NASHVILLE—The Country Music Association has revealed the nominees for “The 55th Annual CMA Awards,” with
Eric Church and Chris Stapleton topping the list at five nominations. Other top nominees include Gabby Barrett along with mix engineer Jason Hall and producer Jay Joyce each with four nominations, while Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris and Chris Young secure three nominations each. Combs, Lambert and Carrie Underwood all return alongside Church and Stapleton with nominations in the Entertainer of the Year category, the night’s highest honor. Don’t miss “The 55th Annual CMA Awards” LIVE from Nashville Wednesday, Nov. 10 (8:00 – 11:00 PM/EST) on ABC.
First-time CMA Awards nominees include Brown, Dave Cohen, Corey Crowder, Jordan Davis, Paul DiGiovanni, Matt Dragstrem, Jacob Durrett, Aaron Eshuis, Chris Galland, Mickey Guyton, Charlie Handsome, Nicolette Hayford, Ryan Hurd, Martin Johnson, Emily Landis, Manny Marroquin, Jim McCormick, Sean Moffitt, Travis Nicholson, Drew Parker, Ed Pryor, Teddy Reimer, Running Bear and Aaron Sterling.
“This year, we have the opportunity to honor the superstars, new artists and emerging creators who are paving the way for Country Music,” says Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “These nominees exemplify the creativity, passion and heart that make our Country Music community unlike any other genre. The breadth of voices is evident in this year’s nominations, and we could not be more thrilled to celebrate our deserving nominees in November!”
ERIC CHURCH – FIVE NOMINATIONS
Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year (Heart), Single of the Year (“Hell Of A View”), Song of the Year (“Hell Of A View”)
With 30 CMA Awards nominations already under his belt, reigning Entertainer of the Year Church scores five additional nominations this year, bringing his total to 35 nominations and four previous wins. In addition to a nod in the Entertainer of the Year category again this year, Church claims his eighth nomination in the Male Vocalist of the Year category and fifth nomination in the Album, Single and Song of the Year categories. Heart was produced by Joyce and mixed by Hall and Joyce. “Hell Of A View” was written by Casey Beathard, Church and Monty Criswell, and was also produced by Joyce and mixed by Hall and Joyce.
CHRIS STAPLETON – FIVE NOMINATIONS
Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year (Starting Over), Single of the Year (“Starting Over”), Song of the Year (“Starting Over”)
Bringing his total nominations to 26, Stapleton adds five CMA Awards nominations to his previous 21 in five categories – Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, Single of the Year and Song of the Year, including producer credits in both the Album and Single categories. This brings his total nominations in the Entertainer category to five and tallies his seventh nomination in the Male Vocalist category, which he’s won four times. Starting Over was produced by Dave Cobb and Stapleton, and mixed by Vance Powell. “Starting Over” was written by Mike Henderson and Stapleton, produced by Cobb and Stapleton and mixed by Powell. Stapleton is a 10-time CMA Awards winner.
GABBY BARRETT – FOUR NOMINATIONS
New Artist of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year (“The Good Ones”), Song of the Year (“The Good Ones”)
A first-time nominee in 2020, Barrett adds four nominations this year, bringing her total to six. This marks her second nomination in both the New Artist and Single of the Year categories and her first nod in the Female Vocalist of the Year and Song of the Year categories. “The Good Ones” was written by Barrett, Zach Kale, Landis and McCormick, produced by Ross Copperman and Kale and mixed by Galland and Marroquin.
JASON HALL – FOUR NOMINATIONS
Album of the Year (Heart), Album of the Year (Skeletons), Single of the Year (“Hell Of A View”), Single of the Year (“One Night Standards”)
Hall is a four-time CMA Awards nominee this year, adding to his previous three nominations. Hall tallies two nominations for Single of the Year, with a career total of five in this category, for mixing Church’s “Hell Of A View” and McBryde’s “One Night Standards” alongside Joyce. He receives his first Album of the Year nomination with two nods in the category this year for his work mixing Church’s Heart and Brothers Osborne’s Skeletons.
JAY JOYCE – FOUR NOMINATIONS
Album of the Year (Heart), Album of the Year (Skeletons), Single of the Year (“Hell Of A View”), Single of the Year (“One Night Standards”)
Joyce is now a 24-time CMA Awards nominee. He scores his tenth Single of the Year nomination this year with two in the category for producing Church’s “Hell Of A View” and McBryde’s “One Night Standards.” Both songs were also mixed by Hall and Joyce. With two nods in the category this year, he also collects his 13th Album of the Year nomination for producing Church’s Heart and Brothers Osborne’s Skeletons, which he also mixed with Hall. Joyce has collected four CMA Awards previously – two for both Album of the Year and Single of the Year.
BROTHERS OSBORNE – THREE NOMINATIONS
Vocal Duo of the Year, Album of the Year (Skeletons), Music Video of the Year (“Younger Me”)
Brothers Osborne returns to this year’s ballot in the Vocal Duo of the Year category for the seventh consecutive year – a trophy they’ve claimed three times. This marks the brothers’ first nomination in the Album of the Year category, a nod they receive for Skeletons, while they collect their third nomination in the Music Video of the Year category for “Younger Me.” The “Younger Me” video was directed by Reid Long. Skeletons was produced by Joyce and mixed by Hall and Joyce.
KANE BROWN – THREE NOMINATIONS
Single of the Year (“Famous Friends”), Musical Event of the Year (“Famous Friends”), Music Video of the Year (“Famous Friends”)
A first-time nominee this year, Brown garners three nominations in three categories – Single of the Year, Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year, all for his “Famous Friends” collaboration with Young. “Famous Friends” was produced by Crowder and Young and mixed by Moffitt. The video was directed by Peter Zavadil.
LUKE COMBS – THREE NOMINATIONS
Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Song of the Year (“Forever After All”)
Combs scores three CMA Awards nominations this year, adding to his previous 12 nominations and five wins. The reigning Male Vocalist of the Year is a nominee in three categories this year – Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Song of the Year. This is Combs’ fourth nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year, which he won in 2019 and 2020, his fourth nomination for Song of the Year and his second nomination for the night’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year. “Forever After All” was written by Combs, Parker and Robert Williford.
MIRANDA LAMBERT – THREE NOMINATIONS
Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Musical Event of the Year (“Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)”)
Lambert collects three nominations this year, adding to her previous 55 nominations and 14 wins. She remains the most nominated female artist in CMA Awards history and now ties Brad Paisley for third in overall nominations. She earns her fifth nomination for Entertainer of the Year and 15th nomination for Female Vocalist of the Year, which she has won seven times. Lambert receives her eighth Musical Event of the Year nomination for her Johnson-produced collaboration with Elle King, “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home).”
ASHLEY MCBRYDE – THREE NOMINATIONS
Female Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year (“One Night Standards”), Song of the Year (“One Night Standards”)
Ashley McBryde garners three CMA Awards nominations this year, bringing her total nominations to seven with one win in the New Artist of the Year category in 2019. McBryde is a first-time nominee in two categories – Single of the Year and Song of the Year. This is her second nod in the Female Vocalist of the Year category. “One Night Standards” was written by Hayford, Shane McAnally and McBryde, produced by Joyce and mixed by Hall and Joyce.
MAREN MORRIS – THREE NOMINATIONS
Female Vocalist of the Year, Musical Event of the Year (“Chasing After You”), Music Video of the Year (“Chasing After You”)
With 21 nominations and five wins to her credit, reigning Female Vocalist of the Year Morris claims an additional three nominations this year. She scores her sixth nomination in both the Female Vocalist and Musical Event of the Year categories and her third for Music Video. Her collaboration with husband Hurd, “Chasing After You,” was produced by Eshuis and Reimer. The video was directed by TK McKamy.
CHRIS YOUNG – THREE NOMINATIONS
Single of the Year (“Famous Friends”), Musical Event of the Year (“Famous Friends”), Music Video of the Year (“Famous Friends”)
With three prior nominations, Young adds three more this year, bringing his total to six. Young collects his first nomination for Single and Music Video of the Year, while scoring his second nod in the Musical Event category. Young also earns producer credits in both the Single and Musical Event categories. “Famous Friends” was produced by Crowder and Young and mixed by Moffitt. The video was directed by Zavadil.
Media assets for all CMA Awards categories and nominees are available now at CMApress.com. Further details regarding coverage opportunities for media will be shared in the coming weeks.
Winners of “The 55th Annual CMA Awards” will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible voting CMA members. The third and final ballot will be emailed to CMA members Thursday, Oct. 1. Voting for the CMA Awards final ballot ends Wednesday, Oct. 27 (6:00 PM/CT).
“The 55th Annual CMA Awards” is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the Executive Producer,
Alan Carter is the Director and David Wild is the Head Writer.
“THE 55th ANNUAL CMA AWARDS” – FINAL NOMINEES (by ballot category order):
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
- Eric Church
- Luke Combs
- Miranda Lambert
- Chris Stapleton
- Carrie Underwood
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)
- “Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown
Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young
Mix Engineer: Sean Moffitt - “The Good Ones” – Gabby Barrett
Producers: Ross Copperman, Zach Kale
Mix Engineers: Chris Galland, Manny Marroquin - “Hell Of A View” – Eric Church
Producer: Jay Joyce
Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce - “One Night Standards” – Ashley McBryde
Producer: Jay Joyce
Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce - “Starting Over” – Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)
- 29 – Carly Pearce
Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne and Jimmy Robbins
Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore - Dangerous: The Double Album – Morgan Wallen
Producers: Dave Cohen, Matt Dragstrem, Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome and Joey Moi
Mix Engineer: Joey Moi - Heart – Eric Church
Producer: Jay Joyce
Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce - Skeletons – Brothers Osborne
Producer: Jay Joyce
Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce - Starting Over – Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
SONG OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Songwriter(s)
- “Forever After All”
Songwriters: Luke Combs, Drew Parker, Robert Williford - “The Good Ones”
Songwriters: Gabby Barrett, Zach Kale, Emily Landis, Jim McCormick - “Hell Of A View”
Songwriters: Casey Beathard, Eric Church, Monty Criswell - “One Night Standards”
Songwriters: Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally, Ashley McBryde - “Starting Over”
Songwriters: Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
- Gabby Barrett
- Miranda Lambert
- Ashley McBryde
- Maren Morris
- Carly Pearce
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
- Dierks Bentley
- Eric Church
- Luke Combs
- Thomas Rhett
- Chris Stapleton
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
- Lady A
- Little Big Town
- Midland
- Old Dominion
- Zac Brown Band
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
- Brooks & Dunn
- Brothers Osborne
- Dan + Shay
- Florida Georgia Line
- Maddie & Tae
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artist(s)and Producer(s)
- “Buy Dirt” – Jordan Davis and Luke Bryan
Producer:Paul DiGiovanni - “Chasing After You” – Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris
Producers: Aaron Eshuis, Teddy Reimer - “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” – Elle King & Miranda Lambert
Producer: Martin Johnson - “Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown
Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young - “half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney)
Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
- Jenee Fleenor, Fiddle
- Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar
- Aaron Sterling, Drums
- Ilya Toshinskiy, Banjo
- Derek Wells, Guitar
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artist(s) and Director(s)
- “Chasing After You” – Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris
Director: TK McKamy - “Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown
Director: Peter Zavadil - “Gone” – Dierks Bentley
Directors: Wes Edwards, Travis Nicholson, Ed Pryor, Running Bear, Sam Siske - “half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney)
Director: Patrick Tracy - “Younger Me” – Brothers Osborne
Director: Reid Long
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
- Jimmie Allen
- Ingrid Andress
- Gabby Barrett
- Mickey Guyton
- HARDY
“THE 55th ANNUAL CMA AWARDS” – FINALISTS FOR BROADCAST PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR (by market size):
Weekly National
- “American Country Countdown” (Kix Brooks) – Westwood One
- “Country Countdown USA” (Lon Helton) – Westwood One
- “Country Gold” (Terri Clark) – Westwood One
- “The Crook & Chase Countdown” (Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase) – iHeartMedia
- “Honky Tonkin’ with Tracy Lawrence” (Tracy Lawrence and Patrick Thomas) – Compass Media Networks
Daily National
- “The Big D and Bubba Show” (Derek Haskins, Sean Powell, Patrick Thomas and Carsen Humphreville) – Compass Media Networks
- “The Bobby Bones Show” (Bobby Bones, Amy Brown, “Lunchbox” Dan Chappell, Eddie Garcia, “Morgan #2” Huelsman, “Raymundo” Ray Slater, “Scuba Steve” Stephen Spradlin, “Mike D” Rodriguez and “Utility Hillary” Borden) – Premiere Networks
- “CMT After Midnite” (Cody Alan) – Premiere Networks
- “The Lia Show” (Lia Knight) – Westwood One
- “The Music Row Happy Hour” (Buzz Brainard and Ania Hammar) – Sirius XM Satellite Radio
Major Market
- “Angie Ward” – WUBL, Atlanta, Ga.
- “Double-L” (Lois Lewis) – KNIX, Phoenix, Ariz.
- “Hawkeye in the Morning with Hawkeye and Michelle” (“Hawkeye” Mark Louis Rybczyk and Michelle Rodriguez) – KSCS, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
- “The Morning Bull: George, Mo & Cowboy Dave” (George Lindsey, “Mo” Monica Lunsford and “Cowboy Dave” Bayless) – KILT, Houston, Texas
- “Tampa Bay’s Morning Krewe with J.R., Launa and Kevin” (“J.R.” Jon Jaus, Launa Phillips and Kevin Ebel) – WQYK, Tampa Bay, Fla.
Large Market
- “Jesse Tack” – WUBE, Cincinnati, Ohio
- “Jim, Deb & Kevin” (Jim Denny, Deborah Honeycutt and Kevin Freeman) – WFMS, Indianapolis, Ind.
- “Lexi & Banks” ("Lexi" Elena Abatgis and "Banks" Jared Danielson) – KUBL, Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo, Utah
- “Ridder, Scott and Shannen” (“Ridder” Shaun Ridderbush, Scott Dolphin, and Shannen Oesterreich) – WMIL, Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.
- “The Wayne D Show” (“Wayne D” Danielson and Taylor Rosenberg) – WSIX, Nashville, Tenn.
Medium Market
- “Brent Michaels” – KUZZ, Bakersfield, Calif.
- “Ellis and Bradley Show” (Bill Ellis and Beth Bradley) – WSSL, Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.
- “Julie and DJ in the Morning” (“Julie K” Kansy and “D.J. Thee Trucker” Dale Sellers) – WPCV, Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
- “Mo & StyckMan” (“Mo” Melissa Wagner and “StyckMan” Greg Owens) – WUSY, Chattanooga, Tenn.
- “Steve & Gina In The Morning” (Steve Lundy and Gina Melton) – KXKT, Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa
Small Market
- “Barrett, Fox & Berry” (Bill Barrett, Tim Fox and Tracy Berry) – KKNU, Eugene-Springfield, Ore.
- “Dr. Shane and Tess in the Morning” (Shane Collins and Tess Connell) – WPAP, Panama City, Fla.
- “KTTS Morning Show with Nancy & Rick” (Nancy Simpson and Rick Moore) – KTTS, Springfield, Mo.
- “Liz & Scotty in the Morning” (Liz Del Grosso and Scotty Cox) – KCLR, Columbia, Mo.
- “Steve, Ben and Nikki” (Steve Stroud, Ben Walker and Nikki Thomas) – WXBQ, Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.-Va.
“THE 55th ANNUAL CMA AWARDS” – FINALISTS FOR RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (by market size):
Major Market
- KNIX – Phoenix, Ariz.
- KNUC – Seattle-Tacoma, Wash.
- KYGO – Denver-Boulder, Colo.
- WNSH – New York City, N.Y.
- WXTU – Philadelphia, Pa.
- WYCD – Detroit, Mich.
Large Market
- WFMS – Indianapolis, Ind.
- WMIL – Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.
- WQDR – Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
- WSIX – Nashville, Tenn.
- WUBE – Cincinnati, Ohio
Medium Market
- KATM – Modesto, Calif.
- KXKT – Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa
- KUZZ – Bakersfield, Calif.
- WQMX – Akron, Ohio
- WXCY – Wilmington, Del.
Small Market
- KCLR – Columbia, Mo.
- KTTS – Springfield, Mo.
- WBYT – South Bend, Ind.
- WXBQ – Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.-Va.
- WXFL – Florence-Muscle Shoals, Ala.
- WYCT – Pensacola, Fla.
About the CMA Awards
The first “CMA Awards Banquet and Show” was held in 1967. The following year, the CMA Awards was broadcast for the first time – making it the longest running, annual music awards program on network television. The CMA Awards have aired on ABC since 2006. ABC is the network home of the CMA Awards and CMA’s other two television properties, “CMA Fest” and “CMA Country Christmas.”
All balloting is tabulated by the professional services organization, Deloitte.
As used in this document, “Deloitte” means Deloitte & Touche LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/about for a detailed description of Deloitte’s legal structure. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.
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