BMI Country Awards 2025 Honor Country Music Icons And Hitmakers At 73rd Annual Event
The coveted event celebrated the 50 most-performed songs in country music and shined a spotlight on iconic figures who have shaped the genre.
Bailey Zimmerman, Ashley Cooke, Riley Green; Photo by Getty Images for BMI
The 2025 BMI Country Awards brought together the voices and storytellers behind country music’s biggest hits for an evening of celebration, recognition and heartfelt tributes.
The 73rd annual ceremony, hosted by BMI President & CEO Mike O’Neill, Chief Revenue & Creative Officer Mike Steinberg, and Nashville VP of Creative Clay Bradley, honored the top songwriters and publishers of the past year and celebrated the 50 most-performed songs in country music. The night also shined a spotlight on iconic figures who have shaped the genre, including this year’s BMI Icon Award recipient, Clint Black, as well as the Country Songwriter, Song, and Publisher of the Year.
“This is the best award show in Nashville, in my opinion,” Kameron Marlowe gushed. “Getting to honor the songs…and the people that are writing them and the artists that are cutting them and the artists that are writing them as well, it’s really cool and really special and it’s nice to be recognized.”
The evening’s performances brought those achievements, and especially the legacy of Clint Black to life on stage throughout the evening. Midland opened with a stunning rendition of Black’s debut chart-topper, “Better Man,” followed by Jamey Johnson’s delivery of “Untanglin’ My Mind.” Wynonna Judd and Randy Houser also came together for a soulful take on “A Bad Goodbye,” while Riley Green closed the tribute with a stirring rendition of one of Black’s most iconic hits, “Killin’ Time.”
The awards portion of the evening spotlighted the writers and publishers powering the year’s biggest songs, including Charlie Handsome, who was named BMI Country Songwriter of the Year. He is credited with co-writing five of the most-performed songs in country music, including Post Malone’s “Guy For That” featuring Luke Combs, Dylan Scott’s “This Town’s Been Too Good To Us,” Morgan Wallen’s “Love Somebody,” Post Malone and Morgan Wallen’s “I Had Some Help,” and Post Malone’s “Pour Me a Drink” with Blake Shelton.
“I Had Some Help” also earned the title of 2025 BMI Country Song of the Year. Published by Big Loud Mountain, Sony/ATV Songs LLC, and Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., the record-breaking hit debuted at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and held the spot for six weeks.
“We wrote it in December of 2024 and I remember leaving the studio and being like this might actually be my first number one and it ended up breaking everything that I thought would happen for the song. We worked hard on it and I’m really proud to say it is what it is,” shared first-time BMI Award recipient, Chandler Paul Walters.
The 2025 BMI Publisher of the Year accolade went to Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., which published 32 of the 50 most-performed songs of the year, including chart-toppers such as like Luke Bryan’s “Love You, Miss You, Mean It;” Zach Bryan’s “28,” “Pink Skies,” and “Tourniquet;” Jordan Davis’ “I Ain’t Sayin’;” Tyler Hubbard’s “Back Then Right Now;” Ella Langley featuring Riley Green “you look like you love me;” Cody Johnson’s “Dirt Cheap;” Thomas Rhett’s “Beautiful As You;” Jelly Roll’s “Halfway To Hell,” “I Am Not Okay,” and “Liar;” Lainey Wilson’s “4x4xU,” and Bailey Zimmerman’s “Holy Smokes.”
“It feels amazing. We’ve loved the song since we wrote it. It’s just one of those days you wish every day was like that. I love Jessie, I love David and I love Tyler. I look forward to doing more with them. And happy this one went the way it went,” Geoff Warburton shared of writing Tyler Hubbard’s “Back Then Right Now.”
This year also marked a milestone for rising talent, with 38 first-time award recipients recognized for their contributions to country music’s biggest hits. Among them were Seth Ennis’ for Dylan Marlowe and Dylan Scott’s “Boys Back Home,” Thomas Eriksen for Kane Brown’s “Miles On It,” Mackenzie Carpenter for Megan Moroney’s “I’m Not Pretty,” Travis Heidelman for Dasha’s “Austin (Boots Stop Workin’), Carrie Karpinen for Koe Wetzel’s “High Road,” Chase Matthew for his hit “Love You Again,” Nevin Sastry for Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Zach Top for his hit “I Never Lie,” and Tucker Wetmore for his hit “Wind Up Missin’ You.”
“It feels so special. I fell in love with songwriting at a young age and I moved to town to just learn how to write songs and I’m getting close my eighth year in town so to be recognized as a songwriter, it just shows that you’re doing something Right. It’s a nudge to keep going and that means everything to me,” shared Carpenter.
“It’s incredible it really is,” Cooke also reflected. “‘Your Place is the song that keeps on giving…it feels like it went number one so long ago but we’re still celebrating it.”
For a complete list of the 2025 BMI Country Awards winners, please visit https://awards.bmi.com/show/country-2025.
Madeleine O’Connell graduated from North Central College with a bachelors degree in Journalism and Broadcast Communications before deciding to pursue her studies further at DePaul University. There, she earned her masters degree in Digital Communication & Media Arts. O’Connell served as a freelance writer for over two years while also interning with the Academy of Country Music, SiriusXM and Circle Media and assisting with Amazon Music’s Country Heat Weekly podcast. In addition to Country Now, she has been published in American Songwriter, Music Mayhem, and Holler.Country. Madeleine O’Connell is a member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.
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