The Academy of Country Music® announced the nominations for the 55TH ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS™, Country Music’s Party of the Year®, honoring the biggest names and emerging talent in the Country Music industry. Reigning ACM® Entertainer of the Year and 15-time ACM Award®-winner Keith Urban will host the show for the first time. The 55th ACM Awards® will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Sunday, April 5 (live 8:00-11:00 PM ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network, and will be available to stream live and on-demand across digital platforms on the CBS All Access subscription service.
Nominees were revealed online via the ACM Awards Nominations Digital Press Conference . Urban along with ACM Award-winning artist Lauren Alaina, this year’s ACM Radio Award National On-Air Personality of the Year winner Bobby Bones, Entertainment Tonight’s Cassie DiLaura and Kevin Frazier, CBS This Morning’s Gayle King and reigning ACM New Female Artist of the Year Ashley McBryde all announced select categories via video postings to the Academy’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts. It was also announced today Lauren Alaina will be participating in this year’s telecast as the official Backstage Announcer for the 55th ACM Awards.
Maren Morris earned five nominations in four categories, including her fourth Female Artist of the Year nomination and first Group of the Year nomination as a member of The Highwomen. She is also nominated in the Album of the Year category twice, as both artist and producer, for GIRL. Additionally, Morris is nominated for Music Event of the Year for “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” with Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes, Caylee Hammack and Elle King.
Reigning Male Artist of the Year Thomas Rhett received five nominations in four categories, including his first-ever Entertainer of the Year nomination. Rhett is also nominated twice, as both artist and producer, for his album Center Point Road in the Album of the Year category. Additionally, he received his first Video of the Year nomination for “Remember You Young,” and his fourth Male Artist of the Year nomination.
Producer Dann Huff received five nominations, including a nod for Album of the Year with Thomas Rhett as a producer for Center Point Road. He is also nominated for Music Event of the Year as a producer for “What Happens in a Small Town” with Brantley Gilbert and Lindsay Ell, and Single of the Year as a producer for “What If I Never Get Over You” with Lady Antebellum. Huff also received two nominations across the Studio Recording Award categories, including Guitar Player of the Year and Producer of the Year, an award he won previously in 2006, 2009 and 2013.
Reigning Duo of the Year Dan + Shay earned four nominations, including their seventh nod for Duo of the Year. They received nominations in the Video of the Year, Music Event of the Year, and Song of the Year categories for “10,000 Hours.” Shay Mooney received his first individual nomination as a songwriter in the Song of the Year category for “10,000 Hours.” Additionally, Dan Smyers received two individual nominations as a songwriter in the Song of the Year category and as a producer in the Music Event of the Year category for “10,000 Hours.”
First-time Academy of Country Music Award nominee Justin Bieber earned four nominations for “10,000 Hours” (with Dan + Shay). Bieber is nominated for Music Event of the Year, Video of the Year, and twice, as both artist and songwriter, for Song of the Year.
Blake Shelton received four nominations, including Single of the Year, Song of the Year and Video of the Year for “God’s Country.” He is also nominated for Music Event of the Year for “Dive Bar” with Garth Brooks; Shelton previously won in this category in 2009 for “Hillbilly Bone.”
Reigning Group of the Year Old Dominion earned five nominations, including their fifth nod for Group of the Year. They are also nominated for Single of the Year and Video of the Year, plus twice in the Single of the Year category as both artist and producer for “One Man Band.” Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen and Brad Tursi each received individual nominations as songwriters in the Song of the Year category for “One Man Band.”
Eric Church received three nominations, including his second nod for Entertainer of the Year. Church was also nominated as artist and songwriter in the Song of the Year category for “Some of It” – marking his eighth and ninth nominations in the category.
Reigning New Male Artist of the Year Luke Combs received three nominations including Male Artist of the Year and his first nomination for Entertainer of the Year. He also received his first nomination for Album of the Year for What You See Is What You Get.
Miranda Lambert received three nominations including Female Artist of the Year, which she has won nine times, more than any other female in the history of the ACM Awards. Lambert was also nominated for Album of the Year for Wildcard and received a nomination for Music Event of the Year for “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” featuring Maren Morris, Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes, Caylee Hammack and Elle King.
Reigning New Female Artist of the Year Ashley McBryde received three nominations. She received two nominations in the Song of the Year category as both artist and songwriter for “Girl Goin’ Nowhere,” her first in the category. Also, she received her first nomination for Music Event of the Year for her contribution to Miranda Lambert’s “Fooled Around and Fell in Love.”
Reigning Female Artist of the Year Kacey Musgraves earned three nominations including her seventh nod for Female Artist of the Year. Additionally, she received her first Single of the Year nomination as both artist and producer for “Rainbow.”
ACM Award-winning producer busbee is posthumously nominated for two awards, including his third nod for Album of the Year with Maren Morris as a producer for GIRL. Also, he is nominated for Producer of the Year, his third nomination in this category.
This year’s nominations list includes 25 artists and industry creators receiving their first-ever ACM Awards nomination. The first-time nominees include Mason Allen, Ingrid Andress, Dan Atchison, Gabby Barrett, Justin Bieber, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, Jeremy Bussey, Clint Daniels, Carlo Glorioso, Riley Green, Caylee Hammack, Michael Hardy, The Highwomen, Cody Johnson, Alexa Kinigopoulos, Stephen Kinigopoulos, Lil Nas X, Angie Lorenz, Sophie Muller, Michael Trent Reznor, Matthew Atticus Ross, Jordan Schmidt, Tenille Townes, Morgan Wallen and YoungKio.
The 55th ACM Awards leading nominees include Dam Smyers of Dan + Shay as well as Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen and Brad Tursi of Old Dominion as each have a total of six ACM Awards nominations.
Additionally, women are represented in every Main Award category where they are eligible including Entertainer of the Year (Carrie Underwood) and Album of the Year (Maren Morris and Miranda Lambert).