The nominees for the 53rd Annual CMA Awards are here!

Revealed earlier this morning by Jimmie Allen, Ashley McBryde, Morgan Wallen and Midland on Good Morning America in Times Square, some of country music’s most talented artists received nominations in some of the most prestigious categories.

Maren Morris tops the list of finalists with six nominations. Brothers Osborne receives four nominations, the second most nominations this year, while 11 garner three nominations each—Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Scott Hendricks, Dann Huff, Greg Kurstin, Kacey Musgraves, Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton and Carrie Underwood. For the night’s highest honor, reigning Entertainer of the Year Keith Urban is nominated again in the category alongside Garth Brooks, Eric Church, Chris Stapleton and Underwood.

Hosted by Carrie Underwood with special guests Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, the 53rd Annual CMA Awards air LIVE from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday, November 13th @ 8/7c on ABC.

Keep checking back to CS Country for all things CMA Awards this season! 

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR  
  • Garth Brooks
  • Eric Church
  • Chris Stapleton
  • Carrie Underwood
  • Keith Urban
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s), and Mix Engineer 
  • “Burning Man” – Dierks Bentley Feat. Brothers Osborne
    Producers: Ross Copperman, Jon Randall, Arturo Buenahora, Jr.
    Mix Engineer: F. Reid Shippen
  • “GIRL” – Maren Morris
    Producer: Greg Kurstin
    Mix Engineer: Greg Kurstin
  • “God’s Country” – Blake Shelton
    Producer: Scott Hendricks
    Mix Engineer: Justin Niebank
  • “Millionaire” – Chris Stapleton
    Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
    Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
  • “Speechless” – Dan + Shay
    Producers: Dan Smyers, Scott Hendricks
    Mix Engineer: Jeff Juliano
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artist and Producers
  • Center Point Road – Thomas Rhett
    Producers: Dann Huff, Jesse Frasure, Thomas Rhett, Julian Bunetta, The Stereotypes, Cleve Wilson
  • Cry Pretty – Carrie Underwood
    Producers: David Garcia, Jim Jonsin, Carrie Underwood
  • Dan + Shay – Dan + Shay
    Producers: Dan Smyers, Scott Hendricks
  • Desperate Man – Eric Church
    Producers: Jay Joyce, Arturo Buenahora, Jr.
  • GIRL – Maren Morris
    Producers: busbee, Maren Morris, Greg Kurstin
SONG OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Songwriters 
  • “Beautiful Crazy”
    Songwriters: Luke Combs, Wyatt B. Durrette III, Robert Williford
  • “GIRL”
    Songwriters: Maren Morris, Sarah Aarons, Greg Kurstin
  • “God’s Country”
    Songwriters: Devin Dawson, Jordan Schmidt, Michael Hardy
  • “Rainbow”
    Songwriters: Natalie Hemby, Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves
  • “Tequila”
    Songwriters: Dan Smyers, Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Reynolds
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
  • 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
Award goes to Artists and Producer(s) 
  • “All My Favorite People” – Maren Morris (feat. Brothers Osborne)
    Producers: Maren Morris, busbee
  • “Brand New Man” – Brooks & Dunn (with Luke Combs)
    Producer: Dann Huff
  • “Dive Bar” – Garth Brooks & Blake Shelton
    Producer: Garth Brooks
  • “Old Town Road (Remix)” – Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus
    Producers: YoungKio, Michael Trent Reznor, Atticus Matthew Ross
  • “What Happens In A Small Town” – Brantley Gilbert & Lindsay Ell
    Producer: Dann Huff
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
  • Jenee Fleenor, Fiddle
  • Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar
  • Mac McAnally, Guitar
  • Ilya Toshinsky, Banjo/Guitar
  • Derek Wells, Guitar
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artist(s) and Director
  • “Burning Man” – Dierks Bentley Feat. Brothers Osborne
    Director: Wes Edwards
  • “GIRL” – Maren Morris
    Director: Dave Meyers
  • “God’s Country” – Blake Shelton
    Director: Sophie Muller
  • “Rainbow” – Kacey Musgraves
    Director: Hannah Lux Davis
  • “Some Of It” – Eric Church
    Director:  Reid Long
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
  • Cody Johnson
  • Ashley McBryde
  • Midland
  • Carly Pearce
  • Morgan Wallen
“THE 53RD ANNUAL CMA AWARDS” – FINALISTS FOR BROADCAST PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
(by market size):  

NATIONAL

  • “The Blair Garner Show” (Blair Garner and “Off Eric” Garner) – Westwood One
  • “The Bobby Bones Show” (Bobby Bones, Amy Brown, “Lunchbox” Dan Chappell, and Eddie Garcia) – Premiere Networks
  • “The Mayor of Music Row” (Charlie Monk) – Sirius XM Satellite Radio
  • “Nash Nights Live” (Shawn Parr and Elaina Smith) – Westwood One
  • “The Storme Warren Show” (Storme Warren) – Sirius XM Satellite Radio
MAJOR MARKET
  • “Chris Carr & Company” (Chris Carr, Kia Becht, McKaila Granning, and “Maverick” Jeffrey Bolen) – KEEY, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
  • “Mason & Remy” (Mason Schreader and “Remy” Zachary Hoesly) – WIL, St. Louis, Mo.
  • “The Morning Wolfpack with Matt McAllister” (Matt McAllister, Emily Raines, and “Slow Joe” Wallace) – KKWF, Seattle-Tacoma, Wash.
  • “The Rob + Holly Show” (Rob Stone and Holly Hutton) – WYCD, Detroit, Mich.
  • “Tanner in the Morning” (Rob Tanner, Catherine Lane, Chris Allen, and “Captain Jim” Homa) – WSOC, Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C.-S.C.
  • “Tony, Jake & Jenn” (Tony Russell, Jake Byron, and Jenn Hays) – KUPL, Portland, Ore.
LARGE MARKET
  • “Amanda and Jesse” (Amanda Valentine and Jesse Tack) – WUBE, Cincinnati, Ohio
  • “J.R. and Beth in the Morning” (“J.R.” Jon Jaus, Beth Boehm, and Chris Cardenas) – KCYY, San Antonio, Texas
  • “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
  • “Clay & Company” (Clay Moden and Val Townsend) – WYRK, Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.
  • “The Doc Show with Jessie” (Ken “Doc” Medek and Jessie Roberts) – WGGY, Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pa.
  • “Mo & StyckMan” (“Mo” Melissa Wagner and “Styckman” Greg Owens) – WUSY, Chattanooga, Tenn.
  • “Scott and Sarah in the Morning” (Scott Wynn and Sarah Kay) – WQMX, Akron, Ohio
  • “Tony and Kris” (Tony Randall and Kris Rochester) – WIVK, Knoxville, Tenn.
SMALL MARKET
  • “Barrett, Fox & Berry” (Bill Barrett, Tim Fox, and Tracy Berry) – KKNU, Eugene-Springfield, Ore.
  • “Ben & Arnie” (Ben Butler and Arnie Andrews) – WCOW, La Crosse, Wis.
  • “Dr. Shane and Tess in the Morning” (Shane Collins and Tess Connell) – WPAP, Panama City, Fla.
  • “Mackey and Miles in the Morning” (Jim Mackey and Deb Miles) – WBYT, South Bend, Ind.
  • “Officer Don & DeAnn” (“Officer Don” Evans and DeAnn Stephens) – WBUL, Lexington-Fayette, Ky.
“THE 53RD ANNUAL CMA AWARDS” – FINALISTS FOR RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (by market size):   
MAJOR MARKET
  • KILT – Houston-Galveston, Texas
  • KPLX – Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
  • WIL – St. Louis, Mo.
  • WKLB – Boston, Mass.
  • WYCD – Detroit, Mich.
LARGE MARKET
  • KCYY – San Antonio, Texas
  • KUBL – Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo, Utah
  • WFMS – Indianapolis, Ind.
  • WLHK – Indianapolis, Ind.
  • WQDR – Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
  • WSIX – Nashville, Tenn.
MEDIUM MARKET
  • CKRY – Calgary, Alta.
  • KXKT – Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa
  • WBBS – Syracuse, N.Y.
  • WIVK – Knoxville, Tenn.
  • WXCY – Wilmington, Del.
SMALL MARKET
  • KCLR – Columbia, Mo.
  • KFDI – Wichita, Kan.
  • KKNU – Eugene-Springfield, Ore.
  • WBYT – South Bend, Ind.
  • WYCT – Pensacola, Fla.

Author

  • Juliet Schroder

    Juliet is the founder and executive producer/host of Celeb Secrets and Celeb Secrets Country. When not reporting on the latest news in pop culture and country music, she enjoys traveling, spending time with friends and family, and exploring the latest fashion trends. Juliet holds a B.S. in marketing from St. John's University.

    View all posts