Reba McEntire will host the ACM Awards for the 16th time this year, and she was also the one who had the honor of announcing all the nominees.
Chris Stapleton and Dan + Shay lead the pack, with six nominations each, not counting four more for D+S’s Dan Smyers as writer or producer (yep, he’s got a total of 10). Kacey Musgraves is close to the top with five nominations, and Dierks Bentley, Brothers Osborne, Florida Georgia Line and Bebe Rexha each got four. First time nominee producer Ian Fitchuk, who produced Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour, got six nominations total, the other five in the studio recording categories.
It’s disappointing but not surprising that there are no women in the Entertainer of the Year category for the second year in a row. “It doesn’t make me very happy because we’ve got some very talented women who are out there working their butts off,” Reba said after making the announcements. “I’m missing my girlfriends on this.”
Also, how is it possible that Chris Young isn’t in the Male Artist category? And three-time Entertainer of the Year winner, and nominee again this year Jason Aldean isn’t in the Male Artist category, either. That’s weird, right? And where are Kelsea Ballerini, Dustin Lynch, Cole Swindell, and oh – a fifth New Female Artist nominee?
Surprises include Jake Owen’s nod for “Down to the Honky Tonk” as Single of the Year, his first nomination in a decade. He won New Male Vocalist in 2009, and that’s the last time he was nominated for anything. And David Lee Murphy is up for his first ACM in 23 years for Music Event of the Year with Kenny Chesney on “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright.”
Let’s talk about the new artist categories. Due to some loopholes, it’s possible to be nominated in those categories more than once, and a lot of this year’s nominees have been, even after having had massive hits for a couple of years. Luke Combs is a prime example, and I mentioned this when the CMA nominations came out, too. He’s had four number ones from two albums – is he really “new?” High Valley, LANCO, and Runaway June were all up for New Duo or Group last year, and here they are again. And Danielle Bradbery and Carly Pearce were both nominated for New Female Artist last year and again this year.
We’ll find out who wins what April 7th, live from Las Vegas on CBS. And here’s the full list of artist and song nominees:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Kenny Chesney
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Maren Morris
Kacey Musgraves
Carrie Underwood
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Dierks Bentley
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban
DUO OF THE YEAR
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
LOCASH
Maddie & Tae
GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady Antebellum
LANCO
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion
NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Danielle Bradbery
Lindsay Ell
Ashley McBryde
Carly Pearce
NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jimmie Allen
Luke Combs
Jordan Davis
Michael Ray
Mitchell Tenpenny
NEW DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
High Valley
LANCO
Runaway June
ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Dan + Shay – Dan + Shay
Producers: Scott Hendricks / Dan Smyers / Matt Dragstrem
Record Label: Warner Music Nashville
Desperate Man – Eric Church
Producers: Jay Joyce / Arturo Buenahora Jr.
Record Label: EMI Records Nashville
From A Room: Volume 2 – Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb / Chris Stapleton
Record Label: Mercury Nashville
Golden Hour – Kacey Musgraves
Producers: Ian Fitchuk / Daniel Tashian / Kacey Musgraves
Record Label: MCA Nashville
The Mountain – Dierks Bentley
Producers: Ross Copperman / Jon Randall Stewart / Arturo Buenahora Jr.
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
SINGLE OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Down to the Honky Tonk – Jake Owen
Producer: Joey Moi
Record Label: Big Loud Records
Heaven – Kane Brown
Producer: Dann Huff / Polow Da Don
Record Label: RCA Nashville
Meant To Be – Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line
Producer: Wilshire for Rock The Soul Ent
Record Label: Warner Bros. Records
Most People Are Good – Luke Bryan
Producers: Jeff Stevens / Jody Stevens
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
Tequila – Dan + Shay
Producers: Scott Hendricks / Dan Smyers
Record Label: Warner Music Nashville
SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
Break Up In The End – Cole Swindell
Writers: Jessie Jo Dillon / Chase McGill / Jon Nite
Publishers: EMI April Music Inc. / Nite Writer Music (ASCAP) / Songs of Universal, Inc. / Plum Nelly (BMI) / Big Music Machine (BMI)/ Big Ass Pile Of Dimes Music (BMI)
Broken Halos – Chris Stapleton
Writers: Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton
Publishers: WB Music Corp./House of Sea Gayle Music, admin. by ClearBox Rights/Spirit Catalog Holdings, S.a.r.l. admin. by Spirit Two Nashville (ASCAP); Straight Six Music (BMI)
Meant To Be – Bebe Rexha featuring Florida Georgia Line
Writers: David Garcia, Tyler Hubbard, Joshua Miller, Bebe Rexha
Publishers: BMG Platinum Songs/Kiss Me If You Can Music (BMI) (all rights administered by BMG Rights Management (US) LLC) Big Loud Mountain (BMI) and T Hubb Publishing (BMI). All Rights Administered by Round Hill Works. Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. on behalf of itself and Songs of the Corn and Jack 10 Publishing. Universal Music – Brentwood Benson Publishing (ASCAP) D Soul Music (ASCAP) (adm. at CapitolCMGPublishing.com)
Space Cowboy – Kacey Musgraves
Writers: Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves
Publishers: Smack Hits/Smack Songs, admin by Kobalt Music Group ltd. (GMR); Universal Music Works/We Are Creative NBaSmack Hits/Smack Songs, LLC, admin. by Kobalt Music Group Ltd. (GMR); Universal Music Works/We Are Creative Nation/Jake and Mack Music, admin. by Universal Music Works; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp./351 Music (BMI)
Tequila – Dan + Shay
Writers: Nicolle Galyon / Jordan Reynolds / Dan Smyers
Publishers: Beats and Banjos (ASCAP), WB Music Corp. (ASCAP), A Girl Named Charlie (BMI) / Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI) / Buckeye26 (ASCAP) / Jreynmusic (ASCAP)
Yours – Russell Dickerson
Writers: Casey Brown / Russell Dickerson / Parker Welling
Publishers: BMG Platinum Songs/Kailey's Dream / So Essential Tunes / Not Just Another Song Publishing / Hillbilly Science and Research Publishing/Trailerlily Music
VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]
Babe – Sugarland featuring Taylor Swift
Producer: Roger Hunt
Director: Anthony Mandler
Burn Out – Midland
Producer: Ben Skipworth
Director: TK McKamy / Cameron Duddy
Burning Man – Dierks Bentley featuring Brothers Osborne
Producer: Nate Eggert
Director: Wes Edwards
Drunk Girl – Chris Janson
Producer: Ben Skipworth
Director: Jeff Venable
Shoot Me Straight – Brothers Osborne
Producer: April Kimbrell
Director: Wes Edwards / Ryan Silver
Tequila – Dan + Shay
Producer: Christen Pinkston
Director: Patrick Tracy
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR*(Off Camera Award)
Ross Copperman
Ashley Gorley
Shane McAnally
Chase McGill
Josh Osborne
MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Burning Man – Dierks Bentley featuring Brothers Osborne
Producers: Ross Copperman / Jon Randall Stewart / Arturo Buenahora Jr.
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
Drowns the Whiskey – Jason Aldean featuring Miranda Lambert
Producer: Michael Knox
Record Labels: Macon Music, LLC; Broken Bow Records; BBR Music Group; BMG
Everything’s Gonna Be Alright – David Lee Murphy featuring Kenny Chesney
Producers: Buddy Cannon / Kenny Chesney / David Lee Murphy
Record Label: Reviver Records
Keeping Score – Dan + Shay featuring Kelly Clarkson
Producers: Scott Hendricks / Dan Smyers
Record Label: Warner Music Nashville
Meant To Be – Bebe Rexha Featuring Florida Georgia Line
Producer: Wilshire for Rock The Soul Ent
Record Label: Warner Bros. Records