Eric Church and Chris Stapleton, along with Maren Morris, top the list of final nominees for this year’s CMA Awards with five nominations each.

Chris is technically nominated for six awards, which includes single and he could win as both artist and producer. Keith Urban technically is up for five as both artist and producer of his album, Ripcord. Dierks Bentley and Carrie Underwood received four nominations, while Luke Bryan and Brothers Osborne each picked up two nominations.

Eric Church picked up five nominations for this year’s CMA Awards. The nods include Male Vocalist and Album of the Year for Mr. Misunderstood (produced by Jay Joyce and Arturo Buenahora, Jr., as well as Single of the Year for his recent No. 1 hit “Record Year,” Song of the Year for “Record Year,” which was written by Eric and Jeff Hyde and Music Video of the Year for “Record Year,” which was directed by Reid Long and John Peets. He now has a total of 22 career nominations since his first in 2011 for New Artist of the Year.

After Chris’ breakout year in 2015 when he had three nominations and went home with four trophies for Album (including producer), Male Vocalist, and New Artist of the Year, he is back in 2016 with five nominations, including his first for Entertainer of the Year. His list of nods this year also includes Male Vocalist; Single of the Year for “Nobody To Blame,” which was produced by Stapleton and Dave Cobb and mix engineered by Vance Powell; Music Video of the Year for “Fire Away,” which was directed by Tim Mattia; and Musical Event of the Year with life and stage partner Morgane Stapleton (her first nomination) for “You Are My Sunshine.” Stapleton only receives one nomination for Single of the Year, but can receive an additional trophy as producer.
Dierks, a 20-time nominee and two-time winner including the Horizon Award in 2005 (now New Artist of the Year) and Music Video of the Year in 2014 for “Drunk On A Plane,” will vie for Male Vocalist; Album for Black, which was produced by Ross Copperman and Buenahora; Music Video for “Somewhere On A Beach,” which was directed by Wes Edwards; and Musical Event of the Year for “Different for Girls” with Elle King (her first CMA Awards nomination).

Keith, who has been a nominee every year since 2004, received four CMA Awards nominations in 2016 including Entertainer of the Year, which he won in 2005 when the show went to New York City. Urban’s other nominations include Male Vocalist; Album of the Year for Ripcord, which was produced by Urban, Dann Huff, Jeff Bhasker, Tyler Johnson, Greg Wills, Nile Rodgers, busbee, K-Kov, Nathan Chapman, and Jonny Price; and Musical Event of the Year for “The Fighter,” featuring Underwood. Keith only receives one nomination for Album of the Year, but can receive an additional trophy as producer. Keith has won the Musical Event category four times including “Start A Band” with Paisley (2009); “Highway Don’t Care” with McGraw and Taylor Swift (2013); “We Were Us” with Miranda Lambert (2014); and “Raise ‘Em Up,” featuring Church (2015).

Luke, who is the reigning Entertainer of the Year, is nominated again in 2016 (he received his first nomination in the category in 2013). He is also nominated for Musical Event of the Year for “Home Alone Tonight,” featuring Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town.

Brothers Osborne are nominated for Vocal Duo and New Artist of the Year.

Little Big Town and Lady Antebellum vie for Vocal Group of the Year.

Kacey Musgraves, who won New Artist of the Year in 2013 and Song of the Year in 2014, is also nominated for Female Vocalist of the Year.

Several of your favorite country artists – then, now and forever country – will take to the stage to perform at Wednesday night’s CMA Awards. Universal Music Group is representing with performances by George Strait, Alan Jackson, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Dierks Bentley, Little Big Town, Chris Stapleton, Eric Church, Vince Gill, Kacey Musgraves and Vince Gill.

The 50th Annual CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday (November 2nd) at 8pm ET on ABC.

The Final Nominees for “The 50th Annual CMA Awards” (by ballot category order):

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Garth Brooks
Luke Bryan
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood
Keith Urban 

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist, Producer(s), and Mix Engineer(s))
“Die a Happy Man”
Thomas Rhett
Produced by Dann Huff and Jesse Frasure
Mix Engineered by Justin Niebank
The Valory Music Co. 

“Humble and Kind”
Tim McGraw
Produced by Byron Gallimore and Tim McGraw
Mix Engineered by Byron Gallimore
Big Machine Records 

“My Church”
Maren Morris
Produced by busbee and Maren Morris
Mix Engineered by Dave Clauss and busbee
Columbia Nashville/Sony Music Nashville 

“Nobody To Blame”
Chris Stapleton
Produced by Dave Cobb and Chris Stapleton
Mix Engineered by Vance Powell
Mercury Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville 

“Record Year”
Eric Church
Produced by Jay Joyce
Mix Engineered by Jay Joyce and Jason Hall
EMI Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville 

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))
Black
Dierks Bentley
Produced by Ross Copperman and Arturo Buenahora, Jr.
Capitol Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville

Hero
Maren Morris
Produced by busbee, Maren Morris, and Brad Hill
Columbia Nashville/Sony Music Nashville 

Mr. Misunderstood
Eric Church
Produced by Jay Joyce and Arturo Buenahora, Jr.
EMI Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville 

Ripcord
Keith Urban
Produced by Jeff Bhasker, Tyler Johnson, Dann Huff, Greg Wells, Nile Rodgers, busbee, K-Kov, Nathan Chapman, Jonny Price, and Keith Urban
Hit Red Records/Capitol Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville 

Storyteller
Carrie Underwood
Produced by Jay Joyce, Mark Bright, and Zach Crowell
19 Recordings/Arista Nashville/Sony Music Nashville 

SONG OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Songwriter(s))
“Burning House”
Camaron “Cam” Ochs, Tyler Johnson, Jeff Bhasker

“Die a Happy Man”
Sean Douglas, Thomas Rhett, and Joe Spargur 

“Humble and Kind”
Lori McKenna 

“My Church”
busbee and Maren Morris

“Record Year”
Eric Church and Jeff Hyde 

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Maren Morris
Kacey Musgraves
Carrie Underwood 

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Dierks Bentley
Eric Church
Tim McGraw
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban 

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Old Dominion
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band 

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Joey + Rory
Maddie & Tae 

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to each Artist)
“Different For Girls”
Dierks Bentley feat. Elle King
Capitol Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville 

“Home Alone Tonight”
Luke Bryan featuring Karen Fairchild
Capitol Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville 

“The Fighter”
Keith Urban (featuring Carrie Underwood)
Hit Red Records/Capitol Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville 

“Think of You”
Chris Young (duet with Cassadee Pope)
RCA Nashville/Sony Music Nashville 

“You Are My Sunshine”
Morgane Stapleton with Chris Stapleton
Low Country Sound/Elektra Records 

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Jerry Douglas (Dobro/Lap Steel Guitar)
Paul Franklin (Steel Guitar)
Dann Huff (Guitar)
Brent Mason (Guitar)
Derek Wells (Guitar) 

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Director(s))
“Burning House”
Cam
Directed by Trey Fanjoy 

“Fire Away”
Chris Stapleton
Directed by Tim Mattia 

“Humble and Kind”
Tim McGraw
Directed by Wes Edwards 

“Record Year”
Eric Church
Directed by John Peets and Reid Long 

“Somewhere On A Beach”
Dierks Bentley
Directed by Wes Edwards 

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Kelsea Ballerini
Brothers Osborne
Maren Morris
Old Dominion
Cole Swindell 

Brothers Osborne claimed Song of the Year at the 54th Annual ASCAP Awards on Monday night (October 31st) for “Stay a Little Longer.” Chris Stapleton was presented the Vanguard Award, which acknowledges the impact of an ASCAP member on musical genres that shape the future of American music.

Dierks Bentley performs live on Good Morning America on Wednesday morning (November 2nd) in advance of the 50th Annual CMA Awards.

Easton Corbin is set to perform during the 90th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, which will air on NBC.

Dierks Bentley released the title track from his CMA-nominated album BLACK (Capitol Records Nashville) today (October 31st). Written by Dierks, Ross Copperman and Ashley Gorley, “Black” has been called one of “the sexiest songs of his career.”

“It’s no secret that this record is named after my wife, and she was both brave and generous to let me write about our relationship as the foundation of a lot of these songs,” said Bentley. “I’ve talked about how it explores some of the darker corners and edges of the heart, what happens in the black of night, and this song was really central to forming the rest of the project. It’s probably not what Cass expected when I told her I’d written a love song and named it after her, it’s more of an in-the-moment love song.”

The four-time CMA nominee will make the television premiere of the steamy new single “Black” live from Nashville on Wednesday during Good Morning America (ABC at 8:30a local time on 11/2). Tonight (10/31), Bentley will also perform on ABC’s prime time special, All Access Nashville: Celebrating the CMA Awards with Robin Roberts (ABC at 9:00P CST on 10/31) in front of a live audience at Nashville’s Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge.

Dierks just wrapped the last leg off his headlining 2016 SOMEWHERE ON A BEACH TOUR selling out amphitheaters and venues throughout the country. He also recently announced his 2017 WHAT THE HELL WORLD TOUR launching January 19th in Dayton, Ohio, with Cole Swindell and Jon Pardi. For more information and a full list of tour dates, visit www.dierks.com.

Dierks Bentley will be forgoing Monday night’s (October 31st) ASCAP Awards to dress up as Mr. Potato Head for Halloween. This year, his whole family – Dierks, wife Cassidy, daughters Evie and Jordan, as well as son Knox) will be going as some of the beloved characters from Toy Story.

“The costumes are always picked out by our kids, and this year they wanted to do Toy Story. So, I thought maybe I’d get Woody. No. I thought maybe I’d get Buzz Lightyear. No. I got Mr. Potato Head. Yeah, I’m very cool. I’m gonna make him cool. I’m bringing sexy back to Mr. Potato Head. They’ve got a Mrs. Potato Head too, so Cass is Mrs. Potato Head. So, we’re going as the, yeah, Toy Story,” says Dierks. “Let’s see, so we’re Potato Heads, Evie is Little Bo Peep, Jordan is the cowgirl. I can’t think of her name. Jessie! Jordan is Jessie, and then Knox is Buzz Lightyear. We got a little Buzz Lightyear costume for him, which is pretty strong.”

Some previous costumes for the Bentleys included The Wizard of Oz and Willy Wonka, where Cass was Violet and dressed as a big blueberry, while the girls went as Oompa Loompas.

Dierks is set to perform on Good Morning America on Wednesday morning from Nashville, as well as on the 50th Annual CMA Awards, where he has four nominations, including Male, Album (Black), Video (“Somewhere on a Beach”) and Musical Event of the Year with Elle King for “Different for Girls.”

Dierks Bentley will be getting up really early on Wednesday (November 2nd) to perform a free concert the morning of this year’s CMA Awards. The show is set to take place on the plaza leading into Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena from 6a – 8a CT and will air on ABC’s Good Morning America.

“I’m coming from a little thing I’m doing down in Orlando the night before, but I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to be part of this Good Morning America performance,” says Dierks. “That’s where I got my start playing those bars down there. You dream of playing the CMAs and getting on that show and now to have a chance to kick off the whole night with a show that morning on that stage they build out there and just seeing the people packed in amongst all the buildings down on Lower Broadway…Lower Broadway is just so important to me and the CMAs are so important to me, so to have those two worlds collide and to start the day off with that performance is a huge honor. It sounds like a lot of fun. I don’t care if it’s two o’clock in the morning. I don’t care. [laughs] I haven’t slept in a long, long time anyway, so it doesn’t matter what time the shows are. I love it and the guys in the band are already excited about it, so we’ll be really fired up to be out there.

Dierks is nominated for four CMA Awards, including Male Vocalist, Album of the Year (Black), Vocal Event of the Year for “Different for Girls” with Elle King and Video of the Year for “Somewhere on a Beach.”

The 50th annual CMA Awards will broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Wednesday (November 2nd) at 8pm ET on ABC.

Dierks Bentley and Elle King who recently hit No. 1 on the country charts with “Different for Girls,” were featured on CBS’s Something in Common series which brings together two voices that cross musical genres. The pair took the cameras along for the ride to the Grand Ole Opry where they sat down to talk collaborations, music and their friendship. Check it out below.

Halloween is Monday, and the holiday has some of your favorite country stars getting into costumes and recalling memories of Halloweens past.

Dierks Bentley, Eric Church and Keith Urban, along with Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood and Maren Morris, are the initial performers announced for this year’s CMA Awards.

Dierks has four nominations going into next month’s CMA Awards, including Male Vocalist, Album (Black), Music Video for “Somewhere on a Beach” and Musical Event of the Year for “Different for Girls” with Elle King.

Eric’s nominations include Male Vocalist, Album (Mr. Misunderstood); Single, Song and Music Video of the Year for “Record Year.”

Keith picked up four nominations this year, including Entertainer, which he took home in 2005); Male Vocalist, Album (Ripcord) and Musical Event of the Year for “The Fighter,” featuring Carrie Underwood. While Keith only receives one nomination for Album of the Year, he could receive an additional trophy as producer.

The 50th Annual CMA Awards, Hosted by Brad and Carrie, will broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 2nd at 8pm ET on ABC.