard a country radio, this year’s CMA Awards nominations put women at the forefront: Ella Langley, Megan Moroney and Lainey Wilson led all nominees with six nominations each, marking the first time that three women have been the awards show’s top nominees. Moroney picked up nominations in categories including album of the year (Am I Okay?) and female vocalist of the year. Among Wilson’s nominations were nods in the entertainer of the year, album of the year (for Whirlwind) and female vocalist of the year, all three of which she won. Langley won three accolades, including single and song of the year (for “You Look Like You Love Me” with Riley Green). 

While Lainey Wilson had a big night at the CMA Awards, she did equally well at the Academy of Country Music Awards (ACM Awards), becoming the dominant woman artist in country music, tying records that have stood for more than a decade. In addition to winning entertainer of the year at the CMAs, she also won the honor at the ACMs. The wins marked her second entertainer of the year feat at both shows, putting her in legendary company. Wilson is only the third woman to have won CMA Awards’ entertainer of the year twice, following Taylor Swift and Barbara Mandrell. And at this year’s ACM Awards, she became the first woman to win entertainer of the year consecutively since Swift did so in 2011-2012. She also hosted the CMA Awards, making her only the third woman to solo-host the show after Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire. 

The Grand Ole Opry celebrated its centennial anniversary in 2025, commemorating 100 years of championing country music’s biggest stars and brightest newcomers while uplifting the genre’s legacy. Since 1925, the Grand Ole Opry has aired every Saturday night on 650 AM WSM — never missing a broadcast — and become the longest-running radio show in U.S. history. The Opry has aired from various locations over the past century, including the Ryman Auditorium from 1943 to 1974 and the Grand Ole Opry House since 1974. Along the way, the Opry has brought together music lovers and their favorite artists, from icons such as Johnny Cash and Loretta Lynn to contemporary stars including Luke Combs, Lainey Wilson and Carrie Underwood. 

Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood and Zach Bryan all set records in 2025, with Combs being named the highest-certified country artist in history by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). According to the RIAA, Combs has sold and streamed a combined 168 million units (combined albums and singles). And in October, the RIAA declared Underwood the highest RIAA-certified female country artist with more than 95 million units. Meanwhile, Bryan made history this year by setting the record for the largest ticketed concert in U.S. history in any genre, according to AEG Presents, which promoted Bryan’s Sept. 27 headlining concert at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, where he played for 112,408 fans.