At the 58th Annual CMA Awards on Nov. 20, two couples have a shot at winning their first CMA Vocal Duo of the Year—The War and Treaty and Maddie & Tae. But they're up against three duos that have each won multiple times in the class: Brooks & Dunn, Dan + Shay and Brothers Osborne.
The Country Music Association's Vocal Duo of the Year honor was first presented in 1970, three years after the inaugural awards ceremony in 1967. According to the CMA's official website, the Vocal Duo of the Year award “is based on the musical performance of the duo as a unit on a country single or album, as well as their overall contribution to country music.” The current rules define a duo as “an act consisting of two individuals, who usually perform together and neither of whom is primarily known as a solo artist.”
Until 1988, the Vocal Duo of the Year category was intended to honor collaborations between solo artists rather than established duos. This changed in 1988 when collaborations were moved to the new Vocal Event of the Year category and Vocal Duo of the Year focused on established duets.
Almost all solo artists who have won multiple times in the category have done so with the same partner, such as Conway Twitty with Loretta Lynn (four wins) or Kenny Rogers and Dottie West (two wins). The exception is Willie Nelson, who is a three-time winner of Vocal Duo of the Year, but each win was with a different duet partner: Waylon Jennings (1976), Merle Haggard (1983) and Julio Iglesias (1984).
Some of country music's most iconic duet partners have never been winners in the category. George Jones and Tammy Wynette were nominated nine times between 1971 and 1981, but never won duo of the year. Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash were nominated in 1970 and 1971, but lost both years to Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner. 1971 was a highly competitive year in the category, with contenders such as Parton/Wagoner, Cash/Carter Cash, Loretta Lynn/Conway Twitty, George Jones/Tammy Wynette and Charlie Louvin/Melba Montgomery.
Here's a look at the duos that have won the CMA Award for Vocal Duo of the Year multiple times.
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Dan + Shay, 2
Victory: 2019, 2020
Dan + Shay's Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney took home vocal duo of the year twice, ending Brothers Osborne's winning streak. In 2019, the same year that Dan + Shay earned their first duo of the year, they also scored the Billboard Hot 100 top five hit “10,000 Hours,” a collaboration with Justin Bieber and a four-week run on the Hot Country Songs chart. “Tequila” topper. “10,000 Hours” spent 21 weeks at the top of the Hot Country Songs chart between 2019 and 2020. Mooney and Smyers first met at a party in Nashville in 2012 and quickly began writing songs and performing together. In 2013, they released their debut single, “19 You + Me”.
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Kenny Rogers and Dottie West, 2
Victory: 1978, 1979
As Rogers had his own huge hits on the country charts, including “The Gambler” and “Lucille,” he also teamed up with West on a pair that brought them both a string of popular collaborations. Beginning with 1978's “Every Time Two Fools Collide” and “Anyone Who Isn't Me Tonight,” their hits continued with songs such as the remake of Sonny & Cher's pop hit “All I Ever Need Is You” and the performance them to Tammy. Wynette's classic 'Til I Can Make It On My Own'.
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Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner, 2
Victory: 1970, 1971
In 1967, Wagoner welcomed then-newcomer Parton as a performer in his The Porter Wagoner Show. The vocal chemistry between the two was quickly apparent, and they released more than 20 duets together, including 1969's “Just Someone I Used to Know,” 1973's “If Teardrops Were Pennies,” and 1974's first on the Hot Country Singles chart. “Please Don't”. Stop Loving Me.” Parton and Wagoner were the inaugural winners of the CMA's Vocal Duo of the Year honor when it was presented in 1970 and won again the following year.
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David Frizzell and Shelly West, 2
Victory: 1981, 1982
Frizzell and West earned a pair of Vocal Duo of the Year wins in the early 1980s, thanks to hits like “You're The Reason God Made Oklahoma,” (included in the Clint Eastwood film Any way you can), “A Texas State of Mind” and “I Just Came Here to Dance”. West is the daughter of another multiple winner in this category, Dottie West.
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Florida Georgia Line, 3
Victory: 2013-15
On the strength of their hits, including “Cruise,” which was eventually certified RIAA Diamond, the duo earned a trio of consecutive wins in the category. Florida-born Brian Kelley and Georgia-born Tyler Hubbard first met in 2008 while both were students at Belmont University in Nashville. They released a pair of independently released EPs, with “Cruise” included in 2012 It's exactly what we do The EP and later their Republic Nashville debut Here's to the good timeswhich became their success. They followed up with hits like “HOLY” and “This is How We Roll”. For the past two years, both Kelley and Tyler have focused on their respective solo careers.
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The Jads, 4
Victory: 1988-91
Mother-daughter duo The Judds won vocal duo of the year from 1988 to 1991, thanks to hits like “Love Can Build a Bridge,” “Young Love (Strong Love)” and “Turn It Loose,” too. as well as their charismatic concert performances. The duo, consisting of Naomi Judd and Wynonna Judd, are the first and only all-female duo to win in this category. Remarkably, The Judds have won either Vocal Group of the Year or Vocal Duo of the Year for seven consecutive years. in the first three of those years, the Vocal Duo of the Year category was only for individual collaborations between solo artists, not full duets. This change came in 1988, with the category being dedicated to established twins.
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Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, 4
Victory: 1972-75
One of country music's most popular duet collaborations of all time, thanks to collaborations like “Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man” and “After the Fire Is Gone,” Lynn and Twitty collected four honors for Vocal Duo of the Year . They were nominated and/or won in the category for twelve consecutive years, from 1971 to 1982.
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Sugarland, 5
Victory: 2007-11
In 2007, Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush ended Brooks & Dunn's nearly 14-year winning streak, securing their first win in their first year as a duo. (Sugarland previously recorded as a trio, with Kristen Hall, scoring nominations in the Vocal Group of the Year category in 2005 and 2006.). As a duo, Sugarland also scored CMA nominations in categories such as Artist of the Year (in 2008), Single of the Year (for “Stay” in 2008), and Album of the Year (for Love within in 2009).
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Osborne Brothers, 6
Win: 2016-18; 2021-23
Reigning category winners Brothers Osborne are poised for their seventh category win at the 2024 CMA Awards. The fraternal duo of TJ and John Osborne first won this honor in 2016, boosted by their Billboard Country Airplay success No. 2 “Stay a Little Longer,” ending Florida Georgia Line's three-year winning streak.
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Brooks & Dunn, 14
Victory: 1992-99; 2001-06
Brooks & Dunn won Vocal Duo of the Year in their first year of nomination, breaking The Judds' winning streak, and held the title for an almost uninterrupted 14-year run, except for 2000, when the honor went to Montgomery Gentry. Brooks & Dunn's Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn originally moved to Nashville to pursue solo careers until music executive Tim DuBois suggested they join forces to become a duo. With songs like “Hard Workin' Man,” “Neon Moon” and the 2006 CMA Single of the Year winner “Believe,” the duo has by far the most wins in this category, becoming so synonymous with the category that the CMA Vocal Duo of the Year trophy is sometimes nicknamed “The Brooks & Dunn Award”. Brooks & Dunn also took home the CMA Awards Entertainer of the Year trophy in 1996.
