Luke Bryan, Dan + Shay and Sugarland announced the final nominations for The 52nd Annual CMA Awards this morning (August 28th) live on ABC’s Good Morning America from Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink bar located on Lower Broadway in downtown Nashville.
The artists revealed six categories live on-air, then announced the remaining six categories, along with finalists for the CMA Broadcast Awards, on GoodMorningAmerica.com as well as via “Good Morning America’s” Facebook page through Facebook Live, Twitter and simulcast on “Good Morning America’s” YouTube channel.
Chris Stapleton tops the list of finalists with five nominations. Producer and musician Dann Huff receives four nominations, the second most nominations this year, while nine artists garner three each—Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Chris Janson, Miranda Lambert, Midland, Thomas Rhett and Keith Urban.
CHRIS STAPLETON – FIVE NOMINATIONS
Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year (“Broken Halos”), Album of the Year (From A Room: Volume 2), Song of the Year (“Broken Halos”), Male Vocalist of the Year
Stapleton leads this year’s CMA Awards nominations with five, adding to his previous 11 nominations and seven wins. He lands his third consecutive nod for Entertainer of the Year in addition to nominations in the Single and Song of the Year categories for “Broken Halos,” produced by Dave Cobb and Stapleton, mixed by Vance Powell, and written by Mike Henderson and Stapleton. Stapleton earns his third nomination for Album of the Year for From A Room: Volume 2, produced by Cobb and Stapleton. He previously won Album for his first two solo albums, Traveller, awarded in 2015, and From A Room: Volume 1, awarded in 2017. Stapleton also receives his fourth consecutive nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year, a category he remains undefeated in, having won the past three years.
DIERKS BENTLEY – THREE NOMINATIONS
Album of the Year (The Mountain), Male Vocalist of the Year, Musical Event of the Year (“Burning Man”)
Dierks Bentley earns his sixth career nomination for Album of the Year, alongside producers Ross Copperman, Jon Randall Stewart, and Arturo Buenahora Jr., while also marking his fifth consecutive nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year. He also lands a nod alongside Brothers Osborne for Musical Event of the Year for their collaboration “Burning Man,” Bentley’s third nomination in the category. He won Musical Event in 2016 for his song “Different For Girls” (Feat. Elle King). With this year’s nominations, Bentley collects 24 total career nominations.
KEITH URBAN – THREE NOMINATIONS
Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year (Graffiti U), Male Vocalist of the Year
This year marks Keith Urban’s 14th nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year, 11th nomination in the Entertainer of the Year category, and his sixth nomination in the Album of the Year category for Graffiti U, bringing his career nominations to 45 with 11 total wins. Urban shares the nomination with the album’s producers Dan McCarroll, J.R. Rotem, Josh Kerr, Jason Evigan, Greg Wells, Benny Blanco, Ed Sheeran, Johnny McDaid, Jesse Shatkin, Jimmy Robbins, Oscar Holter, Matt Rad, Eric Valentine, Ian Kirkpatrick, Mike Elizondo, Captain Cuts, Copperman, Huff, and Peter Karlsson. Urban is the reigning Single of the Year winner for his song “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” which he also produced.
The 52nd Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley, will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 14th at 8pm ET on ABC.
For more information and a full list of nominees, visit CMAawards.com.
The Final Nominees for “The 52nd Annual CMA Awards” (by ballot category order):
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Luke Bryan
Kenny Chesney
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist, Producer(s), and Mix Engineer(s))
Broken Halos – Chris Stapleton
Producer(s): Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
Mix Engineer(s): Vance Powell
Drinkin’ Problem – Midland
Producer(s): Dann Huff, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne
Mix Engineer(s): Justin Niebank
Drowns the Whiskey – Jason Aldean (Feat. Miranda Lambert)
Producer(s): Michael Knox
Mix Engineer(s): Jeff Braun
Meant to Be – Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line
Producer(s): Willshire
Mix Engineer(s): Serban Ghenea
Tequila – Dan + Shay
Producer(s): Scott Hendricks, Dan Smyers
Mix Engineer(s): Jeff Juliano
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))
From a Room: Volume 2 – Chris Stapleton
Golden Hour – Kacey Musgraves
Graffiti U – Keith Urban
Life Changes – Thomas Rhett
The Mountain – Dierks Bentley
SONG OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Songwriter(s))
“Body Like A Back Road”
Songwriters: Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne
“Broken Halos”
Songwriters: Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton
“Drowns the Whiskey”
Songwriter: Brandon Kinney, Jeff Middleton, Josh Thompson
“Drunk Girl”
Songwriter: Scooter Carusoe, Tom Douglas, Chris Janson
“Tequila”
Songwriter: Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Reynolds, Dan Smyers
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Kacey Musgraves
Maren Morris
Carrie Underwood
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Dierks Bentley
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady Antebellum
Lanco
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Maddie & Tae
Sugarland
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to each Artist)
“Burning Man” – Dierks Bentley Feat. Brothers Osborne
“Dear Hate” – Maren Morris (Feat. Vince Gill)
“Drowns the Whiskey” – Jason Aldean (Feat. Miranda Lambert)
“Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” – David Lee Murphy (with Kenny Chesney)
“Meant to Be” – Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Director(s))
“Babe” – Sugarland (Featuring Taylor Swift)
Director: Anthony Mandler
“Cry Pretty” – Carrie Underwood
Director: Randee St. Nicholas
“Drunk Girl” – Chris Janson
Director: Jeff Venable
“Marry Me” – Thomas Rhett
Director: TK McKamy
“Tequila” – Dan + Shay
Director: Patrick Tracy
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Lauren Alaina
Luke Combs
Chris Janson
Midland
Brett Young
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Jerry Douglas, Dobro
Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar
Dann Huff, Guitar
Mac McAnally, Guitar
Derek Wells, Guitar
The #CMAawards ENTERTAINER of the Year nominees are…@Jason_Aldean@LukeBryanOnline@KennyChesney@ChrisStapleton@KeithUrban pic.twitter.com/us8nDQXzPi
— CMA Country Music (@CountryMusic) August 28, 2018
The #CMAawards FEMALE VOCALIST of the Year nominees are…@KelseaBallerini@MirandaLambert@MarenMorris@KaceyMusgraves@CarrieUnderwood pic.twitter.com/75PfRiTqe6
— CMA Country Music (@CountryMusic) August 28, 2018
#CMAawards: Nominees for Male Vocalist of the Year@DierksBentley @lukecombs @ThomasRhett @ChrisStapleton @KeithUrban pic.twitter.com/M6f0KvvDhC
— Good Morning America (@GMA) August 28, 2018
The #CMAawards ALBUM of the Year nominees by…@ChrisStapleton@KaceyMusgraves@KeithUrban@ThomasRhett@DierksBentley pic.twitter.com/uSH6EnfywL
— CMA Country Music (@CountryMusic) August 28, 2018
#CMAawards: Nominees for New Artist of the Year@Lauren_Alaina @lukecombs @janson_chris @MidlandOfficial @BrettYoungMusic pic.twitter.com/rbOhTD2Ssw
— Good Morning America (@GMA) August 28, 2018
#CMAawards: Nominees for Single of the Year#BrokenHalos – @ChrisStapleton#DrinkinProblem – @MidlandOfficial#DrownsTheWhiskey – @Jason_Aldean ft. @MirandaLambert#MeantToBe – @BebeRexha and @FLAGALine#Tequila – @DanAndShay pic.twitter.com/Y5sMaMh9Ay
— Good Morning America (@GMA) August 28, 2018
#CMAawards: Nominees for Vocal Duo of the Year@brothersosborne@DanAndShay@FLAGALine@MaddieandTae@Sugarlandmusic pic.twitter.com/n3DEX7uXP1
— Good Morning America (@GMA) August 28, 2018
Audio / LUKE BRYAN SAY WINNING HIS FIRST CMA ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR AWARD CHANGED HIS LIFE.
DownloadLuke Bryan (winning 1st CMA Entertainer of the Year) OC: …big deal for me. :55
“Definitely looking back and winning my first CMA Entertainer of the Year award is something that I’ll never forget. It’s all of those memories of everything it took to get here and all the sacrifices and all the honkytonks and the late-night concerts and moving to Nashville and leaving your family and your friends, it all came together on that night. To get that from your peers of fellow country music artists was pretty amazing. You never forget it. You forever feel vindicated and you feel appreciated and you feel like you’re a member of a club, and you know no matter how long you live that you left an indelible mark on this industry based on how you go about it, how you entertain and perform. It was a big deal for me.”
Audio / KEITH URBAN PICKED UP HIS FIRST CMA MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR AWARD IN 2004, AND HE SAYS IT WAS A HUMBLING EXPERIENCE FOR HIM. HE WENT ON TO WIN THAT AWARD IN 2005 AND 2006.
DownloadKeith Urban (winning 1st Male Vocalist award) OC: …my life. :27
“In 2004, I won Male Vocalist of the Year, and again it was that same feeling I had when I’d won the Horizon Award, but it was like the next level. It just felt so humbling really. Really to be in that category and then to win was again just one of those sort of moments that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
Audio / Keith Urban explains why he felt the need to name his CMA nominated album, Graffiti U.
DownloadKeith Urban (Graffiti U name) OC: …that to me. :53
“The previous two albums I did – Fuse and Ripcord – denoted a kind of energy, and so those titles were chosen for that. And I had some energy-driven titles in mind for this album too, but as the record started to reveal itself to me, the word ‘graffiti’ kept coming to me out of the blue. I’ve always loved that word, loved the sound of the word, and then I loved the fact that it’s art-driven. When I think of graffiti, I think of self-expression, personal expression, absolutely personal expression whether you’re painting something on the side of a building in a city or whether you’re painting ‘Billy Bob Loves Charlene’ on the side of an overpass [laughs], it’s all graffiti and it’s all free and pure and very personal, and I thought this record feels like that to me.”
Audio / Dierks Bentley was inspired by Telluride to write and record his CMA nominated album, The Mountain.
DownloadDierks Bentley (album inspired by Telluride) 2 OC: …it was magic. :53
“I just had this crazy idea to bring some songwriters out there and let them go for hikes and walk around town and just hang and see if they can sense that same intangible vibe that I was sensing, and they did. We jumped right into it and it was really, really special. And everyone immediately starts talking about how can we start getting back out here again, because it’s one of those places you just like never want to leave. Ross said, ‘We should come back out here to make the record,’ and we all kinda laughed about it, but it planted the seed. So, I came back a few months later with a different set of guys and girls, musicians, and we recorded the album out there.” It’s one of those things where you just kind of follow your gut, just keep your heart open to ideas and see what you’re feeling, and once you get that little, tiny feeling, you’ve got to go for it, just like that gut instinct of I want to be a country singer. It’s that little seed that if you believe in it, you’ve got to go for it, try it, so that’s what we did with this album, and it was magic.”
Audio / Kacey Musgraves talks about the title of her CMA nominated album, Golden Hour.
DownloadKacey Musgraves (Golden Hour title) OC: …this record. :34
“The title Golden Hour just seemed to sum up this chapter of my life perfectly. I mean not only am I from a town called Golden, Texas, but leading up to making this record, there’s been a lot of beauty in my atmosphere and in my world. I love the picture that pops in my head when I hear that title. It’s also an actual song on the record, but it’s just this warm, golden feeling that I’m really happy to have in my life, and I found it to be the perfect title for this record.”
