From CMA New Artist Award Nominees to the Country Music Hall of Fame: 14 Artists Who Made the Journey

It's the journey every new artist in country music dreams of making. 10/26/2026 (L-R) Tim McGraw and Randy Travis attend the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum Class of 2026 Medallion Ceremony at Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum on October 18, 2026 in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum As Avery Anna, Carter Faith, Emily Ann Roberts, Tucker Wetmore and Stephen Wilson Jr. settle into their seats at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 18 for this year’s CMA Awards, anxiously awaiting to hear which of them will take home the award for new artist of the year, they should keep in mind that this is just the start of their journey. If they’re lucky, their careers will continue for decades, and if they’re really lucky, they’ll one day be enshrined in the Country Music Hall of Fame. The CMA introduced the Horizon Award – the award’s original name — in 1981; it was renamed new artist of the year in 2008. Since then, 14 artists who were nominated in that category have gone on to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The most recent case is Tim McGraw, who was nominated for the Horizon Award in 1994 and was elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame this year. You may have noticed that I said McGraw was nominated for the Horizon Award. He didn’t win. He’s not alone in that. Nine of the 14 artists who were nominated for the Horizon Award and went on to be inducted into the Hall of Fame didn’t win the newcomer award. Patty Loveless was nominated twice and lost both times – to Ricky Van Shelton in 1988 and to Clint Black in 1989. (Neither of those men has yet been inducted into the Country Music HOF, though they may be in the future.) Moral of the story: If you’re nominated for a new artist award and don’t win, keep going. There are many chapters ahead of you. Garth Brooks was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame just 22 years after he was nominated for (and won) the Horizon Award – the fastest climb of any artist. Other artists who made this climb quickly are George Strait (23 years), Kenny Chesney (26 years) and Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn (27 years each). Here’s a complete list of the 14 artists who were nominated for the CMA’s Horizon Award and went on to be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. We show the year they were nominated for (and in some cases, won) the award; the year they were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, their number of CMA Awards to date; their number of No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart to date; and their number of No. 1 albums on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart to date. We’ll update this list in years to come as more Horizon Award, and eventually new artist of the year nominees/winners, are inducted into the Hall. Ricky Skaggs Horizon Award winner: 1982 Hall of Fame inductee: 2018 Number of CMA Awards: 5 (plus 3 with the Ricky Skaggs Band) Number of No. 1 songs: 11 Number of No. 1 albums: 4 John Anderson Horizon Award winner: 1983 Hall of Fame inductee: 2024 Number of CMA Awards: 3 Number of No. 1 songs: 5 Number of No. 1 albums: 0 Notes: Anderson, who was nominated for the Horizon Award in 1982 before winning it in 1983, died on Oct. 21, 2026 at age 71. Reba McEntire Horizon Award nominee: 1983 (lost to John Anderson) Hall of Fame inductee: 2011 Number of CMA Awards: 6 Number of No. 1 songs: 24 Number of No. 1 albums: 13 George Strait Horizon Award nominee: 1983 (lost to John Anderson) Hall of Fame inductee: 2006 Number of CMA Awards: 17 Number of No. 1 songs: 44 (a record) Number of No. 1 albums: 27 (a record) The Judds Horizon Award winner: 1984 Hall of Fame inductee: 2021 Number of CMA Awards: 9 Number of No. 1 songs: 14 Number of No. 1 albums: 4 Notes: Naomi Judd died on April 30, 2022 at age 76. Ray Charles Horizon Award nominee: 1985 (lost to Sawyer Brown) Hall of Fame inductee: 2016 Number of CMA Awards: 0 Number of No. 1 songs: 1 Number of No. 1 albums: 1 Notes: Charles was nominated for a Horizon Award because of the success of his album Friendship and its hit single “Seven Spanish Eyes,” with Willie Nelson. But he had been a music legend for more than 25 years at that point. Charles died on June 10, 2004 at age 73. Randy Travis Horizon Award winner: 1986 Hall of Fame inductee: 2016 Number of CMA Awards: 5 Number of No. 1 songs: 16 Number of No. 1 albums: 5 Patty Loveless Horizon Award nominee: 1988 (lost to Ricky Van Shelton); 1989 (lost to Clint Black) Hall of Fame inductee: 2023 Number of CMA Awards: 5 Number of No. 1 songs: 5 Number of No. 1 albums: 0 Keith Whitley Horizon Award nominee: 1989 (lost to Clint Black) Hall of Fame inductee: 2022 Number of CMA Awards: 2 Number of No. 1 songs: 5 Number of No. 1 albums: 0 Notes: Whitley died on May 9, 1989 at age 34. His Horizon Award nomination was posthumous. Garth Brooks Horizon Award winner: 1990 Hall of Fame inductee: 2012 Number of CMA Awards: 14 Number of No. 1 songs: 19 Number of No. 1 albums: 17 Alan Jackson Horizon Award nominee: 1990 (lost to Garth Brooks) Hall of Fame inductee: 2017 Number of CMA Awards: 16 Number of No. 1 songs: 26 Number of No. 1 albums: 14 Brooks & Dunn Horizon Award nominee: 1992 (lost to Suzy Bogguss) Hall of Fame inductee: 2019 Number of CMA Awards: 20 (plus 2 for Ronnie Dunn as an individual) Number of No. 1 songs: 20 Number of No. 1 albums: 7 Tim McGraw Horizon Award nominee: 1994 (lost to John Michael Montgomery) Hall of Fame inductee: 2026 Number of CMA Awards: 11 Number of No. 1 songs: 26 Number of No. 1 albums: 17 Kenny Chesney Horizon Award nominee: 1999 (lost to Jo Dee Messina) Hall of Fame inductee: 2025 Number of CMA Awards: 11 Number of No. 1 songs: 23 Number of No. 1 albums: 17 Get weekly rundowns straight to your inbox Sign Up