Nominations For The 56th Annual CMA Awards Are Out

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As we told you, nominees for the 56^th Annual CMA Awards were just announced with newcomer Lainey Wilson leading the pack of this year’s nominees with six, followed by Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, and Chris Stapleton, with five each.

When it comes to the night’s most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year, Morgan Wallen, who last year was ineligible for a nomination due to his racial slur scandal, earns his first-ever nod in the category, along with Stapleton, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood.

Meanwhile, women are well-represented in this year’s Album of the Year category with Miranda recognized for “Palomino,” Maren Morris getting a nod for “Humble Quest,” and Lainey recognized for “Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’.” They’ll compete with Combs’ “Growin’ UP,” and Old Dominion’s "Time, Tequila & Therapy." 

As for this year’s snubs…

• While Maren earned an Album of the Year nod, she was left out of the Female Vocalist of the Year category, which she previously won in 2020.
• Eric Church, who won CMA Entertainer of the Year in 2020, didn’t earn a nod in the category this year.
• Kane Brown, who earned three nominations last year, got zilch this year.
• After making strides last year, with five nominations going to artists off color, Breland is the only African American country artist to receive a nomination. It's his first-ever CMA nod.
• Keith Urban received absolutely no nods this year, while both Thomas Rhett and Dierks Bentley were left out of the Male Vocalist category.

The 56^th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, airs November 9^th on ABC. Check out this year’s nominees below and check out artist reactions here.

Entertainer of the Year

• Luke Combs
• Miranda Lambert
• Chris Stapleton
• Carrie Underwood
• Morgan Wallen 

Single of the Year 

• "Buy Dirt" -- Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan (Producer: Paul DiGiovanni, Mix Engineer: Jim Cooley)
• "half of my hometown" -- Kelsea Ballerini (feat. Kenny Chesney) (Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins, Mix Engineer: Dan Grech-Marguerat)
• "Never Wanted To Be That Girl" -- Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde (Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore)
• "'Til You Can't" -- Cody Johnson (Producer: Trent Willmon, Mix Engineer: Jack Clarke)
• "You Should Probably Leave" -- Chris Stapleton (Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton, Mix Engineer: Vance Powell)

Album of the Year

• "Growin' Up" -- Luke Combs (Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton, Mix Engineers: Jim Cooley, Chip Matthews)
• "Humble Quest" -- Maren Morris (Producer: Greg Kurstin, Mix Engineer: Serban Ghenea)
• "Palomino" -- Miranda Lambert (Producers: Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall, Mikey Reaves, Mix Engineer: Jason Lehning)
• "Sayin' What I'm Thinkin'" -- Lainey Wilson (Producer: Jay Joyce, Mix Engineer: F. Reid Shippen)
• "Time, Tequila & Therapy" -- Old Dominion (Producers: Shane McAnally, Old Dominion, Mix Engineer: Justin Niebank)

Song of the Year 

• "Buy Dirt" - Songwriters: Jacob Davis, Jordan Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins
• "Never Wanted To Be That Girl" - Songwriters: Shane McAnally, Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce
• "Sand In My Boots" - Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Michael Hardy, Josh Osborne
• "Things A Man Oughta Know" - Songwriters: Jason Nix, Jonathan Singleton, Lainey Wilson
• "You Should Probably Leave" - Songwriters: Chris DuBois, Ashley Gorley, Chris Stapleton 

Female Vocalist of the Year 

• Miranda Lambert
• Ashley McBryde
• Carly Pearce
• Carrie Underwood
• Lainey Wilson 

Male Vocalist of the Year 

• Eric Church
• Luke Combs
• Cody Johnson
• Chris Stapleton
• Morgan Wallen

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
• LOCASH
• Maddie & Tae

New Artist of the Year 

• HARDY
• Walker Hayes
• Cody Johnson
• Parker McCollum
• Lainey Wilson

Musical Event of the Year

• "Beers On Me" -- Dierks Bentley with BRELAND & HARDY (Producers: Dierks Bentley, Ross Copperman)
• "If I Didn't Love You" -- Jason Aldean & Carrie Underwood (Producer: Michael Knox)
• "Longneck Way To Go" -- Midland (featuring Jon Pardi) (Producers: Dann Huff, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)
• "Never Say Never" -- Cole Swindell (with Lainey Wilson) (Producer: Zach Crowell)
• "Never Wanted To Be That Girl" -- Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde (Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)

Music Video of the Year

• "I Bet You Think About Me" (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) -- Taylor Swift (featuring Chris Stapleton) (Director: Blake Lively)
• "Longneck Way To Go" -- Midland (featuring Jon Pardi) (Director: Harper Smith)
• "Never Say Never" -- Cole Swindell (with Lainey Wilson) (Director: Michael Monaco)
• "Never Wanted To Be That Girl" -- Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde (Director: Alexa Campbell)
• "'Til You Can't" -- Cody Johnson (Director: Dustin Haney) 

Source: CMA Awards