When you think about some of the country stars nominated for CMA Awards this year, it's easy to forget that that there was a time when they were coming to the show for the very first time. In other words, this ain't their first rodeo.

So we collected some of our favorite throwback pictures -- from the CMA Awards red carpet and other events leading up to the show -- to remind us all that the nominees have worked hard for years to get where they are now. Nominees like Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban first went to the CMAs almost two decades ago.

You can file these between When They Sat in the Nosebleeds and When They Made It Big.

​Kenny Chesney in 2000

Keith Urban in 2000

​Dierks Bentley in 2003

Carrie Underwood in 2005

Miranda Lambert in 2005

Jason Aldean in 2006

Luke Bryan in 2007

Chris Stapleton in 2007

Thomas Rhett in 2012

Kacey Musgraves in 2013

Kelsea Ballerini in 2015

Maren Morris in 2016

Luke Combs in 2017