The Worst-Dressed Stars At The 2025 CMAs

Nashville celebrated one of its biggest events of the year on November 19, 2025 — the Country Music Association Awards. The music industry's biggest stars showed up dressed in their finest, with cowboy hats and boots stretching as far as the eye can see. Per usual, the awards show was held at the Bridgestone Arena, with Lainey Wilson as this year's host, which meant a host of outfit changes throughout the night. Unfortunately, while Wilson took home three CMA awards, not all of her looks were winners, with a couple of bad fails landing her on our worst-dressed list.

Wilson wasn't the only one whose outfits left us scratching our heads, and there were plenty of other country singers with red-carpet fashion fails. We love it when celebs take creative license with their looks, but sometimes they go a bit too far and look like they threw on everything at once. Other times, stars show up with such underwhelming outfits that we're left wondering if they even bothered trying. The CMAs never fail to disappoint with some of the worst-dressed celebs, and this year, we've lassoed up those who should have used their boots for walking toward their closet for an outfit change.

As the host of the 2025 CMAs, Lainey Wilson knew to turn it up with her red-carpet look. While we love the teal and cobalt blue combo, her sequined jumpsuit was giving Las Vegas instead of Nashville. Wilson has never said no to bellbottoms, but we wish she had chosen a pair with fewer embellishments to match the sheer cape more seamlessly. Along with the sequins, the "Go Home W U" singer's belt was superfluous and messed with the proportions of the outfit as a whole. What could have been an elevated look ended up just looking tacky.

As the wife of country crooner Tyler Hubbard, Hayley Hubbard is his de facto plus-one for all major industry events, but this time she failed to step it up. The wellness influencer showed up to the 2025 CMAs in a long satin gown with a mock turtleneck that resembled an old-fashioned nightgown. Satin typically trends in the fall, but Hayley's plain dress was simply too plain for an awards show. With minimal jewelry and a simple updo, there was no wow factor to this look, but on the bright side, she could just hop into bed when she gets home and call it a night.

Country singer Angie K and her wife, Marissa Boucher, rolled up to the CMA Awards in similar mini dresses, which can be a safe choice for the red carpet. However, the "Sunsets" singer opted for a structured blazer dress that was more suited to a date night rather than the CMAs, and she could have elevated her 'fit with more appropriate footwear. Rather than a pair of plain black cowboy boots, stiletto heels or platform sandals would have dressed up her look. Boucher chose the platform option, which went perfectly with her dress, but we wish she had left the purple tights at home.

Was Lainey Wilson gardening backstage at the 2025 CMAs? Because it certainly looked like it when she accepted her award for entertainer of the year. For some reason, the "Peace, Love, and Cowboys" singer decided to don a pair of brownish-green leather gloves that had a rubber-like appearance. Not only were they an odd addition to an already-confusing outfit, but the gloves were also large and ill-fitting. In addition, Wilson's D-ring belt did nothing for her printed jumpsuit, which hung on her frame in an unflattering way. Suffice it to say, the whole look needed to be buried in the dirt.

Bluegrass banjo player Alison Brown arrived at the 2025 CMAs with Steve Martin, who showed off his own impressive strumming skills onstage with her during the show. While the "Only Murders in the Building" actor looked dapper and red-carpet ready in his cobalt blue suit, Brown sadly missed the mark with her printed paisley dress. Not only was the large pattern outdated, but the short length and loose skirt were way too casual for such a formal event. Instead of the CMAs, Brown looked ready to chaperone a high school dance, complete with an awkward pose next to her co-chaperone.

Kimberly Perry almost had it right with her white column gown and strappy black bralette top. The dress alone would have been a perfectly understated, yet elegant look, but then she had to add puffy lace half-sleeves. Ruching at the shoulders added unnecessary bulk to her frame and took away from the simplicity of the dress. On top of that, Perry wore a pair of long black leather gloves, which had us wondering how chilly it was in Nashville that evening. We're not sure what she was going for here, but the gloves were not it.

We know that Southern belles love big hair, and country singer Mackenzie Carpenter had hers teased to the heavens at the 2025 CMAs. Dressed in a sparkly black dress complete with a big satin bow at the side, the "I'm Not Pretty" singer looked ready to answer questions from a beauty pageant judge rather than walk the red carpet at the awards show. If she had ditched the oversized ribbon and had a sleeker 'do, Carpenter's whole look would have been much more elegant.

Kelsea Ballerini's red-carpet dress at the CMAs was perfection. From the bright crimson color to the dreamy gathered tulle at the bodice, it was one of her best looks to date. Unfortunately, she decided on an outfit change for the show and chose a sparkly, avant-garde hooded dress. While the rest of the 'fit was fine, the low neck draped down to her navel and bunched up in an unflattering way. Whoever designed the dress needs to be told that all the extra fabric around the midsection wasn't a good idea. While Ballerini's first gown was a winner, sadly, her switch-up was a flop.