Chris Stapleton Leads CMA Nominations

By Variety Staff

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – The Country Music Association announced the final nominees for The 52nd Annual CMA Awards this morning, and it’s a big day for singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton, who leads the list of finalists with five nominations. Producer and musician Dann Huff receives four nominations, while nine artists garnered three each — Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Chris Janson, Miranda Lambert, Midland, Thomas Rhett and Keith Urban.

Luke Bryan, Dan + Shay and Sugarland appeared on ABC’s “Good Morning America” today, live from Luke’s 32 Bridge Food + Drink, Bryan’s new restaurant and bar in downtown Nashville, to reveal nominees for six of the 12 categories on air.

“Today kicks off season where we get to honor the best of the best in our outstanding format,” said CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trahern. “There were some great breakout performances this year and the diversity of the nominations honors new faces and some favorite returning names.”

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood return for an 11th year to host “The 52nd Annual CMA Awards,” Country Music’s Biggest Night

, broadcasting live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 8/7c on ABC.

“THE 52ND ANNUAL CMA AWARDS” – FINAL NOMINEES (by ballot category order):

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

• Jason Aldean
• Luke Bryan
• Kenny Chesney
• Keith Urban

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist, Producer(s), and Mix Engineer(s))

• “Broken Halos” – Chris Stapleton 
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton 
Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
• “Drinkin’ Problem” – Midland 
Producers: Dann Huff, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne 
Mix Engineer: Justin Niebank
• “Drowns the Whiskey” – Jason Aldean (Feat. Miranda Lambert) 
Producer: Michael Knox 
Mix Engineer: Jeff Braun
• “Meant to Be” – Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line 
Producer: Willshire 
Mix Engineer: Serban Ghenea
• “Tequila” – Dan + Shay 
Producers: Scott Hendricks, Dan Smyers 
Mix Engineer: Jeff Juliano

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
(Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))

• From A Room: Volume 2 – Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
• Golden Hour – Kacey Musgraves
Producers: Ian Fitchuk, Daniel Tashian, Kacey Musgraves
• Graffiti U – Keith Urban
Producers: Keith Urban, 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, Ross Copperman, Dann Huff, Peter Karlsson
• Life Changes – Thomas Rhett
Producers: Julian Bunetta, Jesse Frasure, Dann Huff, Joe London, Thomas Rhett
• The Mountain – Dierks Bentley
Producers: Ross Copperman, Jon Randall Stewart, Arturo Buenahora Jr.

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
• Maren Morris
• Kacey Musgraves
• 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

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR

• Jerry Douglas, Dobro
• Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar
• Dann Huff, Guitar
• Mac McAnally, Guitar
• Derek Wells, Guitar

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

“THE 52ND ANNUAL CMA AWARDS” – FINAL NOMINEES FOR BROADCAST PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR (by market size):

NATIONAL

• “American Country Countdown” (Kix Brooks) – Westwood One
• “Bob Kingsley’s Country Top 40” (Bob Kingsley) – Westwood One
• “Country Countdown USA” (Lon Helton) – Westwood One
• “The Mayor of Music Row” (Charlie Monk) – Sirius XM Satellite Radio
• “The Music Row Happy Hour” (Buzz Brainard) – Sirius XM Satellite Radio

MAJOR MARKET

• “Bud and Broadway” (Bud Ford, Jerry Broadway, Kelly Rebal, “Captain Mac Douglas” Gregory Paul Ford, “T.Wall” Tom Wall, and “Sweet Becca” Walls) – WIL, St. Louis, Mo.
• “Double-L” (Lois Lewis) – KNIX, Phoenix, Ariz.
• “Hawkeye in the Morning” (“Hawkeye” Mark Louis Rybczyk, Jasmine Sadry, and “Connected K” Katelyn Maida) – KSCS, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
• “KYGO Morning Show” (Tracy Dixon, Guy David, and Patrick Knight) – KYGO, Denver-Boulder, Colo.
• “Tim, Ben and Brooke” (Tim Hattrick, Ben Campbell, and Brooke Hoover) – KNIX, Phoenix, Ariz.

LARGE MARKET

• “Jim, Deb & Kevin” (Jim Denny, Deborah Honeycutt, and Kevin Freeman) – WFMS, Indianapolis, Ind.
• “Obie & Ashley In The Morning” (Obie Diaz and Ashley Stegbauer) – WWKA – Orlando, Fla.
• “Q Morning Crew” (Mike Wheless and Janie Carothers) – WQDR, Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
• “The Randy, Jamie, and Jojo Show” (Randy Carroll, Jamie Martin, and Jojo Meza) – KAJA, San Antonio, Texas
• “Ridder, Scott and Shannen” (“Ridder” Shaun Ridderbush, Scott Dolphin, and Shannen Oesterreich) – WMIL, Milwaukee-Racine, WI

MEDIUM MARKET

• “The 97.5 WPCV Breakfast Club” (Roger Todd, “Julie K.” Kansy, and “D.J. Thee Trucker” Dale Sellers) – WPCV, Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
• Brent Michaels – KUZZ, Bakersfield, Calif.
• “Ken, Kelley, and Daniel” (Ken Hicks, Kelley Bradshaw, and Daniel Wyatt) – WUSY, Chattanooga, Tenn.
• “The Odd Squad” (Roger Rhodes, Robyn Adair, and Dan Carson)– CKRY, Calgary, Alta.
• “Scott and Sarah in the Morning” (Scott Wynn and Sarah Kay) – WQMX, Akron, Ohio

SMALL MARKET

• “Barrett, Fox & Berry” (Bill Barrett, Tim Fox, and Tracy Berry) – KKNU, Eugene-Springfield, Ore.
• “The Cat Pak Morning Show” (Brent Lane and Candy Cullerton) – WYCT, Pensacola, Fla.
• “The Eddie Foxx Show” (Eddie Foxx and Sharon Green) – WKSF, Asheville, N.C.
• “The Good Morning Guys” (Todd Harding, Susan Moore, and Brian Gary) – KUAD, Ft. Collins-Greeley, Colo.
• “Steve and Jessica Mornings” (Steve Waters and Jessica Cash) – WFLS, Fredericksburg, Va.

“THE 52ND ANNUAL CMA AWARDS” – FINAL NOMINEES FOR RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (by market size):

MAJOR MARKET

• KKBQ – Houston-Galveston, Texas
• KNIX – Phoenix, Ariz.
• KUPL – Portland, Ore.
• WKKT – Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C.-S.C.
• WSOC – Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C.-S.C.

LARGE MARKET

• KCYY – San Antonio, Texas
• KUBL – Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo, Utah
• WQIK – Jacksonville, Fla.
• WUBE – Cincinnati, Ohio
• WWKA – Orlando, Fla.

MEDIUM MARKET

• KUZZ – Bakersfield, Calif.
• WBBS – Syracuse, N.Y.
• WHKO – Dayton, Ohio
• WUSY – Chattanooga, Tenn.
• WYRK – Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.

SMALL MARKET

• KCLR – Columbia, Mo.
• KKNU – Eugene-Springfield, Ore.
• KTTS – Springfield, Mo.
• WCOW – La Crosse, Wis.
• WKSF – Asheville, N.C.