Reba McEntire will host the ACM Awards for the 16^th 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 7^th, 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

You’re gonna want to get your snacks ready early on Sunday, because Tim McGraw is headlining the Super Bowl pregame party on CBS. You won’t be able to see his entire show (unless you’re there in person, in which case, color me jealous!) but you will at least get to see him sing his new song “Thought About You,” which you can also hear on Slacker’s Nashville Now station here.

He’s been in a rehearsal studio getting ready, and you can see him doing some of the song right here.

As for the game? I don’t know who you’re rooting for, but I’m just in it for the party food.

It’s been long road for Carrie Underwood and her husband Mike Fisher. Last fall she revealed she’d gone through three miscarriages in the previous two years, so it was extra special when she was able to say she was pregnant again. At the CMA Awards in November, we found out she’d be having another boy when co-host Brad Paisley got her to say it (unlike four years ago when he spilled the beans by saying, “We could name him Garth!”).

Well… that Willie was born Monday (1/21), only he’s a Jacob Bryan.

Big congrats to Carrie, Mike, and big brother Isaiah!

Alan Jackson has been pretty vocal about his opinion on modern country music. In an interview with GQ last year, he said, "There’s some good music out there, but there’s not really much at all that’s real country music anymore on the mainstream country charts — what is nominated for awards." But he’s not one to just sit around and complain. He’s doing his part to get more of the traditional sound back in modern country music (which, by the way, always happens in a cycle, so everybody calm down).

Alan’s got a bar in downtown Nashville called AJ’s Good Time Bar, and he’s got a full slate of up-and-coming artists who perform there. Now, he plans on taking a few of them on the road with him for his 2019 Tour. Randy Houser and William Michael Morgan are already set as openers, but on select dates through September, he’ll bring along some of the acts from the bar, too. You get to pick them.

There are 21 choices, with videos of each performing a song at AJ’s, and you have until February 8 to pick your favorite. The top two will be announced on social media. How can you even stand all this power you have?

Vote here.

Here’s just one of the choices.

Dierks Bentley is pretty well-known by now for his pre-tour shenanigans. Remember that time he surprised his tour mates Kip Moore and Maddie & Tae by taking them out on his boat in January and making them do the polar plunge with him? Kip Moore was maaaaaaaaad.  I hope his Burning Man Tourmates Jon Pardi and Tenille Townes recognize how good they’ve got it.

This might be Dierks’ funniest tour promo yet. And it’s got the thumbs up from Olympic figure skater Adam Rippon on Twitter too, which is obviously a bonus. Pro tip: don’t drink any beverages while watching this. And don’t say I didn’t warn you.

For the third year in a row, Keith Urban headlined Nashville’s New Year’s Eve celebration, and for the third year in a row he took the opportunity to put together a really cool medley in tribute to the musical artists who left us in 2018.

This year’s included “Zombie” for The Cranberries’ Dolores O’Riordan, “Respect” for Aretha Franklin, “Rolling In My Sweet Baby’s Arms” for Roy Clark, “Wake Me Up” by Avicii, and “Sweet Home Alabama” for Lynyrd Skynyrd guitarist Ed King, and he’s joined by none other than Peter Frampton for a guitar jam you HAVE TO SEE.

Put everything down for 8 minutes, and WATCH.

2018 is almost over, so it feels like a good time to look back at some of the biggest things that happened in country music this year, in no particular order.

Like that time Reba showed up in a KFC commercial as Colonel Sanders. Yes, THAT Reba. She was the first woman to ever wear that costume, and yeah, it was a little weird, but a little awesome in its weirdness, no? BRB. I’m craving chicken now.

Or when Carrie Underwood came back after her end-of-2017 accident looking flawless at the ACM Awards in April, even as she had warned us on social media that she might look… different. In her defense, with a ton of stitches in her face when she said it, she really didn’t know what her face would look like, and it turns out she’s human and falters in self-confidence every once in a while, just like the rest of us. She also revealed this year that she’d suffered several miscarriages (unrelated to her accident) before announcing she was pregnant with her second son. She’s due in a few weeks. Hey Carrie – Jess is a good name. Hint, hint.

Not all the big stories were fun or happy. It was February 12^th when we lost ‘90s country singer Daryle Singletary (“Too Much Fun,” “Amen Kind of Love”). He was only 46, and apparently he had a blood clot that was discovered too late.

Gretchen Wilson made the news in August when she was arrested for being “belligerent” after what was called a “minor disturbance” on a flight to Connecticut. I maintain that her so-called belligerence was probably Gretchen standing up for herself, and when a woman does THAT, well… she’s obviously a problem (I’ve got your belligerence right here). A few months later when she was able to talk about it, Gretchen said there was no disturbance on the plane, and at her court appearance in September, all charges against her were dropped.

Luke Bryan share with his fans that his mother’s house in Mexico Beach, Florida was destroyed by Hurricane Michael in October. There are photos of her walking through the rubble, obviously devastated. She moved into a trailer temporarily, and Luke said she’s leading efforts to rebuild, not just her own place, but her neighbors’ as well. He said, “every day I call her and it sounds like she’s the foreman of a construction site down there.”

Even Keith Urban was surprised when he was named CMA Entertainer of the Year in November. It had been 13 years since the only other time he won that trophy, and it’s not that he wasn’t deserving of it, it’s just that there were some other heavy hitters in the nominations, and he assumed it would go to one of them. Keeping it real, I think we were all a little surprised, but absolutely thrilled for Keith.

Carly Pearce and Michael Ray revealed over the summer that they were dating and had been for a few months, and then preceded to demonstrate their delirious happiness all over Instagram. Carly said she got advice on dating a fellow artist from her besties Kelsea Ballerini (who has married to Morgan Evans since last December) and Maren Morris (who married Ryan Hurd in March). Well, Michael liked it, so just before Christmas he put a ring on it.

Kane Brown made history in 2018 – in fact, several times. He was the only artist to top five different Billboard charts at once he was the most awarded debut country artist at the AMAs, and when he released his second album Experiment this year, it had the most first-day streams of any country album ever.

Jimmie Allen became the first black country artist to get a #1 with his debut single “Best Shot.” Technically, Darius Rucker did it too when he crossed over to country, but his actual debut single was years earlier with Hootie & The Blowfish, so Jimmie gets the crown.

I don’t know about you, but I’m looking forward to big things – and hopefully all good ones --  in 2019. And I’m wishing you a year of health, success and lots of live music!

--Jess

If you watched CMA Country Christmas a couple of weeks ago, you got all the warm fuzzies from Reba, Brett Eldredge, Martina McBride, Dan + Shay, Brad Paisley, Old Dominion, and even the legendary (but not all that country) Tony Bennett.

What?! YOU MISSED IT??? Oh noooooo.  Now you’ll NEVER get in the Christmas spirit in time.

Just kidding. They’re airing it again this weekend, so set your DVR now. Right now. It will air Saturday night (12/22) at 8pm eastern on ABC.

And just to give you a little bit of the spirit now, here’s Brett Eldredge getting Holly AND Jolly.

Maybe you’re tired of hearing me harp on this, but it keeps happening, so I have to keep reminding you. Your favorite country artist (or any celebrity, for that matter) has a blue check next to their name on their social media accounts. If there’s no blue check, it’s not the artist, it’s a scammer trying to take something from you.

Did you see this article out of Rock Hill, SC? A woman there told police that her sister spent two years sending cashier’s checks and gift cards to someone pretending to be Dierks Bentley on Twitter. They exchanged text messages over that two years, and she sent this fraud more than $160,000. That is not a typo.

Last year I had a conversation about this with Granger Smith, who has been really active in going after these fakes, including that time he actually pretended to be a country music fan on Twitter, baited the fakes, and then jumped into a conversation with one. And he said there’s something kind of obvious we have to start thinking about.

And you might remember earlier this summer when Blake Shelton and a bunch of others created this public service announcement reminding you that it’s bullshit.

Don’t think you’re alone in getting these, either. Just this week, I was followed by this fake:

First of all, artists do not have private social media accounts with which to contact you. Second of all, what is “officee?” Is it supposed to be Carrie’s private office?  Is it some new shorthand for “official?” Or is it maybe someone who doesn’t have a grasp of the English language but does have a grasp on the amount of fans who will do anything for their favorite artist, Carrie Underwood?

What you need to do when these accounts follow you, even before they make an attempt to contact you, is to report them and block them. AND NEVER EVER EVER EVER EVER SEND THEM MONEY. Even if DIerks Bentley wasn’t making piles of money bigger than your house by touring and putting on music festivals and selling overpriced t-shirts at his shows, even if he somehow found himself unable to make the mortgage this month, you know who he’s gonna ask for help? NOT YOU. And not on social media.

Y’all. Let’s be smart about this. I don’t want your grandma to lose her life savings to some Nigerian prince who figured out who to use the internet to make a living, mmmkay? Cool.

Y’all. There is a serious problem happening right now, and you have the power to fix it. I’m talking about women making country music that ISN’T BEING HEARD. At least, not on that radio you have in your car – unless that radio gets Slacker on it, in which case, you’re good.

Billboard just published this article that says for the first time in 28 years, there is not a single female voice in the top 20 on this week’s Billboard Country Airplay chart, which compiles data on what terrestrial radio stations are playing around the country. Carrie Underwood is the only one who comes close at 22 with “Love Wins.”

Now, for my entire radio career, there’s been this “rule” that women, who are the target audience for most country radio stations, don’t like to hear other women. I CALL BS. Because, you see, I am a woman, and many of my friends are women, and many of the Slacker Radio listeners I hear from on a regular basis are women, and the overwhelming majority of women I know and have talked to want to hear music that reflects their own life experiences. You know who’s making that music? You guessed it: women.

In the Women Want to Hear Women podcast, Carrie Underwood calls BS, too.

In addition to programming female artists with great music on all of our mainstream country stations at Slacker Radio, you probably know we also launched WCE Country (which stands for Woman Crush Everyday) to give these talented women a bigger spotlight, more exposure, and to tell their stories. It’s curated and hosted by the women of Nashville, who very much want to hear other women on the radio.

The thing is, once we put the music out there, it’s up to YOU to help it succeed. And it’s pretty easy. Open your Slacker app or pull it up at slacker.com. I’ll wait. Ok, play a song – any song will do, but for the purposes of this experiment, try to make it a song by your favorite female country artist. You see that little heart in the bottom right? Every time you tap that heart on a song you love, you send us a signal that you want more. You help that song get played more, and be heard by more people. And the more people who tap that heart button, the more likely it is the song will make it into Slacker’s Weekly Country Countdown, where even more people will hear it and heart it.

So what I need you to do is pay attention, and when you hear a great song by a female artist (or any artist, really, but it’s the women who need your help right now), tap the heart button. That’s it. You have the power as a Slacker listener to make a huge impact on a female country singer’s career, and the more of us who are listening and hearting (is that a word?) songs, the bigger impact we’ll make. Whether you’re listening to the newest of the new on Nashville Now, the familiar stuff Country Hits, or all the girls on WCE Country, I’m asking you to use your powers for good. Like a super hero. Cape not included (but if you’re wearing one, I’m totally gonna need a picture of that.)