The 56th Annual ACM Awards nominations were announced Friday morning, and Maren Morris once again found herself out in front. The awards show darling of the last few years came away with five nominations for Female Artist of the Year, Single and Song of the Year for ‘The Bones’, Video of the Year for ‘Better Than We Found It’ and Group of the Year for her participation in The Highwomen. Chris Stapleton and Miranda Lambert followed closely behind with four nominations apiece.
Other highlights of Friday’s nominations include New Male Artist of the Year contender HARDY, who found himself in the Songwriter of the Year category, a feat typically not achieved by mainstream artists. Worth noting also is the contrast between the female-dominated Single of the Year category and the male-dominated Entertainer of the Year category. Check out the full list of nominees below. Don’t forget to watch the 56th Annual ACM Awards Sunday, April 18th on CBS at 8 p.m. EST and let us know in the comments who you are rooting for to win.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
- Luke Bryan
· Eric Church
· Luke Combs
· Thomas Rhett
· Chris Stapleton
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
- Kelsea Ballerini
· Miranda Lambert
· Ashley McBryde
· Maren Morris
· Carly Pearce
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
- Dierks Bentley
· Eric Church
· Luke Combs
· Thomas Rhett
· Chris Stapleton
DUO OF THE YEAR
- Brooks & Dunn
· Brothers Osborne
· Dan + Shay
· Florida Georgia Line
· Maddie & Tae
GROUP OF THE YEAR
- Lady A
· Little Big Town
· Old Dominion
· The Cadillac Three
· The Highwomen
NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
- Ingrid Andress
· Tenille Arts
· Gabby Barrett
· Mickey Guyton
· Caylee Hammack
NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
- Jimmie Allen
· Travis Denning
· HARDY
· Cody Johnson
· Parker McCollum
ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
- Born Here Live Here Die Here– Luke Bryan
Producers: Jeff Stevens, Jody Stevens
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville - Mixtape Vol. 1– Kane Brown
Producers: Andrew Goldstein, Charlie Handsome, Dann Huff, Lindsay Rimes
Record Label: RCA Nashville - Never Will– Ashley McBryde
Producer: Jay Joyce
Record Label: Warner Music Nashville - Skeletons– Brothers Osborne
Producer: Jay Joyce
Record Label: EMI Records Nashville - Starting Over– Chris Stapleton
Producers: Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb
Record Label: Mercury Nashville
SINGLE OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
- Bluebird – Miranda Lambert
Producer: Jay Joyce
Record Label: Vanner Records/RCA Records Nashville - I Hope – Gabby Barrett
Producers: Ross Copperman, Zach Kale
Record Label: Warner Music Nashville - I Hope You’re Happy Now – Carly Pearce & Lee Brice
Producers: busbee
Record Label: Big Machine Records / Curb Records - More Hearts Than Mine – Ingrid Andress
Producers: Ingrid Andress, Sam Ellis
Record Label: Warner Music Nashville - The Bones – Maren Morris
Producer: Greg Kurstin
Record Label: Columbia Nashville
SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
- Bluebird – Miranda Lambert
Songwriter(s): Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby
Publishers: Emileon Songs; Little Louder Songs; Pink Dog Publishing; Songs of Universal, INC; Sony ATV Tree Publishing; Wrucke for You Publishing - One Night Standards – Ashley McBryde
Songwriter(s): Ashley McBryde, Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally
Publishers: Canned Biscuit Songs; Smackworks Music; Smack Blue, LLC; Smackstreet Music; Tempo Investments; Warner Geo Met Ric Music; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp - Some People Do – Old Dominion
Songwriter(s): Jesse Frasure, Matt Ramsey, Thomas Rhett, Shane McAnally
Publishers: Carrot Seed Songs; EMI Blackwood Music INC; Smackville Music; Songs of ROC Nation; Telemitry Rhythm House Music; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp; Smack Hits; Tempo Investments; Warner Gro Met Ric Music - Starting Over – Chris Stapleton
Songwriter(s): Chris Stapleton, Mike Henderson
Publishers: I Wrote These Songs; Straight Six Music; WC Music Corp - The Bones – Maren Morris
Songwriter(s): Jimmy Robbins, Maren Morris, Laura Veltz
Publishers: Big Machine Music, LLC; Extraordinary Alien Publishing; International Dog Music; Oh Denise Publishing; Round Hill Songs; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]
- Better Than We Found It – Maren Morris
Director: Gabrielle Woodland
Producers: Sarah Kunin, Jennifer Pepke - Bluebird – Miranda Lambert
Director: Trey Fanjoy
Producer: Heather Levenstone - Gone – Dierks Bentley
Directors: Wes Edwards, Ed Pryor, Travis Nicholson, Running Bear and Sam Siske, with animation by Skylar Wilson
Producer: David Garcia - Hallelujah – Carrie Underwood and John Legend
Director: Randee St. Nicholas
Producer: Greg Wells - Worldwide Beautiful – Kane Brown
Director: Alex Alvga
Producer: Christen Pinkston
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR*(Off Camera Award)
- Ashley Gorley
· Michael Hardy
· Hillary Lindsey
· Shane McAnally
· Josh Osborne
MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR (Tie Within Category Increased Nominees) [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
- Be A Light – Thomas Rhett featuring Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, Chris Tomlin, Keith Urban
Producer: Dann Huff
Record Label: The Valory Music Co. - Does To Me – Luke Combs featuring Eric Church
Producer: Scott Moffatt
Record Label: River House Artists/Columbia Nashville - I Hope You’re Happy Now – Carly Pearce & Lee Brice
Producer: busbee
Record Label: Big Machine Records / Curb Records - Nobody But You – Blake Shelton featuring Gwen Stefani
Producer: Scott Hendricks
Record Label: Warner Music Nashville - One Beer – HARDY featuring Lauren Alaina & Devin Dawson
Producers: Derek Wells, Joey Moi
Record Label: Big Loud Records - One Too Many – Keith Urban, P!nk
Producers: Cutfather, Dan McCarroll, Keith Urban, PhD
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
STUDIO RECORDING AWARDS
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
- Jarrod Travis Cure
· Mark Hill
· Tony Lucido
· Steve Mackey
· Glenn Worf
DRUMMER OF THE YEAR
- Fred Eltringham
· Evan Hutchings
· Derek Mixon
· Jerry Roe
· Aaron Sterling
GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
- J.T. Corenflos
· Kris Donegan
· Jedd Hughes
· Ilya Toshinskiy
· Derek Wells
PIANO/KEYS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
- Dave Cohen
· David Dorn
· Charlie Judge
· Mike Rojas
· Benmont Tench
SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Tie Within Category Increased Nominees)
- Alicia Enstrom
· Jim Hoke
· Danny Rader
· Mickey Raphael
· Ilya Toshinskiy
· Kristin Wilkinson
STEEL GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
- Spencer Cullum
· Dan Dugmore
· Mike Johnson
· Russ Pahl
· Justin Schipper
AUDIO ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
- Jeff Balding
· Jason Hall
· Gena Johnson
· Vance Powell
· F. Reid Shippen
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
- Buddy Cannon
· Dave Cobb
· Dann Huff
· Jay Joyce
· Joey Moi
