“This year, we have the opportunity to honor the superstars, new artists and emerging creators who are paving the way for Country Music,” said CMA CEO Sarah Trahern in a press release highlighting the nominations for 2021’s Country Music Association (CMA) Awards. “These nominees exemplify the creativity, passion and heart that make our Country Music community unlike any other genre. The breadth of voices is evident in this year’s nominations, and we could not be more thrilled to celebrate our deserving nominees in November!”
The CMA Awards are set to air on November 10 from Nashville on ABC.
Leading all nominees are Chris Stapleton and Eric Church, with five each. Intriguingly, their nominations are in the same categories: Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, plus Album, Single, and Song of the Year. If Church pulls off the win for Entertainer of the Year, he would be continuing his reign from a year prior, as he was named the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year at the 2020 Awards program.
As well, upstart Gabby Barrett continues her impressive rise with four nominations for New Artist, Female Vocalist, Single, and Sng of the Year. As well, rounding out the list of most-nominated artists are are Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris, and Chris Young with three nominations apiece.
The full list of nominations are as follows:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Miranda Lambert
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
“Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown
Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young
Mix Engineer: Sean Moffitt
“The Good Ones” – Gabby Barrett
Producers: Ross Copperman, Zach Kale
Mix Engineers: Chris Galland, Manny Marroquin
“Hell Of A View” – Eric Church
Producer: Jay Joyce
Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
“One Night Standards” – Ashley McBryde
Producer: Jay Joyce
Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
“Starting Over” – Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
29 – Carly Pearce
Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, and Jimmy Robbins
Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore
Dangerous: The Double Album – Morgan Wallen
Producers: Dave Cohen, Matt Dragstrem, Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome, and Joey Moi
Mix Engineer: Joey Moi
Heart – Eric Church
Producer: Jay Joyce
Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
Skeletons – Brothers Osborne
Producer: Jay Joyce
Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
Starting Over – Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
SONG OF THE YEAR (Award goes to Songwriter(s))
“Forever After All”
Songwriters: Luke Combs, Drew Parker, Robert Williford
“The Good Ones”
Songwriters: Gabby Barrett, Zach Kale, Emily Landis, Jim McCormick
“Hell Of A View”
Songwriters: Casey Beathard, Eric Church, Monty Criswell
“One Night Standards”
Songwriters: Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally, Ashley McBryde
“Starting Over”
Songwriters: Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Gabby Barrett
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Maren Morris
Carly Pearce
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Dierks Bentley
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady A
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion
Zac Brown Band
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Maddie & Tae
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
“Buy Dirt” – Jordan Davis and Luke Bryan
Producer: Paul DiGiovanni
“Chasing After You” – Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris
Producers: Aaron Eshuis, Teddy Reimer
“Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” – Elle King & Miranda Lambert
Producer: Martin Johnson
“Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown
Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young
“half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney)
Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Jenee Fleenor, Fiddle
Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar
Aaron Sterling, Drums
Ilya Toshinskiy, Banjo
Derek Wells, Guitar
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR (Award goes to Artist(s) and Director(s))
“Chasing After You” – Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris
Director: TK McKamy
“Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown
Director: Peter Zavadil
“Gone” – Dierks Bentley
Directors: Wes Edwards, Travis Nicholson, Ed Pryor, Running Bear, Sam Siske
“half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney)
Director: Patrick Tracy
“Younger Me” – Brothers Osborne
Director: Reid Long
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jimmie Allen
Ingrid Andress
Gabby Barrett
Mickey Guyton
HARDY
