Jenee Fleenor Is the 2019 CMA Awards Musician of the Year

Jenee Fleenor is the 2019 CMA Musician of the Year. The Country Music Association revealed the category's winner on Wednesday (Nov. 13), ahead of the the 2019 CMA Awards ceremony.

Incredibly, Fleenor's 2019 nomination makes her the first woman ever nominated in the category of Musician of the Year -- an award that, for those keeping score at home, dates back to 1967! She is also the first fiddler to make the final nominees list since 2003.

The 2019 CMA Awards will have a heavy focus on honoring the country genre's iconic women, so Fleenor's landmark win is a sweet and particularly poignant victory. In 2019, her work in the studio was celebrated and increasingly ubiquitous: You can hear her fiddle licks on the radio on hits including Blake Shelton's "I Lived It," Cody Johnson's "On My Way to You" and Jon Pardi's album-opening earworm, "Heartache Medication."

Fleenor has previously toured with the likes of Martina McBride and Terri Clark, and over the years, she has become a noted songwriter, too. She's penned tracks for Dolly Parton, Gretchen Wilson, Del McCoury and more.

Competition for Musician of the Year was tight this year, with a talented roster of players in the running: Mac McAnally, Paul Franklin, Ilya Toshinsky and Derek Wells were all nominated in the category.

Unforgettable CMA Awards Controversies

These Country Stars Have the Most CMA Awards