Carrie Underwood upped her career total of CMA Award nominations to 41 after being in the running this year for the evening's top prize, Entertainer of the Year. However, for the first time since 2005, she wasn't in attendance at one of the music industry's most prestigious awards shows.
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She was the only Entertainer of the Year nominee to not attend and perform on Wednesday (Nov. 8), with the rest of the field consisting of Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Chris Stapleton and winner Lainey Wilson. The lack of Underwood on the red carpet and the stage was met with some fan outrage online. However, Underwood was gracious leading up to the show about her nomination.
"It is, I mean, obviously such an honor to be nominated in Entertainer of the Year," Underwood told ABC (as quoted by Hollywood Life). "Obviously, that's such a tough category to be in, because there's just so — I don't even want to call it competition — there's just so many hardworking artists out there that are just pouring themselves, and their time and their energy and their love and their artistry into what they do."
No word yet on why Underwood didn't attend. Her Reflection: The Las Vegas Residency string of dates resumes on Nov. 29.
Underwood was also absent from this year's ACM Awards, held May 11 in Frisco, Texas. She performed "Hate My Heart" in April at the CMT Music Awards.
In the 18 years since her American Idol breakthrough, Underwood has won nine CMA Awards. That tally includes New Artist of the Year (then called the Horizon Award) in 2006. She's a five-time Female Vocalist of the Year, winning in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2016 and 2018. She ranks second all-time in total wins in the category, behind seven-time honoree Miranda Lambert.
