THELMA & JAMES Land First CMA Vocal Duo of the Year Nomination

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The married duo will perform at the CMA Awards and compete for the honor at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

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Rising duo Thelma & James earned their very first Country Music Association nomination for Vocal Duo of The Year, which will broadcast live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on November 18. Nominated alongside them in the category are duos Brooks & Dunn, Brothers Osborne, Dan + Shay and Muscadine Bloodline.

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Just last week, the duo released new song ' The Way That It Wasn't ' that All Country News called 'cinematic country music.' This year, Thelma & James also delivered unconditional love song ' Home In Your Broken Heart ,' ' Alternate Ending ' and ' If You Ain't In Love By Now ' of which Country Central noted the duo to be, '...country music's most devastatingly tender of partnerships.' This all comes after a whirlwind year and the release of their debut EP Starting Over last fall.

In addition to their CMA Award nomination, the band will perform at the 2026 CCMAs next week. Thelma & James are also up for five CCMA awards including Duo of the Year, Songwriters of the Year and more. Earlier this summer the pair wrapped their first stadium tour with Luke Combs and earned an ACM nomination for Duo of the Year.

Not realizing the best writing partner was right under their noses the whole time, their first co-write in over a decade produced viral track ' Happy Ever After You ' that ignited the spark of their partnership. The married duo made waves online when they shared the impromptu song and quickly gained support from Kendall Jenner , John Mayer , Luke Combs and more.

Thelma & James have quickly turned an unexpected musical partnership into one of country music's most talked-about new acts. Formed by married Nashville-based singer-songwriters MacKenzie Porter and Jake Etheridge , the duo recently earned their first ACM Award nomination and wrapped their first stadium tour with Luke Combs. Not realizing the best writing partner was right under their noses the whole time, their first co-write in over a decade produced ' Happy Ever After You .' Evolving organically from an impromptu video that earned praise from fellow artists like John Mayer , Brandi Carlile and more, the song has garnered over 30 million global streams since its release. The pair signed to Big Loud Records in 2025 are doubling down on their fortuitous musical chapter with the release of debut EP Starting Over and more new music on the horizon.

Photo Credit: Bree Fish

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/bwwmusic/article/THELMA-JAMES-Earn-First-CMA-Award-Nomination-for-Vocal-Duo-20260910)._