It's been a while, but Taylor Swift is officially back in the running for a CMA Award.
Swift's "I Knew It, I Knew You," written for Disney and Pixar's "Toy Story 5," earned a nomination for single of the year at the 2026 CMA Awards. She is credited as a producer alongside Jack Antonoff with Laura Sisk as the mix engineer.
Swift is up against two songs from Ella Langley, "Be Her" and "Choosin' Texas," as well as Lainey Wilson's "Somewhere Over Laredo" and Cody Johnson's "The Fall." The recognition comes days after the song climbed to No. 1 on country radio, nearly 12 years after Swift made her definitive move from country to pop with "1989."
For Swift, the nomination brings things back to life with the country music industry that launched her career.
Swift wrote "I Knew It, I Knew You" with Jack Antonoff, and the pair co-produced the recording. The song was released in June as part of the "Toy Story 5" soundtrack, marking her most significant return to country radio in years.
When are the CMAs?
The 2026 CMA Awards air live Nov. 18 at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on ABC.
How does CMA voting work?
The CMA nomination required support from the country music industry. More than 7,000 professional members of the Country Music Association were eligible to vote this year.
"I Knew It, I Knew You" first received enough write-in votes to advance from the opening ballot before landing among 22 recordings on the second ballot. Members then selected up to five candidates. The five highest vote-getters became the official nominees.
Swift's CMA history stretches back nearly two decades. She won the Horizon Award, now called new artist of the year, in 2007, then entertainer of the year in both 2009 and 2011. She received the CMA's Pinnacle Award in 2013 and won song of the year in 2017 as the sole writer of Little Big Town's "Better Man."
Her most recent CMA nomination came in 2022 for the "I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault)" music video.
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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Taylor Swift earns first CMA nomination in four years
