Carrie Underwood's announcement that she was through hosting the CMA Awards after 12 successful years seemed sudden, but was it? And who's going to be the host at the 2020 CMAs?

Taste of Country's Billy Dukes joins Adison Haager with a theory for 2020 that's supported by recent evidence. We may have been staring at the next hosts for several years and not even realized it, but right now, the focus is on Underwood and her legacy and what the heck she meant when she said, "I’ve got so many exciting things coming in the new year and beyond, and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for all of us."

Her Monday afternoon (Dec. 30) announcement was shocking, but in retrospect, the "Drinking Alone" singer may have been signaling for months or years. Consider this: when she took the job in 2008 she was 25 years old and single and very much beginning her career. Songs from Carnival Ride were being promoted at radio and her biggest hit, "Before He Cheats," was just two years old.

Now she's married with two children and a few heavy ups and downs in between. She's switched record labels, written a book and re-focused her songwriting on more subtle drama that comes in everyday life. Follow Carrie Underwood on Instagram and find a woman who's forever preaching the importance of balance and good health, gratitude and inner peace. This isn't a woman who seeks out flash, nor does she need it like she (arguably) did in 2008.

Did not winning the 2019 CMA Entertainer of the Year award play a role in this decision? That's the big question, and there's an answer in the video above. At 3:20, find out who looks to be a front-runner for the hosting job in 2020.

Who even decides the hosts for the CMA Awards?

No announcement has been made about the date, time, place or hosts for the 2020 CMA Awards. Underwood has just two tour dates scheduled for 2020, but is releasing a new book. Find Your Path will be out in March 2020. Her most recent album is Cry Pretty, released in September 2018.

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