When the Country Music Association passes out its annual trophies on Wednesday night, there’s perhaps no category as unpredictable as vocal duo of the year.
Brothers Osborne started a winning streak in 2016 that Dan + Shay interrupted in 2019, only to have TJ Osborne and John Osborne reclaim the trophy in 2021.
Fast-forward to 2024, and Brooks & Dunn unexpectedly reemerged to win the category for the 15th time, their first since 2006.
With the three bands vying for the win in 2025, Shay Mooney won’t even begin to guess who will take it home this year.
“There’s so many people that we love and who are just killing it out there,” he says. “In this category, just to be nominated — we’re honored. And I feel like at this point in our career, you just try not think too much about winning and losing.”
“It’s the unfortunate thing about award shows,” Shay continues. “There’s always gonna be a winner and a loser. It’s like, it sucks to lose. But honestly, you have to put yourself in that frame of mind and go back to before we were ever invited to the CMA Awards. We got here, we were invited to the dance, and that’s enough for us right now.”
Maddie & Tae and The War and Treaty round out this year’s duo nominees.
“That’s a crazy thing to be among all of those incredible artists that are in our duo category,” Shay adds. “So we truly are grateful to just still be here, man.”
Tune in to see who wins when the 59th CMA Awards air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday starting at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.
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