Nominations Announced for the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards

Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett Join Global Superstar Dolly Parton as Co-hosts

Live From Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas Monday, March 7,

Exclusively on Prime Video

Walker Hayes, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton and Chris Young Lead Nominations

Females Nominated in Every Eligible Main Awards Category

35% of Nominees Are Nominated for the First-Time Within Their Categories

The Concert Event of the Year will Livestream Without Commercial Interruption,

Giving Fans Around the World More Music Than Ever Before; Tickets Available at Ticketmaster

CULVER CITY, California – February 10, 2022 – The Academy of Country Music® announced today the nominations for the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards™, honoring country music’s biggest stars and emerging talent, and celebrating the year’s top hits, most successful collaborations, and thrilling performances.

Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett revealed this year’s ACM Award nominees for Entertainer of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, New Female Artist of the Year, and New Male Artist of the Year on the ACM Awards Twitter, where Allen and Barrett both surprised each other with respective nods in the Male and Female Artist of the Year categories and shared their excitement about co-hosting this year’s show with Dolly Parton.

This year’s show, on Prime Video, will make history as the first major awards show to livestream exclusively and promises to be a nonstop party, bringing legendary artists together with today’s favorites for exciting and unexpected collaborations, surprising moments fans will never forget, and world television-premiere performances. Further details including the ACM Awards performance lineup will be announced in the coming weeks.

The 57th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by global icon Dolly Parton and co-hosted by reigning ACM New Male Artist of the Year winner Jimmie Allen and reigning ACM New Female Artist of the Year Gabby Barrett, will stream live on Prime Video and without commercial interruption, on Monday, March 7, 2022, 8:00 p.m. EST/7:00 p.m. CST/5:00 p.m. PST from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. Tickets are currently on-sale at Ticketmaster.

Streaming live on Prime Video in the U.S., Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK, the Academy of Country Music Awards will make history as the first major awards show to livestream exclusively.

Nominee Highlights for the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards:

• Chris Young leads with seven nominations including Album of the Year and Single of the Year. Young shares three of his nominations with fellow artist and collaborator Kane Brown for their song Famous Friends.
• Miranda Lambert receives record-tying 16^th Female Artist of the Year nomination (tied with Reba McEntire), as well as four other nominations.
• Walker Hayes receives five nominations as a first-time nominee. This comes 17 years after Hayes moved to Nashville to pursue a career in music.
• Women continue to see an increase in representation, pulling in 37% of nominations, compared to an average of 35% in the past 5 years (2% increase).

• The Academy continues its legacy of being the first to recognize artists early in their careers, with 35% of this year’s nominees being first-time nominees overall, or first-time nominees in their respective categories.
• 57^th Academy of Country Music Awards co-hosts Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett receive their first nods in the Male Artist of the Year and Female Artist of the Year categories, respectively.

• Women make up 50% of the producers and directors in the Video of the Year nominations.

• Nominations include three members of the LGBTQ+ community. TJ Osborne of Brothers Osborne receives a nomination for Duo of the Year, Lily Rose receives a nomination for New Female Artist of the Year, and Shane McAnally receives four nominations.

• Chris Stapleton receives five nominations including his fourth nod for Entertainer of the Year and his seventh for Male Artist of the Year.
• Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert and Chris Stapleton are nominees for Entertainer of the Year. A win for either artist in that category will also clinch the coveted Triple Crown Award, which consists of an Entertainer of the Year win, plus wins in an act’s respective New Artist (male, female, or duo or group) and Artist (Male, female, duo or group) categories.
• Kelsea Ballerini and Miranda Lambert both receive nominations as producers for the first time.
• Nicolle Galyon receives her first Songwriter of the Year nomination. She has previously been nominated for three ACM Awards, winning two. She is the third woman to be nominated for Songwriter of the Year.
• Ryan Hurd and Maren Morris are the first married couple to be nominated in the same year since Tim McGraw and Faith Hill in 2017.
• All videos nominated for Video of the Year are collaborations for the first time in ACM Awards history.
• After making history last year as the first female to be nominated for Audio Engineer of the Year, Gena Johnson receives her second nod in the same category.
• Actor, producer, and director Blake Lively receives two nominations for producing and directing Taylor Swift’s music video I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version). This marks Lively’s first ACM Award nomination and her first nomination at a music award show. Actor and Producer Austin Swift is a first-time nominee, receiving a nod for producer of I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version). Taylor Swift receives her 32^nd nomination, her first ACM Award nomination since 2018.
• The Basement East receives its first nomination for Club of the Year less than two years after being leveled by the tornado that tore through Nashville in March of 2020. The club has since rebuilt and reopened.
• Jordan Davis, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Carly Pearce, Carrie Underwood, and Morgan Wallen each receive four nominations.
• Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Dave Cobb, Ashley McBryde and Lainey Wilson each receive three nominations.
• Overall, this year’s nominations include 31 artists and industry creators receiving their first-ever ACM Awards nominations. Cameron Bartolini, Brandon Bell, Ryan Byrd, Priscilla Block, Alexa Campbell, Jacob Davis, Paul DiGiovanni, Jacob Durrett, Kat Higgins, Walker Hayes, Ryan Hurd, Adam James, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins, Billy Justineau, Viktor Krauss, Blake Lively, Todd Lombardo, Josh Matheny, Jason Nix, Kathy Palmer, Lily Rose, Elvie Shane, Caitlyn Smith, Jonathan Singleton, Wesley Stebbins-Perry, Shane Stevens, James Stratakis, Austin Swift, Joe Thibodeau and Lainey Wilson all receive their first ACM Award nomination.

Following is the full list of nominees for the Main Awards, Studio Recording Awards and Industry Awards categories.

MAIN AWARDS:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

• Eric Church
• Luke Combs
• Miranda Lambert
• Chris Stapleton
• Carrie Underwood

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

• Gabby Barrett
• Miranda Lambert
• Ashley McBryde
• Maren Morris
• Carly Pearce

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

• Jimmie Allen
• Luke Combs
• Thomas Rhett
• Chris Stapleton
• Morgan Wallen

DUO OF THE YEAR

• Brooks & Dunn
• Brothers Osborne
• Dan + Shay
• LOCASH
• Maddie & Tae

GROUP OF THE YEAR

• Lady A
• Little Big Town
• Midland
• Old Dominion
• The Cadillac Three

NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

• Tenille Arts
• Priscilla Block
• Lily Rose
• Caitlyn Smith
• Lainey Wilson

NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

• HARDY
• Walker Hayes
• Ryan Hurd
• Parker McCollum
• Elvie Shane

ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

• 29: Written in Stone – Carly Pearce

Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Jimmy Robbins, Tony Brown

Record Company-Label: Big Machine Records

• Country Again: Side A – Thomas Rhett

Producers: Dann Huff, Jesse Frasure, Matt Dragstrem

Record Company-Label: Big Machine Label Group

• Dangerous: The Double Album – Morgan Wallen

Producer: Joey Moi, Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome, Matt Dragstrem, Dave Cohen

Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records / Republic Records

• Famous Friends – Chris Young

Producer: Mark Holman, Corey Crowder, Chris Young, Chris DeStefano

Record Company-Label: RCA Records Nashville

• The Marfa Tapes – Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall

Producers: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall

Record Company-Label: Vanner Records / RCA Records Nashville

SINGLE OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

• Buy Dirt – Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan

Producer: Paul DiGiovanni

Record Company-Label: MCA Nashville

• Famous Friends – Chris Young and Kane Brown

Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young

Record Company-Label: RCA Records Nashville

• Fancy Like – Walker Hayes

Producers: Walker Hayes, Shane McAnally, Joe Thibodeau

Record Company-Label: Monument Records

• If I Didn’t Love You – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood

Producers: Michael Knox

Record Company-Label: Broken Bow Records; Macon Music, LLC; BBR Music Group, BMG

• You Should Probably Leave – Chris Stapleton

Producer: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton

Record Company-Label: Mercury Nashville

SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]

• 7 Summers – Morgan Wallen

Songwriters: Morgan Wallen, Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally

Publishers: Big Loud Mountain, Bo Wallace Publishing, Smackborne Music, Sony/ATV Accent, Smackstreet Music, Tempo Investments, Warner Geo Met Ric Music

• Buy Dirt – Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan

Songwriters: Jordan Davis, Jacob Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins

Publishers: Anthem Music Publishing II, Bentprop Pub, Big Blue Nation Music, Combustion Five, Jentown, Jordan Davis Music, Smackwork Music, Smack Blue, Kobalt Music Group Music, Universal Music Corporation, WC Music Corp

• Fancy Like – Walker Hayes

Songwriters: Cameron Bartolini, Josh Jenkins, Shane Stevens, Walker Hayes

Publishers: Songs of SMACK, Rarespark Media Group, Smackworks Music, Smack Blue, Kobalt Music Group, Holy Graffiti Music, Purplebeatz, WC Music Corp

• Knowing You – Kenny Chesney

Songwriters: Adam James, Brett James, Kat Higgins

Publishers: 3 Ring Circus, BMG Platinum Songs, Pompano Run Music, Songs of Brett, WC Music Corp

• Things A Man Oughta Know – Lainey Wilson

Songwriters: Jason Nix, Jonathan Singleton, Lainey Wilson

Publishers: Sony/ATV Accent, Sony/ATV Countryside, Spirit Two Nashville, Super Big Music

VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]

• Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home) – Elle King and Miranda Lambert

Producers: Lora Criner, Angie Lorenz, Wes Edwards, James Stratakis

Directors: Alexa Kinigopoulos, Stephen Kinigopoulos

• Famous Friends – Chris Young and Kane Brown

Producer: Jennifer Ansell

Director: Peter Zavadil

• I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) – Taylor Swift featuring Chris Stapleton

Producers: Jil Hardin, Blake Lively, Kathy Palmer, Austin Swift

Director: Blake Lively

• If I Didn’t Love You – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood

Producers: Christen Pinkston, Wesley Stebbins-Perry

Director: Shaun Silva

• Never Wanted To Be That Girl – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde

Producer: Ryan Byrd

Director: Alexa Campbell

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR*(Off Camera Award)

• Jesse Frasure
• Nicolle Galyon
• Ashley Gorley
• Michael Hardy
• Josh Osborne

MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

• Buy Dirt – Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan

Producer: Paul DiGiovanni

Record Company-Label: MCA Nashville

• Famous Friends – Chris Young and Kane Brown

Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young

Record Company-Label: RCA Records Nashville

• half of my hometown – Kelsea Ballerini featuring Kenny Chesney

Producers: Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins, Kelsea Ballerini

Record Company-Label: Black River Entertainment

• If I Didn’t Love You – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood

Producer: Michael Knox

Record Company-Label: Broken Bow Records; Macon Music, LLC; BBR Music Group, BMG

• Never Wanted To Be That Girl – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde

Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne

Record Company-Label: Big Machine Label Group, Warner Music Nashville

The 2021 Industry Awards and Studio Recording Awards will be presented to recipients at Academy of Country Music Honors™, a special event held annually in August at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN. More details to be announced in coming months.

STUDIO RECORDING AWARDS

BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• J.T. Cure
• Mark Hill
• Viktor Krauss
• Jimmie Lee Sloas
• Glenn Worf

DRUMMER OF THE YEAR

• Chad Cromwell
• Fred Eltringham
• Evan Hutchings
• Derek Mixon
• Jerry Roe
• Nir Z

ACOUSTIC GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Dave Cobb
• Todd Lombardo
• Bryan Sutton
• Ilya Toshinskiy
• Charlie Worsham

PIANO/KEYBOARDS PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• David Dorn
• Charlie Judge
• Billy Justineau
• Gordon Mote
• Benmont Tench

SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Stuart Duncan
• Paul Franklin
• Josh Matheny
• Mickey Raphael
• Kristin Wilkinson

ELECTRIC GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR

• Tom Bukovac
• Dan Dugmore
• Jedd Hughes
• Rob McNelley
• Derek Wells

AUDIO ENGINEER OF THE YEAR

• Brandon Bell
• Jim Cooley
• Gena Johnson
• Jason Hall
• Vance Powell

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR

• Buddy Cannon
• Dave Cobb
• Ian Fitchuk
• Dann Huff
• Joey Moi

INDUSTRY AWARDS

CASINO OF THE YEAR – THEATER

• Agua Caliente – Rancho Mirage, CA
• Choctaw Casino – Durant, OK
• Deadwood Mountain Grand – Deadwood, SD
• Resorts World – Las Vegas, NV
• Soaring Eagle Casino – Mt. Pleasant, MI

CASINO OF THE YEAR – ARENA

• Hard Rock (Live at Etess Arena) – Atlantic City, NJ
• Laughlin Event Center – Laughlin, NV
• Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, CT
• Mystic Lake Casino – Prior Lake, MN

FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR

• Carolina Country Music Fest – Myrtle Beach, SC
• Country Thunder – Florence, AZ
• Faster Horses Festival – Brooklyn, MI
• Tortuga Music Festival – Ft. Lauderdale, FL
• Windy City Smokeout Festival – Chicago, IL

FAIR/RODEO OF THE YEAR

• Auburn Rodeo – Auburn, AL
• California Mid-State Fair – Paso Robles, CA
• Cheyenne Frontier Days – Cheyenne, WY
• Minnesota State Fair – St. Paul, MN
• San Antonio Rodeo – San Antonio, TX

CLUB OF THE YEAR

• Basement East – Nashville, TN
• Billy Bob’s – Fort Worth, TX
• Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa, OK
• Coca-Cola Roxy – Atlanta, GA
• Georgia Theatre – Athens, GA

THEATER OF THE YEAR

• American Music Theatre – Lancaster, PA
• Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center – Cincinnati, OH
• Blue Gate Performing Arts Center – Shipshewana, IN
• Ruth Eckerd Hall – Clearwater, FL
• Ryman Auditorium – Nashville, TN

OUTDOOR VENUE OF THE YEAR

• Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion – Gilford, NH
• Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO
• Saint Augustine Amphitheatre – St. Augustine, FL
• The Wharf Amphitheater – Orange Beach, AL
• Whitewater Amphitheater – New Braunfels, TX

ARENA OF THE YEAR

• BOK Center – Tulsa, OK
• Bridgestone Arena – Nashville, TN
• Dickies Arena – Fort Worth, TX
• Ford Center – Evansville, IN
• Rupp Arena – Lexington, KY

DON ROMEO TALENT BUYER OF THE YEAR

• Brent Fedrizzi
• Michelle Romeo
• RJ Romeo
• Shawn Radley
• Todd Boltin

PROMOTER OF THE YEAR

• Aaron Spalding
• Adam Weiser
• Bradley Jordan
• Brian O’Connell
• Ed Warm

IMPORTANT NOTES: Awards counts for artists reflect categories in which they have been recognized as individuals or as part of their duo or group. In some cases, an artist may receive more than one nomination per category, such as producer, director or songwriter which factors into their official count.

Award recipients in each category are noted above in brackets in the Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Song of the Year, Video of the Year and Music Event of the Year.

Awards are voted on by members of the Academy of Country Music. Membership has increased by 12% in the past year, bringing the Academy’s total membership to more than 4,600 members.

A full database of previous Academy of Country Music Awards nominations and winners can be found on the Academy of Country Music website in the “Winners Search” section found here.

The 57th Academy of Country Music Awards is produced by MRC Live & Alternative. R.A. Clark is executive producer of the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards. Damon Whiteside is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music. For more information, log onto www.ACMcountry.com or www.ACMLiftingLives.org

The health and safety of the artists, fans, industry, staff and partners involved in the ACM Awards is the number one priority. All guidelines set forth by national, state and local health officials will be closely followed and implemented during the production along with additional safety measures to be instated by MRC and the Academy of Country Music.

About the Academy of Country Music Awards™

The 57th Academy of Country Music Awards™ is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in country music and will feature exciting performances, unprecedented collaborations, surprising moments and more with a show so big, only a stadium can hold it. The 57th ACM Awards are looking toward the future with a historic, first of its kind partnership with Prime Video, making history as the first major awards show to livestream exclusively, LIVE from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Monday, March 7, 2022. Tickets for the Awards are available to purchase now at Ticketmaster.

For more information on the 57th ACM Awards, like the Academy of Country Music on Facebook, follow the Academy on Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, all at @ACMawards, and sign up for the FREE ACM A-List for all the latest news and updates in your email inbox.

About MRC Live & Alternative

MRC Live & Alternative, a division of global entertainment company MRC, is the world’s largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming with the “Academy of Country Music Awards,” “American Music Awards,” “Billboard Music Awards,” “Golden Globe Awards,” “Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest” and the “Streamy Awards.” MRC Live & Alternative owns one of the world’s most extensive and unique entertainment archive libraries with more than 60 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. For more information please visit: www.mrcentertainment.com.

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