Why Blake Shelton & Gwen Stefani Are Skipping CMAs 2025

Martin Holmes November 19, 2025, 9:17 am

Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani — Jason Kempin/Getty Images for the Grand Ole Opry

What To Know

Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani are skipping the 2025 CMA Awards despite Shelton being nominated for the Musical Event of the Year.
The couple will watch the ceremony from home, with no official reason given for their absence, though both have busy schedules and recent music releases.
Earlier this year, the pair received backlash over their pre-recorded performances at the 2025 American Music Awards.

Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani will not be attending tonight’s (Wednesday, November 19) 2025 Country Music Association Awards, despite the former being nominated for an award.

According to E! Online, a source claimed, “Blake and Gwen will be watching the CMA on their TV this year.”

This year’s 59th annual CMA Awards will be held at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, and will be broadcast live on ABC (streaming the next day on Hulu). Former CMA award winner and six-time nominee, Lainey Wilson, is set to host the star-studded ceremony.

Shelton is nominated for one award in the Musical Event of the Year category for his feature on Post Malone‘s hit track “Pour Me a Drink.”

In fact, Shelton isn’t just nominated, he’s already a winner! CMA revealed early winners on Wednesday morning in two categories, including the CMA Musical Event of the Year. Malone and Shelton earned the trophy, beating out Riley Green & Ella Langley, Brandon Lake & Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson & Carrie Underwood, and Megan Moroney & Kenny Chesney.

While Shelton and Stefani won’t be in attendance, several other stars are set to take to the stage, including Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Kelsea Ballerini, Brandi Carlile, and Luke Combs.

2025 CMA Awards: Date, Host, Nominees, Performers, More Details

It’s not clear why the couple, who married in 2021, are skipping this year’s ceremony. However, both have jam-packed schedules. Stefani recently released the new Christmas songs “Hot Cocoa” and “Shake the Snow Globe,” while Shelton released his 13th album earlier this year and continues to help run the Ole Red restaurants.

The stars might also want to dodge potential backlash after their last awards show appearance was surrounded by controversy. Back in May, Shelton and Stefani were announced as performers for the 2025 American Music Awards. However, both performances were pre-recorded and played on the big screen at BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.

“We’ve been lied to…. LIKE WHATTT,” wrote one TikTok user at the time. “Why would they say performing live when they aren’t even here??”

“When Blake Shelton is ‘performing’ at the [American Music Awards] but there’s no Blake Shelton in sight,” posted another alongside a video recording of Shelton on the big screen.