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 

Kacey Musgraves releases her first Christmas album, A Very Kacey Christmas, today (October 28th). She recorded several favorites including “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “Let It Snow,” “Feliz Navidad” and “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” but she also wrote four original songs “Present Without a Bow,” “Christmas Makes Me Cry,” “A Willie Nice Christmas” and “Ribbons and Bows” that fit snugly beside the classics.

Kacey said it was important she put her own spin on some o f the holiday classics. “To me, it was a really fun challenge to figure out how to take these traditional Christmas songs that we’ve all heard a million times and put my own spin on it and make it A Very Kacey Christmas, you know? Like what would Christmas sound like if it were coming from me,” says Kacey. “So, that was a really fun challenge, and I knew I would want to write some for the album, but to me, whenever I want to hear Christmas music, I want to hear the favorites that we all know. So, it was important for me to pick classics that I’ve always loved and to combine that with new songs that you haven’t heard yet.”

A Very Kacey Christmas features special guests Willie Nelson, Leon Bridges and The Quebe Sisters.

A Very Kacey Christmas Track List:

1. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas

Written by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blane

2. Let It Snow (Featuring The Quebe Sisters)

Written by Julie Styne and Sammy Cahn

3. Christmas Don’t Be Late

Written by Ross Bagdasarian

4. A Willie Nice Christmas (Featuring Willie Nelson)

Written by Kacey Musgraves, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne

5. Feliz Navidad

Written by Jose Feliciano

6. Christmas Makes Me Cry

Written by Kacey Musgraves, Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark

7. Present Without A Bow (Featuring Leon Bridges)

Written by Kacey Musgraves, Leon Bridges, Austin Jenkins and Luke Laird

8. Mele Kalikimaka (Featuring The Quebe Sisters)

Written by R. Alex Anderson

9. I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas

Written by John Rox

10. Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer

Written by Johnny Marks

11. Ribbons And Bows

Written by Kacey Musgraves, Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter

12. What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?

Written by Frank Loesser

Christmas for most is a time of joy and happiness, but for some there’s a sense ofsadness around the holidays. For Kacey Musgraves, she wanted both feelings for her first holiday album, A Very Kacey Christmas.

“There’s a lot of facets and different sides of Christmas, you know. There’s a very nostalgic, whimsical, childish side of Christmas, you know with ‘Christmas Don’t be Late’ and ‘Let it Snow’ and ‘Rudolph’ and ‘I Want a Hippopotamus for Christmas,’” says Kacey. “And then, to me, there’s kind of a melancholy, sadder side of Christmas that it definitely exists for me, and I know a lot of other people kind of feel that way too. It can be an intense time, and so songs like ‘Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas’ or ‘I’ll Be Home for Christmas,’ I mean, they’re kind of, they’re beautiful, but they’re also kind of heartbreaking.”

A Very Kacey Christmas, which includes the single “Present Without a Bow” featuring Leon Bridges, will be released Friday (October 28th).

Vince Gill, Kacey Musgraves and Chris Stapleton shared the same stage in a songwriters’ round with James Taylor and Joe Walsh Tuesday night (September 27th) for the Country Music Hall of Fame’s All For the Hall Los Angeles benefit.

https://twitter.com/KaceyMusgraves/status/781075897705111553

Since Darius Rucker performs a lot of shows, he doesn’t get to see a lot during his downtime. However, he made an exception the other night to catch the Violent Femmes.

Don't go to alot of shows but couldn't miss the @violentfemmes!!!! pic.twitter.com/xqvVGIUR2i

— Darius Rucker (@dariusrucker) September 28, 2016

The  members of Lady Antebellum are currently in Los Angeles, staying in the same house and writing songs for their upcoming project.

Doing some writing out in LA all in the same house again. Can't wait for y'all to hear these songs! -ck pic.twitter.com/fVUEC89gqA

— Lady A (@ladya) September 28, 2016

Brothers Osborne‘s “Stay a Little Longer” helped The Voice contestant Josh Gallagher get picked by Blake Shelton.

https://twitter.com/RachiePix5/status/780932161461489665

Speaking of TJ and John Osborne, the two have recorded a video urging folks to register to vote. Check it out below.

The video for “Forever Country,” the song and biggest music video in Country Music history, made its international premiere this week at ForeverCountry50.com. The star-studded single is available for streaming and download.

Featured artists in the video include the following CMA Award winners: Alabama, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Brooks & Dunn, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Brett Eldredge, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Alan Jackson, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Martina McBride, Tim McGraw, Ronnie Milsap, Kacey Musgraves, Willie Nelson, Brad Paisley, Dolly Parton, Charley Pride, Rascal Flatts, Reba, Darius Rucker, Blake Shelton, George Strait, Randy Travis, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and Trisha Yearwood.

“Forever Country” is a fresh take on three Country classics: John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” Willie Nelson’s “On the Road Again,” and Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”

“Forever Country,” the single was produced by CMA Award winner and CMA Board member Shane McAnally, and the video was directed by Grammy Award-winning director Joseph Kahn.

The 50th Annual CMA Awards will be hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood and broadcast live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Wednesday, November 2nd (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on ABC.

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Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild is unveiling her fall line at evine.com today (September 20th) at 5pm and 6pm ET and tomorrow (September 21st) at 10am ET.

Mickey Guyton will perform her single, “Heartbreak Song” on NBC’s Today show on Wednesday (September 21st).

Sam Hunt earned a bunch of heavy metal by the R.I.A.A. (Recording Industry Association of America), including multi-platinum certifications for “House Party,” “Take Your Time,” “Leave the Night On” and “Break Up in a Small Town,” as well as platinum certification for “Make You Miss Me” and gold for “Ex To See.” Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” was certified triple-platinum, while Dierks Bentley’s “Somewhere on a Beach was certified platinum. Eric Church grabbed a gold single award for “Record Year,” while his album Chief was certified multi-platinum, Carolina went platinum and Mr. Misunderstood went gold.

Tune in to CMT on Thursday to catch Kacey Musgraves give her opinions to the new crop of ladies at training camp for the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Check it out at 9pm ET/8pm CT on CMT.

Vince Gill appears on wife Amy Grant’s new holiday album, Tennessee Christmas. The two pair up for “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.” The new collection will be available October 21st.

Brothers Osborne and Kacey Musgraves are set to perform at the annual Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival in Franklin, Tennessee September 25th. Hall & Oates, Beck, Grace Potter, Lori McKenna, Margo Price and Anderson East, among others, will also perform during the two-day festival.

Kacey Musgraves and Oscar-winning actress Reese Witherspoon have become friends over the past couple of years. Last year, Kacey (along with Reba and several other folks) attended the opening of Reese’s Draper James store in Nashville, then while on a photo shoot for her fall line on Nashville’s Broadway, Reese popped in her favorite boot store and picked up a pair of Kacey’s Lucchese “Golden Arrow” boots. Just this week, Reese missed Kacey’s performance at The Greek Theatre in L.A., but sent along a note and a bottle of pink champagne.

https://twitter.com/RWitherspoon/status/756898844420415490

https://twitter.com/KaceyMusgraves/status/776390652200230913

Kacey Musgraves will release her very first holiday album, “A Very Kacey Christmas” Featuring Leon Bridges, Willie Nelson & The Quebe Sisters on Friday, Oct. 28. Produced by Musgraves, Misa Arriaga and Kyle Ryan, the album features four festive original tracks, co-written by Musgraves, as well as covers of eight holiday favorites.

“Working on my first Christmas album has been one of the most enriching musical experiences I’ve ever had and I can’t wait for everyone to hear it,” said Musgraves. “I really wanted to create a whimsical throwback holiday record, one that evokes feelings of nostalgia and simpler times. I think that the fine musicians and brains that were a part of this project have helped me create a body of music that can be added to people’s classic collections.”

To Musgraves, holiday music has always had a great combination of pop sensibilities and melodies, and when she began to work on the album, she knew she wanted to create something unique. It’s been an exciting experience for her to watch these songs come alive. “It would have been easy to simply copy old versions of these songs that have been around forever, but it was very important for us to build arrangements that are totally new and very me.”

Inspired by Bing Crosby, the Andrew Sisters, Nat King Cole and the classic sounds of the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s, “A Very Kacey Christmas” features the Grammy Award-winner’s charming take on classic standards, as well as four original tracks to put her personal perspective on the holidays. “There can be a touch of sad feelings and memories during the holiday season for a lot of people so I knew when I went in to write I wanted to include all the emotions this time of year can bring out.” It’s tough to decide what the overall sound could be described as but Musgraves says it’s “part Western Swing sprinkled with bits of classic pop, hazy Hawaiian moments and child-like fun, all coming to a nostalgic and melancholy end.”

Track Listing:

1. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
2. Let It Snow (featuring The Quebe Sisters)
3. Christmas Don’t Be Late
4. A Willie Nice Christmas (Featuring Willie Nelson and Trigger; Written by Kacey Musgraves, Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne)
5. Feliz Navidad
6. Christmas Makes Me Cry (Written by Kacey Musgraves, Shane McAnally and Brandy Clark)
7. Present Without A Bow (Featuring Leon Bridges; Written by Kacey Musgraves, Leon Bridges, Austin Jenkins and Luke Laird)
8. Mele Kalikimaka (featuring The Quebe Sisters)
9. I Want A Hippopotamus For Christmas
10. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer
11. Ribbons and Bows (Written by Kacey Musgraves, Julia Michaels and Justin Tranter)
12. What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve?

The Texas native has earned massive critical acclaim for her first two albums, the Gold-certified debut album Same Trailer Different Park in 2013 and Pageant Material in 2015. Musgraves has taken home the award for “New Artist of the Year” at 2013’s CMA Awards and also won two Grammy Awards for Best Country Song (“Merry Go ‘Round”) and Best Country Album (Same Trailer Different Park), the ACM Award for Album of the Year (Same Trailer Different Park), and most recently the 2014 CMA Award for Song of the Year (“Follow Your Arrow”). Launched last August, The Kacey Musgraves Country & Western Rhinestone Revue has sold-out famous venues all over the world, including the famed Royal Albert Hall in London. She recently opened for George Strait’s exclusive Las Vegas shows in April, with additional performances scheduled for Sept. 9 and 10 and Dec. 2 and 3.

For additional information, please follow Kacey Musgraves on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.