Culture Representation: Taking place in Nashville, the comedy film “Camp Hideout” features a predominantly white cast of characters (with a few African Americans) representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: A teenage rebel, who’s in the foster care system, escapes from two criminals he’s been working with, by going into hiding in a summer camp for teens.
Culture Audience: “Camp Hideout” will appeal primarily to people who like watching faith-based comedy movies that are derivative and treat audiences like idiots.
Ethan Drew and Jenna Raine Simmons in “Camp Hideout” (Photo courtesy of Roadside Attractions)
“Camp Hideout” is nothing but cringeworthy clichés of summer camp comedies, with some ripoff ideas thrown in from 1990’s “Home Alone.” The jokes and scenarios are staler than camp cookout food that was left to rot in a previous century.
Directed by Sean Olson, “Camp Hideout” has a very weak screenplay written by Kat Olson, C. Neil Davenport and Dave DeBorde. The movie’s simplistic plot is stretched to the breaking point, until it becomes a repetitive loop of predictable nonsense, like tangled threads that just make a mess and take up space. The film’s main characters are an awkward mix of extremes: either “too good to be true” saccharine sweet or “sinners” who need redemption.
The beginning of “Camp Hideout” (which takes place in Nashville, where the movie was filmed) shows troubled foster kid Noah (played by Ethan Drew), who’s 14 years old, getting a lecture from his social worker Selena (played by Amanda Leighton), who is preparing to accompany Noah on a church camping trip for adolescents. The name of the camp destination is Deer Run Camp, where Selena is a camp counselor. Noah has had a history of getting into trouble with the law.
Selena comments to Noah about this camping trip, “This is your last shot. If you fail here, they’ll sent you to [juvenile detention].” It turns out that Noah hasn’t quite left his law-breaking lifestyle behind. A flashback to the recent past shows that Noah was working with two brother thieves named Willis Talari (played by Joshua Childs) and Charlie Talari (played by Josh Inocalla), who recruited Noah to help them rob a wealthy real estate mogul named Brooks Brady.
How did they commit this robbery? Charlie delivered a giant potted plant to Brooks’ office. Noah was hiding inside the pot and was instructed to let Willis and Charlie in the office when no one was looking. However, the robbery got interrupted when Noah was almost caught. A cop chased after Noah on the street, but Noah was able to outrun the cop and get away. Noah saw the bus leaving for the camp and jumped on the bus in the nick of time.
Meanwhile, Willis and Charlie were also able to escape from the botched robbery and are looking for Noah, because he has an item that the brothers desperately want from Noah. (That item is revealed toward the end of the movie.) It should come as no surprise that the Talari brothers find out that Noah has been hiding out at Deer Run Camp.
Deer Run Camp has the usual stereotypes of “kids at camp” movies: There’s the overly perky camper Becky (played by Isabelle Almoyan), who immediately annoys Noah. There’s the socially awkward nerd Oliver (played by Tyler Kowalski), who proudly announces to Noah: “I’m the queen of all the camp rules.” There’s the rich kid bully Trey (played by Luca Alexander), who predictably targets Oliver and newcomer Noah for mean-spirited harassment.
There’s the grouchy authority figure Falco (played by Christopher Lloyd), the owner of Deer Run Camp, who despises children. Falco prefers the company of his German Shepherd named Lazurus, who’s in the movie and has more personality than most of the human characters. There’s the friendly camp counselor Jake (played by Corbin Bleu), who becomes somewhat of an older brother/mentor figure to Noah. There’s the “nice girl” love interest Mallory (played by Jenna Raine Simmons), who says and does all the right things that “good girls” do when they’re supposed to help “bad boys” turn their lives around.
The rest of the children at this camp are not given distinct personalities and are just there as side characters. “Camp Hideout” has a lot of silly slapstick comedy involving food fights and game challenges, with hardly any excitement or originality in these scenes. And when thieving brothers Willis and Charlie inevitably track down Noah at this camp, the movie turns into an unimpressive series of “Home Alone”-style booby traps.
“Camp Hideout” has some poorly written aspects that make no sense. For example, Falco says he doesn’t like technology because his dog Lazurus was once electrocuted during an electrical storm. Does Falco not understand that an electrical storm has to do with nature, not technology? It’s also revealed near the end who Trey’s father is, in a very mushy plot development.
There are absolutely no surprises in “Camp Hideout,” which isn’t necessarily a bad thing if a story has charismatic characters and engaging dialogue. But so much of “Camp Hideout” has uninteresting characters and terribly moronic dialogue, with a lot of bad acting to match. For a movie that has some moralistic preaching about personal excellence, “Camp Hideout” is far from excellent in how it delivers its intended message.
Roadside Attractions released “Camp Hideout” in select U.S. cinemas on September 15, 2023. The movie was released on digital and VOD on October 24, 2023.
Culture Representation: Taking place in 2020, in various parts of the United States, the documentary film “Anthem” features a racially diverse group of people (African American, white, Latino, Native American and a few Asians) who are connected in some way to the documentary’s mission to find a variety of American residents to create a new U.S. national anthem.
Culture Clash: People disagree on what “patriotic” music and lyrics are supposed to be for Americans.
Culture Audience: “Anthem” will appeal primarily to viewers who are fans of the documentary’s stars Kris Bowers and DJ Dahi, as well as fans of documentaries about racially diverse people joining together for a common cause, but this movie bites off more than it can chew on this weighty subject matter.
Kris Bowers and DJ Dahi in “Anthem” (Photo courtesy of Hulu)
Although “Anthem” might have had good intentions to do something groundbreaking in music and American culture, it really looks like a half-baked experiment and an excuse to take a road trip. This documentary is supposed to be about a diverse group of people creating a new U.S. national anthem, but people of Asian heritage are mostly excluded from this movie. It’s a travelogue and a long commercial for the song that’s performed at the end. And that song? After all the buildup and hype in this documentary, the song that the group comes up with—”We Are America”—is really just a bland and forgettable pop tune. There’s nothing iconic about this song at all.
Directed by Peter Nicks (who is seen briefly in the movie), “Anthem” (which had its premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Festival) looks like the type of movie that seems like a great idea on paper. But the complexities involved in doing this concept justice just seemed to be too much for this documentary’s filmmakers. There’s a lot of footage of film/TV composer Kris Bowers (“King Richard,” “Bridgerton”) and hip-hop artist DJ Dahi on a road trip to six metropolitan areas of the U.S., where they spend a lot of time sitting in on local band rehearsals and nodding along to whatever the people are saying in the interviews.
It’s explained in the movie, when Bowers and DJ Dahi meet in Los Angeles, that these two artists didn’t know each other before the road trip. Bowers and DJ Dahi (whose real name is Dacoury Dahi Natche) have amiable chemistry together, but this documentary would have been more interesting if the two taking the road trip were music artists who know each other very well. Bowers (who is one of the producers of “Anthem”) and DJ Dahi are also quite passive in their conversations with the local music artists. The questions they ask are often boring and needed more curiosity and charisma, if the intent was to recruit these singers and musicians to be in the group that’s writing and performing this “new national anthem.”
The documentary explains that this “new national anthem” is not intended to replace “The Star-Spangled Banner.” It is intended to be a more updated national anthem that is a better reflection of how much more diverse the United States is in the 2020s, compared to when Francis Scott Key wrote the lyrics to “The Star-Spangled Banner” in 1814. The inherent problem, of course, is that with so many more music genres that didn’t exist in 1814 but were invented in the 20th century (including rock, hip-hop and electronic dance music, to name a few), it’s impossibe to come up with a new song that everyone in America can agree is the best representation of America.
Various cultural experts such as Nikole Hannah-Jones, Shana L. Redmond and Mark Clague weigh on what it means to even think about creating a new national anthem. They all say the obvious: Some people will think it’s an inspired idea, while others will think it’s highly unpatriotic. For many people in America, “The Star-Spangled Banner” represents freedom. For other, people “The Star-Spangled Banner” represents oppression.
Redmond comments that any deviation or different version of the U.S. national anthem is “seen as an affront.” It’s also noted in the documentary that people of color who perform different musical arrangements of the national anthem tend to get the harshest criticism. Jimi Hendrix and José Feliciano are mentioned as examples of how their versions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” got a lot of backlash when Hendrix and Feliciano first performed these versions in the late 1960s.
Considering how vast the United States is, in terms of land space, Bowers and DJ Dahi realistically could not go to every major city if the documentary had time constraints. However, going to only six regions—Detroit; Clarksdale, Mississippi; Nashville; New Orleans; Oklahoma; and the San Francisco Bay Area—still seems a bit skimpy, considering that only one of these regions (the San Francisco Bay Area) is not in the South or Midwest. In each region, Bowers and DJ Dahi visit with local musicians to get their thoughts on music and possibly recruit some of these musicians to be a part of the making of this “new national anthem.”
For this documentary, Detroit was chosen to represent R&B music in America; Clarksdale was chosen to represent blues music in America; Nashville was chosen to represent country music in America; Oklahoma was chosen to represent Native American music; and the San Francisco Bay Area was chosen to represent Latin music in America. For unknown reasons, “Anthem” ignores cities and spotlights for rock and hip-hop, two of the most important American-made music genres. And it’s a baffling omission, considering that DJ Dahi is a hip-hop producer who has worked with hip-hop artists such as Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott and Drake.
The interviews range from generic to fairly insightful. In Detroit, keyboardist Joseph “Amp” Fiddler comments: “We love this country. We love the people in our country. But does our country love us?” In Clarksdale, harmonica player Terry “Harmonica” Bean says about the blues: “The music that you hear from here, America gets the credit for it, but it comes from Africa … The blues will never die. We’re just passing it on, passing the torch.”
Discussions of “The Star-Spangled Banner” also extend to perceptions of the American flag and its offshoots. In Clarksdale, singer/keyboardist Eden Brent reflects on how she, as a white woman living the U.S. South, changed her mind about the Confederate flag over time when she learned how many people see the Confederate flag as a symbol of racism. She says that even though some people might defend the Confederate flag as being a symbol of “Southern pride,” people shouldn’t forget that the history of the Confederate flag was about fighting to keep slavery legal in the United States.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, self-described radical activist musician Cecilia Peña-Govea (whose stage name is La Doña) openly talks about how the U.S. flag has become a symbol of greed and destruction for her. In Nashville, singer Charity Bowden says the U.S. flag and “The Star-Spangled Banner” will always be a source of pride for her, especially since she comes from a military family. It’s at this point in the movie that you know the filmmakers are going to be like reality TV producers and have Peña-Govea and Bowden working in a room together, and the two women inevitably clash with each other. And sure enough, that happens. By contrast, one of the artist highlights of the documentary is seeing poet Joy Harjo show her entrancing talent in the recording studio.
With all this talk of diversity throughout “Anthem,” there is surprisingly very little representation of people with Asian heritage in the documentary’s selection of musicians and singers who get the spotlight. In New Orleans, trombonist Haruka Kakuchi is shown briefly with the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. Singer-songwriter Thao Nguyen is seen playing “We Are America” during the movie’s end credits. People of South Asian heritage are excluded in this movie, in terms of the prominently featured musicians and singers.
Other people featured in the documentary include lighting director Briana Nicole Henry and the following music artists: Larae Starr, Dennis Coffey, Paul Randolph, Anthony “Big A” Sherrod, Lee Williams, Ruby Amanfu, Jack Schneider, Zachariah Akil Witcher, Ellen Angelico, Megan Brittany Coleman, Preston James, Glen Finister Andrews, Charlie Gabriel, Wendell Brunious, Richard Moten, George Coser, Dana Tiger, Watko Long, Miguel Govea, Naomi Garcia Pasmanick, Sergio Duran and Esai Moreno Salas. The credited songwriters for “We Are America” are Amanfu, Bowden, Bowers, Peña-Govea, Harjo and DJ Dahi, under his real name.
Although the technical aspects of “Anthem” are well-done, the documentary doesn’t look like a fascinating history lesson that blends music and American history. Instead, the documentary looks like a hastily assembled hodgepodge of people brought together to write and record a “music by committee” song that, frankly, does not sound all that majestic and is very underwhelming for a so-called “national anthem.” Regardless of what your definiton is of “patriotism,” or what you think about the United States, “Anthem” is a documentary that falls very short of its intention to be a trailblazing project.
Chris Stapleton at the 55th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on November 10, 2021. (Photo courtesy of ABC)
Luke Combs at the 55th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on November 10, 2021. (Photo courtesy of ABC)
Kelsea Ballerini at the 55th Annual CMA Awards at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on November 10, 2021. (Photo courtesy of ABC)
With four prizes, Chris Stapleton was the biggest winner at the 55th Annual CMA Awards, which were presented at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on November 10, 2021. ABC had the U.S. telecast of the ceremony, which was hosted by Luke Bryan. Stapleton received the awards for Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, Single of the Year and Song of the Year—all for “Starting Over.”
Other winners were Luke Combs (who was named Entertainer of the Year) and Kelsea Ballerini, who won two prizes for “Half of My Hometown” (featuring Kenny Chesney): Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year.
Other winners of the 2021 CMA Awards included Old Dominion (Vocal Group of the Year); Brothers Osborne (Vocal Duo of the Year); Carly Pearce (Female Vocalist of the Year); and Jimmie Allen (New Artist of the Year). Eric Church, who was tied with Stapleton with the most nominations (five) going into the ceremony, ended up winning no CMA Awards this year.
Performers at the ceremony included Bryan, Stapleton, Church, Combs, Allen, Jason Aldean, Carrie Underwood, Gabby Barrett, Brothers Osborne, Dan + Shay, Jennifer Hudson, Miranda Lambert, Old Dominion, Carly Pearce, Ashley McBryde, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Chris Young, Kane Brown and Zac Brown Band. All-star team-ups included Mickey Guyton featuring Brittney Spencer and Madeline Edwards, as well as Dierks Bentley featuring Breland and Hardy.
Presenters included Trace Adkins, Ingrid Andress, Ballerini, Deana Carter, Lauren Daigle, Russell Dickerson, Faith Fennidy, Florida Georgia Line, Freddie Freeman, Amy Grant, Dulé Hill, Alan Jackson, Elle King, Lady A, Zachary Levi, Scotty McCreery, Hayley Orrantia, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Darius Rucker, Susan Sarandon, Saycon Sengbloh, Kurt Warner, Lainey Wilson and Trisha Yearwood.
The 55th Annual CMA Awards ceremony was a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton was the executive producer. Alan Carter was the director, and David Wild was the head writer.
The following is a complete list of winners and nominees for the 2021 CMA Awards:
*=winner
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Eric Church
Luke Combs*
Miranda Lambert
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood
SINGLE OF THE YEAR Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)
“Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young Mix Engineer: Sean Moffitt
“The Good Ones” – Gabby Barrett Producers: Ross Copperman, Zach Kale Mix Engineers: Chris Galland, Manny Marroquin
“Hell Of A View” – Eric Church Producer: Jay Joyce Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
“One Night Standards” – Ashley McBryde Producer: Jay Joyce Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
“Starting Over” – Chris Stapleton* Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
ALBUM OF THE YEAR Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)
29 – Carly Pearce Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne and Jimmy RobbinsMix Engineer: Ryan Gore
Dangerous: The Double Album – Morgan Wallen Producers: Dave Cohen, Matt Dragstrem, Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome and Joey MoiMix Engineer: Joey Moi
Heart – Eric Church Producer: Jay JoyceMix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
Skeletons – Brothers Osborne Producer: Jay JoyceMix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
Starting Over – Chris Stapleton* Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris StapletonMix Engineer: Vance Powell
SONG OF THE YEAR Award goes to Songwriter(s)
“Forever After All” Songwriters: Luke Combs, Drew Parker, Robert Williford
“The Good Ones” Songwriters: Gabby Barrett, Zach Kale, Emily Landis, Jim McCormick
“Hell Of A View” Songwriters: Casey Beathard, Eric Church, Monty Criswell
“One Night Standards” Songwriters: Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally, Ashley McBryde
“Starting Over”* Songwriters: Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Gabby Barrett
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Maren Morris
Carly Pearce*
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Dierks Bentley
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton*
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
Florida Georgia Line
Maddie & Tae
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR Award goes to Artist(s) and Producer(s)
“Buy Dirt” – Jordan Davis and Luke Bryan Producer: Paul DiGiovanni
“Chasing After You” – Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris Producers: Aaron Eshuis, Teddy Reimer
“Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” – Elle King & Miranda Lambert Producer: Martin Johnson
“Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young
“Half of My Hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney)* Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Jenee Fleenor, Fiddle*
Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar
Aaron Sterling, Drums
Ilya Toshinskiy, Banjo
Derek Wells, Guitar
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR Award goes to Artist(s) and Director(s)
“Chasing After You” – Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris Director: TK McKamy
“Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown Director: Peter Zavadil
“Gone” – Dierks Bentley Directors: Wes Edwards, Travis Nicholson, Ed Pryor, Running Bear, Sam Siske
“Half of My Hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney)* Director: Patrick Tracy
“Younger Me” – Brothers Osborne Director: Reid Long
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jimmie Allen*
Ingrid Andress
Gabby Barrett
Mickey Guyton
HARDY
The presentations of the following CMA Awards were not televised:
*=winner
“THE 55th ANNUAL CMA AWARDS” – FINALISTS FOR BROADCAST PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR (by market size):
Weekly National
“American Country Countdown” (Kix Brooks) – Westwood One
“The Crook & Chase Countdown” (Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase) – iHeartMedia
“Honky Tonkin’ with Tracy Lawrence” (Tracy Lawrence and Patrick Thomas) – Compass Media Networks
Daily National
“The Big D and Bubba Show” (Derek Haskins, Sean Powell, Patrick Thomas and Carsen Humphreville) – Compass Media Networks
“The Bobby Bones Show” (Bobby Bones, Amy Brown, “Lunchbox” Dan Chappell, Eddie Garcia, “Morgan #2” Huelsman, “Raymundo” Ray Slater, “Scuba Steve” Stephen Spradlin, “Mike D” Rodriguez and “Utility Hillary” Borden) – Premiere Networks
“CMT After Midnite” (Cody Alan) – Premiere Networks*
“The Lia Show” (Lia Knight) – Westwood One
“The Music Row Happy Hour” (Buzz Brainard and Ania Hammar) – Sirius XM Satellite Radio
Major Market
“Angie Ward” – WUBL, Atlanta, Ga.
“Double-L” (Lois Lewis) – KNIX, Phoenix, Ariz.*
“Hawkeye in the Morning with Hawkeye and Michelle” (“Hawkeye” Mark Louis Rybczyk and Michelle Rodriguez) – KSCS, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
“The Morning Bull: George, Mo & Cowboy Dave” (George Lindsey, “Mo” Monica Lunsford and “Cowboy Dave” Bayless) – KILT, Houston, Texas
“Tampa Bay’s Morning Krewe with J.R., Launa and Kevin” (“J.R.” Jon Jaus, Launa Phillips and Kevin Ebel) – WQYK, Tampa Bay, Fla.
Large Market
“Jesse Tack” – WUBE, Cincinnati, Ohio
“Jim, Deb & Kevin” (Jim Denny, Deborah Honeycutt and Kevin Freeman) – WFMS, Indianapolis, Ind.
“Lexi & Banks” (“Lexi” Elena Abatgis and “Banks” Jared Danielson) – KUBL, Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo, Utah
“Ridder, Scott and Shannen” (“Ridder” Shaun Ridderbush, Scott Dolphin, and Shannen Oesterreich) – WMIL, Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.*
“The Wayne D Show” (“Wayne D” Danielson and Taylor Rosenberg) – WSIX, Nashville, Tenn.
Medium Market
“Brent Michaels” – KUZZ, Bakersfield, Calif.
“Ellis and Bradley Show” (Bill Ellis and Beth Bradley) – WSSL, Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.
“Julie and DJ in the Morning” (“Julie K” Kansy and “D.J. Thee Trucker” Dale Sellers) – WPCV, Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
Luke Bryan arrives (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images for iHeartMedia)
The following is a press release from the Country Music Association and ABC:
The Country Music Association and ABC have announced Country Music superstar and “American Idol” judge Luke Bryan will host “The 55th Annual CMA Awards.” Country Music’s Biggest Night broadcasts LIVE from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday November 10, 2021 (8:00-11:00 p.m. EST), on ABC.
“The CMA Awards is one of the biggest nights of the year for Country Music,” says Bryan. “Being asked to host the CMA Awards was definitely something I put a lot of thought into before answering. The pressure that comes along with that can be overwhelming, but knowing I get to help honor and celebrate so many of my friends, I knew it was something I couldn’t turn down. I mean, growing up in Georgia, I remember watching Vince Gill, Reba, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Rogers, Barbara Mandrell, to name a few. They were so good. And then becoming a part of this amazing Country Music family and sitting on the front row while Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood and Darius Rucker took the reins, all of these artists are heroes and friends, and I am honored to have my name included in this group. I’m looking forward to making it fun and memorable and using this platform to continue to make Country Music shine.”
Bryan, a two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year, will make his CMA Awards hosting debut on this year’s stage.
“We are so thrilled to have Luke join us as this year’s CMA Awards host,” says Sarah Trahern, CMA chief executive officer. “His fun and playful energy is something television viewers have welcomed into their homes week after week as a judge on ‘American Idol,’ and I know he has something exciting up his sleeve for the CMA Awards. We cannot wait to bring music fans a magical night of performances and truly some of the most special moments our show has ever delivered in just a few weeks.”
“We are so grateful Luke will host the biggest event in Country Music. That’s my kind of night and it will be yours too,” said Rob Mills, executive vice president, Unscripted and Alternative Entertainment, Walt Disney Television. “I am excited for Luke to bring the same humor, energy and emotion as host of the CMA Awards that he has for the last five years on ‘American Idol.'”
Since his debut, Bryan has garnered 27 No. 1 hits and has more RIAA certified digital singles than any other Country artist with 68.5 million, has 15.6 billion streams worldwide, and has sold nearly 13 million albums. His headline concert tours have played sold-out shows for 12 million fans inclusive of 36 stadium concerts, Farm Tours, Spring Break shows, and seven sold-out “Crash My Playa” destination concert events. He has won over 50 major music awards including five wins as Entertainer of the Year. His third and most recent Entertainer win was awarded by the Academy of Country Music this past April. Additional awards include six recognitions as a CMT Artist of the Year, NSAI Artist/Songwriter of the Year, the first-ever recipient of the ACM Album of the Decade Award for “Crash My Party,” seven CMT Music Awards, five Billboard Music Awards, and four American Music Awards – as well as being named Billboard’s Top Country Artist of the 2010s, the Most Heard Artist of the Decade by Country Aircheck, and the Artist Humanitarian Recipient by the Country Radio Broadcasters this past February. Bryan is set to return as a celebrity judge for a fifth season, alongside Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, on ABC’s “American Idol” in 2022. Airing now, fans can see Bryan’s original five-part docuseries, “Luke Bryan: My Dirt Road Diary,” on IMDb TV, Amazon’s premium free streaming service. Visit LukeBryan.com or follow Luke on Twitter @LukeBryanOnline, Instagram and Facebook.
Performers and presenters for “The 55th Annual CMA Awards” will be revealed in the coming weeks. Stay tuned to CMAawards.com for more details.
Winners of “The 55th Annual CMA Awards” will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible voting CMA members. The third and final ballot is open now for CMA members, with voting for the CMA Awards final ballot closing Wednesday, Oct. 27 (6:00 p.m. CST).
“The 55th Annual CMA Awards” is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the executive producer; Alan Carter is the director, and David Wild is the head writer.
About the CMA Awards
The first “CMA Awards Banquet and Show” was held in 1967. The following year, the CMA Awards was broadcast for the first time – making it the longest running, annual music awards program on network television. The CMA Awards have aired on ABC since 2006. ABC is the network home of the CMA Awards and CMA’s other two television properties, “CMA Fest” and “CMA Country Christmas.”
About the Country Music Association
Founded in 1958, the Country Music Association (CMA) is the premier trade association of the Country Music industry. Representing professionals making a living in Country Music globally, the organization serves as a critical resource of support and information, honors excellence in the genre and provides a forum for industry leadership. CMA is dedicated to expanding Country Music around the world through a number of core programs and initiatives including the organization’s three annual television properties – the CMA Awards, “CMA Fest” and “CMA Country Christmas,” all of which air on ABC. The organization’s philanthropic arm, the CMA Foundation, works tirelessly to provide equitable access to music education in order to create impactful change for students and teachers across the United States.
About ABC Entertainment
ABC Entertainment airs compelling programming across all day parts, including “Grey’s Anatomy,” the longest-running medical drama in primetime television; riveting dramas “The Good Doctor,” “A Million Little Things,” “Station 19” and fall’s groundbreaking No. 1 new series, “Big Sky”; trailblazing comedy favorites “black-ish,” “The Conners,” “The Goldbergs” and “Home Economics”; the popular Summer Fun & Games programming block, including “Celebrity Family Feud,” “Holey Moley,” “Match Game,” “Press Your Luck” and “To Tell the Truth”; star-making sensation “American Idol”; reality phenomenon “Shark Tank”; “The Bachelor” franchise; long-running hits “Dancing with the Stars” and “America’s Funniest Home Videos”; “General Hospital,” which has aired for more than 55 years on the network; and late-night talk show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”; as well as two critically acclaimed, Emmy(R) Award-winning “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” specials. The network also boasts some of television’s most prestigious awards shows, including “The Oscars(R),” “The CMA Awards” and the “American Music Awards.” ABC programming can also be viewed on demand and on Hulu.
Eric Church at the 54th Annual CMA Awards at the Music City Center in Nashvillle on November 11, 2020. (Photo courtesy of ABC)
Chris Stapleton at the 52nd Annual CMA Awards at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashvillle on November 14, 2018. (Photo courtesy of ABC/Image Group LA)
The following is a press release from the Country Music Association and ABC:
The Country Music Association has revealed the nominees for “The 55th Annual CMA Awards,” with Eric Church and Chris Stapleton topping the list at five nominations. Other top nominees include Gabby Barrett along with mix engineer Jason Hall and producer Jay Joyce each with four nominations, while Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris and Chris Young secure three nominations each. Combs, Lambert and Carrie Underwood all return alongside Church and Stapleton with nominations in the Entertainer of the Year category, the night’s highest honor. Don’t miss “The 55th Annual CMA Awards” LIVE from Nashville, Wednesday, November 10, 2021 (8:00-11:00 p.m. EST), on ABC.
First-time CMA Awards nominees include Brown,Dave Cohen, Corey Crowder, Jordan Davis, Paul DiGiovanni, Matt Dragstrem, Jacob Durrett, Aaron Eshuis, Chris Galland, Mickey Guyton, Charlie Handsome, Nicolette Hayford, Ryan Hurd, Martin Johnson, Emily Landis, Manny Marroquin, Jim McCormick, Sean Moffitt, Travis Nicholson, Drew Parker, Ed Pryor, Teddy Reimer, Running Bear and Aaron Sterling.
“This year, we have the opportunity to honor the superstars, new artists and emerging creators who are paving the way for Country Music,” says Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “These nominees exemplify the creativity, passion and heart that make our Country Music community unlike any other genre. The breadth of voices is evident in this year’s nominations, and we could not be more thrilled to celebrate our deserving nominees in November!”
ERIC CHURCH – FIVE NOMINATIONS Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year (Heart), Single of the Year (“Hell Of A View”), Song of the Year (“Hell Of A View”)
With 30 CMA Awards nominations already under his belt, reigning Entertainer of the Year Church scores five additional nominations this year, bringing his total to 35 nominations and four previous wins. In addition to a nod in the Entertainer of the Year category again this year, Church claims his eighth nomination in the Male Vocalist of the Year category and fifth nomination in the Album, Single and Song of the Year categories. Heart was produced by Joyce and mixed by Hall and Joyce. “Hell Of A View” was written by Casey Beathard, Church and Monty Criswell, and was also produced by Joyce and mixed by Hall and Joyce.
CHRIS STAPLETON – FIVE NOMINATIONS Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year (Starting Over), Single of the Year (“Starting Over”), Song of the Year (“Starting Over”)
Bringing his total nominations to 26, Stapleton adds five CMA Awards nominations to his previous 21 in five categories – Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year, Single of the Year and Song of the Year, including producer credits in both the Album and Single categories. This brings his total nominations in the Entertainer category to five and tallies his seventh nomination in the Male Vocalist category, which he’s won four times. Starting Over was produced by Dave Cobb and Stapleton, and mixed by Vance Powell. “Starting Over” was written by Mike Henderson and Stapleton, produced by Cobb and Stapleton and mixed by Powell. Stapleton is a 10-time CMA Awards winner.
GABBY BARRETT – FOUR NOMINATIONS New Artist of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year (“The Good Ones”), Song of the Year (“The Good Ones”)
A first-time nominee in 2020, Barrett adds four nominations this year, bringing her total to six. This marks her second nomination in both the New Artist and Single of the Year categories and her first nod in the Female Vocalist of the Year and Song of the Year categories. “The Good Ones” was written by Barrett, Zach Kale, Landis and McCormick, produced by Ross Copperman and Kale and mixed by Galland and Marroquin.
JASON HALL – FOUR NOMINATIONS Album of the Year (Heart), Album of the Year (Skeletons), Single of the Year (“Hell Of A View”), Single of the Year (“One Night Standards”)
Hall is a four-time CMA Awards nominee this year, adding to his previous three nominations. Hall tallies two nominations for Single of the Year, with a career total of five in this category, for mixing Church’s “Hell Of A View” and McBryde’s “One Night Standards” alongside Joyce. He receives his first Album of the Year nomination with two nods in the category this year for his work mixing Church’s Heart and Brothers Osborne’s Skeletons.
JAY JOYCE – FOUR NOMINATIONS Album of the Year (Heart), Album of the Year (Skeletons), Single of the Year (“Hell Of A View”), Single of the Year (“One Night Standards”)
Joyce is now a 24-time CMA Awards nominee. He scores his tenth Single of the Year nomination this year with two in the category for producing Church’s “Hell Of A View” and McBryde’s “One Night Standards.” Both songs were also mixed by Hall and Joyce. With two nods in the category this year, he also collects his 13th Album of the Year nomination for producing Church’s Heart and Brothers Osborne’s Skeletons, which he also mixed with Hall. Joyce has collected four CMA Awards previously – two for both Album of the Year and Single of the Year.
BROTHERS OSBORNE – THREE NOMINATIONS Vocal Duo of the Year, Album of the Year (Skeletons), Music Video of the Year (“Younger Me”)
Brothers Osborne returns to this year’s ballot in the Vocal Duo of the Year category for the seventh consecutive year – a trophy they’ve claimed three times. This marks the brothers’ first nomination in the Album of the Year category, a nod they receive for Skeletons, while they collect their third nomination in the Music Video of the Year category for “Younger Me.” The “Younger Me” video was directed by Reid Long. Skeletons was produced by Joyce and mixed by Hall and Joyce.
KANE BROWN – THREE NOMINATIONS Single of the Year (“Famous Friends”), Musical Event of the Year (“Famous Friends”), Music Video of the Year (“Famous Friends”)
A first-time nominee this year, Brown garners three nominations in three categories – Single of the Year, Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year, all for his “Famous Friends” collaboration with Young. “Famous Friends” was produced by Crowder and Young and mixed by Moffitt. The video was directed by Peter Zavadil.
LUKE COMBS – THREE NOMINATIONS Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Song of the Year (“Forever After All”)
Combs scores three CMA Awards nominations this year, adding to his previous 12 nominations and five wins. The reigning Male Vocalist of the Year is a nominee in three categories this year – Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Song of the Year. This is Combs’ fourth nomination for Male Vocalist of the Year, which he won in 2019 and 2020, his fourth nomination for Song of the Year and his second nomination for the night’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year. “Forever After All” was written by Combs, Parker and Robert Williford.
MIRANDA LAMBERT – THREE NOMINATIONS Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Musical Event of the Year (“Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)”)
Lambert collects three nominations this year, adding to her previous 55 nominations and 14 wins. She remains the most nominated female artist in CMA Awards history and now ties Brad Paisley for third in overall nominations. She earns her fifth nomination for Entertainer of the Year and 15th nomination for Female Vocalist of the Year, which she has won seven times. Lambert receives her eighth Musical Event of the Year nomination for her Johnson-produced collaboration with Elle King, “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home).”
ASHLEY MCBRYDE – THREE NOMINATIONS Female Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year (“One Night Standards”), Song of the Year (“One Night Standards”)
Ashley McBryde garners three CMA Awards nominations this year, bringing her total nominations to seven with one win in the New Artist of the Year category in 2019. McBryde is a first-time nominee in two categories – Single of the Year and Song of the Year. This is her second nod in the Female Vocalist of the Year category. “One Night Standards” was written by Hayford, Shane McAnally and McBryde, produced by Joyce and mixed by Hall and Joyce.
MAREN MORRIS – THREE NOMINATIONS Female Vocalist of the Year, Musical Event of the Year (“Chasing After You”), Music Video of the Year (“Chasing After You”)
With 21 nominations and five wins to her credit, reigning Female Vocalist of the Year Morris claims an additional three nominations this year. She scores her sixth nomination in both the Female Vocalist and Musical Event of the Year categories and her third for Music Video. Her collaboration with husband Hurd, “Chasing After You,” was produced by Eshuis and Reimer. The video was directed by TK McKamy.
CHRIS YOUNG – THREE NOMINATIONS Single of the Year (“Famous Friends”), Musical Event of the Year (“Famous Friends”), Music Video of the Year (“Famous Friends”)
With three prior nominations, Young adds three more this year, bringing his total to six. Young collects his first nomination for Single and Music Video of the Year, while scoring his second nod in the Musical Event category. Young also earns producer credits in both the Single and Musical Event categories. “Famous Friends” was produced by Crowder and Young and mixed by Moffitt. The video was directed by Zavadil.
Winners of “The 55th Annual CMA Awards” will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible voting CMA members. The third and final ballot will be emailed to CMA members Thursday, Oct. 1. Voting for the CMA Awards final ballot ends Wednesday, Oct. 27 (6:00 p.m. CDT).
“The 55th Annual CMA Awards” is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the executive producer; Alan Carter is the director, and David Wild is the head writer.
“THE 55th ANNUAL CMA AWARDS” – FINAL NOMINEES (by ballot category order):
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Miranda Lambert
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood
SINGLE OF THE YEAR Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)
“Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young Mix Engineer: Sean Moffitt
“The Good Ones” – Gabby Barrett Producers: Ross Copperman, Zach Kale Mix Engineers: Chris Galland, Manny Marroquin
“Hell Of A View” – Eric Church Producer: Jay Joyce Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
“One Night Standards” – Ashley McBryde Producer: Jay Joyce Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
“Starting Over” – Chris Stapleton Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
ALBUM OF THE YEAR Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)
29 – Carly Pearce Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne and Jimmy RobbinsMix Engineer: Ryan Gore
Dangerous: The Double Album – Morgan Wallen Producers: Dave Cohen, Matt Dragstrem, Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome and Joey MoiMix Engineer: Joey Moi
Heart – Eric Church Producer: Jay JoyceMix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
Skeletons – Brothers Osborne Producer: Jay JoyceMix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
Starting Over – Chris Stapleton Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris StapletonMix Engineer: Vance Powell
SONG OF THE YEAR Award goes to Songwriter(s)
“Forever After All” Songwriters: Luke Combs, Drew Parker, Robert Williford
“The Good Ones” Songwriters: Gabby Barrett, Zach Kale, Emily Landis, Jim McCormick
“Hell Of A View” Songwriters: Casey Beathard, Eric Church, Monty Criswell
“One Night Standards” Songwriters: Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally, Ashley McBryde
“Starting Over” Songwriters: Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Gabby Barrett
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Maren Morris
Carly Pearce
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Dierks Bentley
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
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
Florida Georgia Line
Maddie & Tae
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR Award goes to Artist(s) and Producer(s)
“Buy Dirt” – Jordan Davis and Luke Bryan Producer: Paul DiGiovanni
“Chasing After You” – Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris Producers: Aaron Eshuis, Teddy Reimer
“Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” – Elle King & Miranda Lambert Producer: Martin Johnson
“Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young
“half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney) Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Jenee Fleenor, Fiddle
Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar
Aaron Sterling, Drums
Ilya Toshinskiy, Banjo
Derek Wells, Guitar
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR Award goes to Artist(s) and Director(s)
“Chasing After You” – Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris Director: TK McKamy
“Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown Director: Peter Zavadil
“Gone” – Dierks Bentley Directors: Wes Edwards, Travis Nicholson, Ed Pryor, Running Bear, Sam Siske
“half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney) Director: Patrick Tracy
“Younger Me” – Brothers Osborne Director: Reid Long
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jimmie Allen
Ingrid Andress
Gabby Barrett
Mickey Guyton
HARDY
“THE 55th ANNUAL CMA AWARDS” – FINALISTS FOR BROADCAST PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR (by market size):
Weekly National
“American Country Countdown” (Kix Brooks) – Westwood One
“Country Countdown USA” (Lon Helton) – Westwood One
“Country Gold” (Terri Clark) – Westwood One
“The Crook & Chase Countdown” (Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase) – iHeartMedia
“Honky Tonkin’ with Tracy Lawrence” (Tracy Lawrence and Patrick Thomas) – Compass Media Networks
Daily National
“The Big D and Bubba Show” (Derek Haskins, Sean Powell, Patrick Thomas and Carsen Humphreville) – Compass Media Networks
“The Bobby Bones Show” (Bobby Bones, Amy Brown, “Lunchbox” Dan Chappell, Eddie Garcia, “Morgan #2” Huelsman, “Raymundo” Ray Slater, “Scuba Steve” Stephen Spradlin, “Mike D” Rodriguez and “Utility Hillary” Borden) – Premiere Networks
“CMT After Midnite” (Cody Alan) – Premiere Networks
“The Lia Show” (Lia Knight) – Westwood One
“The Music Row Happy Hour” (Buzz Brainard and Ania Hammar) – Sirius XM Satellite Radio
Major Market
“Angie Ward” – WUBL, Atlanta, Ga.
“Double-L” (Lois Lewis) – KNIX, Phoenix, Ariz.
“Hawkeye in the Morning with Hawkeye and Michelle” (“Hawkeye” Mark Louis Rybczyk and Michelle Rodriguez) – KSCS, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas
“The Morning Bull: George, Mo & Cowboy Dave” (George Lindsey, “Mo” Monica Lunsford and “Cowboy Dave” Bayless) – KILT, Houston, Texas
“Tampa Bay’s Morning Krewe with J.R., Launa and Kevin” (“J.R.” Jon Jaus, Launa Phillips and Kevin Ebel) – WQYK, Tampa Bay, Fla.
Large Market
“Jesse Tack” – WUBE, Cincinnati, Ohio
“Jim, Deb & Kevin” (Jim Denny, Deborah Honeycutt and Kevin Freeman) – WFMS, Indianapolis, Ind.
“Lexi & Banks” (“Lexi” Elena Abatgis and “Banks” Jared Danielson) – KUBL, Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo, Utah
“Ridder, Scott and Shannen” (“Ridder” Shaun Ridderbush, Scott Dolphin, and Shannen Oesterreich) – WMIL, Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.
“The Wayne D Show” (“Wayne D” Danielson and Taylor Rosenberg) – WSIX, Nashville, Tenn.
Medium Market
“Brent Michaels” – KUZZ, Bakersfield, Calif.
“Ellis and Bradley Show” (Bill Ellis and Beth Bradley) – WSSL, Greenville-Spartanburg, S.C.
“Julie and DJ in the Morning” (“Julie K” Kansy and “D.J. Thee Trucker” Dale Sellers) – WPCV, Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
“Steve & Gina In The Morning” (Steve Lundy and Gina Melton) – KXKT, Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa
Small Market
“Barrett, Fox & Berry” (Bill Barrett, Tim Fox and Tracy Berry) – KKNU, Eugene-Springfield, Ore.
“Dr. Shane and Tess in the Morning” (Shane Collins and Tess Connell) – WPAP, Panama City, Fla.
“KTTS Morning Show with Nancy & Rick” (Nancy Simpson and Rick Moore) – KTTS, Springfield, Mo.
“Liz & Scotty in the Morning” (Liz Del Grosso and Scotty Cox) – KCLR, Columbia, Mo.
“Steve, Ben and Nikki” (Steve Stroud, Ben Walker and Nikki Thomas) – WXBQ, Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.-Va.
“THE 55th ANNUAL CMA AWARDS” – FINALISTS FOR RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (by market size):
Major Market
KNIX – Phoenix, Ariz.
KNUC – Seattle-Tacoma, Wash.
KYGO – Denver-Boulder, Colo.
WNSH – New York City, N.Y.
WXTU – Philadelphia, Pa.
WYCD – Detroit, Mich.
Large Market
WFMS – Indianapolis, Ind.
WMIL – Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.
WQDR – Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
WSIX – Nashville, Tenn.
WUBE – Cincinnati, Ohio
Medium Market
KATM – Modesto, Calif.
KXKT – Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa
KUZZ – Bakersfield, Calif.
WQMX – Akron, Ohio
WXCY – Wilmington, Del.
Small Market
KCLR – Columbia, Mo.
KTTS – Springfield, Mo.
WBYT – South Bend, Ind.
WXBQ – Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.-Va.
WXFL – Florence-Muscle Shoals, Ala.
WYCT – Pensacola, Fla.
About the CMA Awards The first “CMA Awards Banquet and Show” was held in 1967. The following year, the CMA Awards was broadcast for the first time – making it the longest running, annual music awards program on network television. The CMA Awards have aired on ABC since 2006. ABC is the network home of the CMA Awards and CMA’s other two television properties, “CMA Fest” and “CMA Country Christmas.”
All balloting is tabulated by the professional services organization, Deloitte.
As used in this document, “Deloitte” means Deloitte & Touche LLP, a subsidiary of Deloitte LLP. Please see www.deloitte.com/us/aboutfor a detailed description of Deloitte’s legal structure. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting.
Maren Morris at the 56th Annual ACM Awards in Nashville (Photo by Brent Harrington/CBS)
The following is a press release from the Academy of Country Music:
Winners have been announced for the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards. Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton hosted the show featuring three iconic Country Music venues: the Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe, as well as performances at legendary locations across the city including the Station Inn, Bridge Building and on Broadway. The 56th ACM Awards was broadcast live on CBS and is available on demand on Paramount+.
The Academy’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year, was awarded to Luke Bryan making this his tenth win overall and third for Entertainer of the Year. This year’s 56th ACM Awards featured an all-star lineup of collaborations and memorable performances featuring 25 performances, 31 artists, and 31 hit songs.
Show performance highlights included: ● Kicking off the show, Miranda Lambert and Elle King rolled up to the Grand Ole Opry House in style, wearing fringe-laced black leather motorcycle jackets and taking over the stage with the world television premiere of their party anthem, “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home).”
● Chris Young and Kane Brown rocked the Ryman stage with their hometown anthem “Famous Friends.”
● Thomas Rhett performed “Country Again” and followed up with the premiere of “What’s Your Country Song.”
● Chris Stapleton performed “Maggie’s Song” and was joined on The Bluebird Cafe stage by Miranda Lambert.
● Married artists,Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd sang, “Chasing After You,” for their first duet together and Hurd’s television award show performance debut.
● Lady A rocked Nashville’s Bridge Building with their song “Like a Lady,” and Ashley McBryde performed “Martha Divine.”
● Jimmie Allen was surprised by Brad Paisley for a duet of “Freedom Was a Highway,” while New Female Artist of the Year Gabby Barrett performed her single “The Good Ones” from the intimate Bluebird Cafe.
● Dierks Bentley and duo The War and Treaty performed U2’s poignant classic “Pride (In The Name of Love)” at The Station Inn.
● Introduced by the legendary Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwoodperformed a medley from her new album of gospel hymns, “My Savior,” starting with “Amazing Grace” and featuring a duet with CeCe Winans to sing “Great Is Thy Faithfulness” and “The Old Rugged Cross.” To finish the set, they were joined by the Belmont University Choir for “How Great Thou Art.”
● Eric Church gave an energetic performance of his song “Bunch Of Nothing” at the Ryman.
● Dan + Shay debuted their latest release “Glad You Exist” from the Bluebird Cafe with a smooth acoustic ballad performance.
● Backed by a socially-distanced string orchestra, Luke Combs gave a passionate performance of “Forever After All” from the Grand Ole Opry House.
● Most nominated and awarded ACM Artist,Miranda Lambert also performed and played along with her guitar to “In His Arms” with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall.
● Kenny Chesneyreturned to the ACM Awards stage for the world television premiere of “Knowing You.”
● The Academy also paid tribute to the lives lost in the Country community during the past year.
● Alan Jacksonperformed two back-to-back hits, a special mashup of “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” and “You’ll Always Be My Baby.”
● Blake Shelton celebrated the 20th anniversary of his first single “Austin,” and followed up with a performance of his latest single “Minimum Wage.”
● Following their double win with Single of the Year Award and Music Event of the Year, Carly Pearce and Lee Brice performed their collaborated song “I Hope You’re Happy Now.”
● 56th ACM Awards host, Mickey Guyton gave a soulful performance of “Hold On” from the Grand Ole Opry House.
● Following his fellow host, 56th ACM Awards host, Keith Urban lit up the Grand Ole Opry House stage with a high energy set “Tumbleweed.”
● Kelsea Ballerini and Kenny Chesney gave a touching performance of “half of my hometown” to honor their shared hometown of Knoxville, TN.
● Little Big Town gave a dynamic, sleek drumline performance on Broadway of “Wine, Beer, Whiskey.”
● After performing, “I’m Not For Everyone,” at the Ryman,Brothers Osborneclosed out the show with a heart thumping performance of “Dead Man’s Curve.”
Winner Highlights of the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards:
● Maren Morris won Female Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for “The Bones.” Morris now has six ACM Award career wins, making this her second Female Artist of the Year win and a first category win for Song of the Year, awarding her both artist and songwriter credits. Jimmy Robbins and Laura Veltz each received songwriter credits.
● Thomas Rhett won Male Artist of the Year, marking his third win, eighth win overall.
● Chris Stapleton won Album of the Year, with an additional win for producer for “Starting Over.” Stapleton has had twelve ACM wins overall.
● Old Dominion won Group of the Year,making this their fourth consecutive win.
● Dan + Shay won Duo of the Year, making this their third consecutive win, fifth win overall.
● Previously announced, Jimmie Allen won New Male Artist of the Year marking his first ACM Award win and the first Black artist to win within the category.
● Gabby Barrett won New Female Artist of the Year. This marks Barrett’s first ACM Award win.
● Carly Pearce and Lee Brice won Single of the Year for “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” already winning Music Event of the Year for their collaboration this past week. This marks Pearce’s first time wins in two separate categories, and Brice’s third win for Single of the Year making this his seventh overall ACM Award win.
● Kane Brown won his first ACM Award in Video of the Year category for “Worldwide Beautiful.” Brown is the first Black solo artist to win Video of the Year.
● The late producer busbee was awarded posthumously with Single of the Year and Music Event of the Year.
Tonight’s presenters included Ingrid Andress, Blanco Brown, Amy Grant, Leslie Jordan, Martina McBride, Dolly Parton, Darius Rucker and Clay Walker.
During the live telecast, ACM Lifting Lives® the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music® featured special bumpers which included the National Museum of African American Music during Black History Month to learn more about Country Music’s roots, check out the moment here. Jimmie Allen, Chrissy Metz, Kip Moore and Tenille Townes sat down with Ashley Eicher to discuss how the ACM Lifting Lives COVID-19 Response Fund has and continues to support music industry professionals who have been financially impacted by the pandemic, watch here. ACM, Ad Council and COVID Collaborative along with Eric Church, Ashley McBryde, Darius Rucker were featured in a COVID-19 vaccine PSA as part of the national campaign, “It’s Up to You,” to emphasize the important role education about COVID-19 vaccinations plays in returning to live music here. Additionally, Dolly Parton was also featured in a vaccine PSA here. Official 56th ACM Awards Playlist: Stream for a Cause initiative to benefit the ACM Lifting Lives COVID-19 Response Fund is available on Amazon Music, Apple Music, Pandora, Spotify, Tidal and YouTube Music.
Studio Recording Awards and Songwriter of the Year will be announced at this year’s ACM Honors, more information to be announced in coming weeks.
For a complete list of past and present wins and nominations, please visit ACMcountry.com and search the ACM Awards Database located on the Homepage. To watch performances, visit ACMcountry.com. Official 56th ACM Awards sponsors include 1000 Stories® Bourbon Barrel-Aged Wine, Ford, Security Benefit and T-Mobile. Getty Images is the official photographer for the Academy of Country Music Awards and photos can be accessed at GettyImages.com.
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 Dick Clark Productions and the Academy of Country Music.
For more information, visit ACMcountry.com. You can also like Academy of Country Music on Facebook, follow on Twitter at @ACMawards, follow on Instagram at @ACMawards and sign up for the free ACM A-List for more immediate updates.
About the Academy of Country Music Awards
The 56th Academy of Country Music Awards is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the Country Music industry. The show was produced for television by Dick Clark Productions was broadcast live on Sunday, April 18, 2021 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network, and was available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. R.A. Clark, Barry Adelman and Linda Gierahn are executive producers. Damon Whiteside is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.
Following is the full list of winners in the 12 categories voted on by Academy members:
*=winner
MAIN AWARDS
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR Luke Bryan* Eric Church Luke Combs Thomas Rhett Chris Stapleton
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Kelsea Ballerini Miranda Lambert Ashley McBryde Maren Morris* Carly Pearce
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Dierks Bentley Eric Church Luke Combs Thomas Rhett* Chris Stapleton
DUO OF THE YEAR Brooks & Dunn Brothers Osborne Dan + Shay* Florida Georgia Line Maddie & Tae
GROUP OF THE YEAR Lady A Little Big Town Old Dominion* The Cadillac Three The Highwomen
NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Ingrid Andress Tenille Arts Gabby Barrett* Mickey Guyton Caylee Hammack
NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Jimmie Allen* Travis Denning HARDY Cody Johnson Parker McCollum
ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Born Here Live Here Die Here – Luke Bryan Producers: Jeff Stevens, Jody Stevens Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
Mixtape Vol. 1 – Kane Brown Producers: Andrew Goldstein, Charlie Handsome, Dann Huff, Lindsay Rimes Record Label: RCA Nashville
Never Will – Ashley McBryde Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: Warner Music Nashville
Skeletons – Brothers Osborne Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: EMI Records Nashville
Starting Over – Chris Stapleton* Producers: Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb Record Label: Mercury Nashville
SINGLE OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Bluebird – Miranda Lambert Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: Vanner Records/RCA Records Nashville
I Hope – Gabby Barrett Producers: Ross Copperman, Zach Kale Record Label: Warner Music Nashville
I Hope You’re Happy Now – Carly Pearce & Lee Brice* Producers: busbee Record Label: Big Machine Records / Curb Records
More Hearts Than Mine – Ingrid Andress Producers: Ingrid Andress, Sam Ellis Record Label: Warner Music Nashville
The Bones – Maren Morris Producer: Greg Kurstin Record Label: Columbia Nashville
SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
Bluebird – Miranda Lambert Songwriter(s): Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby Publishers: Emileson Songs; Little Louder Songs; Pink Dog Publishing; Songs of Universal, INC; Sony ATV Tree Publishing; Wrucke for You Publishing
One Night Standards – Ashley McBryde Songwriter(s): Ashley McBryde, Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally Publishers: Canned Biscuit Songs; Smackworks Music; Smack Blue, LLC; Smackstreet Music; Tempo Investments; Warner Geo Met Ric Music; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp
Some People Do – Old Dominion Songwriter(s): Jesse Frasure, Matt Ramsey, Thomas Rhett, Shane McAnally Publishers: Carrot Seed Songs; EMI Blackwood Music INC; Smackville Music; Songs of ROC Nation; Teremitry Rhythm House Music; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp; Smack Hits; Tempo Investments; Warner Gro Met Ric Music
Starting Over – Chris Stapleton Songwriter(s): Chris Stapleton, Mike Henderson Publishers: I Wrote These Songs; Straight Six Music; WC Music Corp
The Bones – Maren Morris* Songwriter(s): Jimmy Robbins, Maren Morris, Laura Veltz Publishers: Big Machine Music, LLC; Extraordinary Alien Publishing; International Dog Music; Oh Denise Publishing; Round Hill Songs; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]
Better Than We Found It – Maren Morris Director: Gabrielle Woodland Producers: Sarah Kunin, Jennifer Pepke
Bluebird – Miranda Lambert Director: Trey Fanjoy Producer: Heather Levenstone
Gone – Dierks Bentley Directors: Wes Edwards, Ed Pryor, Travis Nicholson, Running Bear and Sam Siske, with animation by Skylar Wilson Producer: David Garcia
Hallelujah – Carrie Underwood and John Legend Director: Randee St. Nicholas Producer: Greg Wells
Worldwide Beautiful – Kane Brown* Director: Alex Alvga Producer: Christen Pinkston
MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR (Tie Within Category Increased Nominees) [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Be A Light – Thomas Rhett featuring Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, Chris Tomlin, Keith Urban Producer: Dann Huff Record Label: The Valory Music Co.
Does To Me – Luke Combs featuring Eric Church Producer: Scott Moffatt Record Label: River House Artists/Columbia Nashville
I Hope You’re Happy Now – Carly Pearce & Lee Brice* Producer: busbee Record Label: Big Machine Records / Curb Records
Nobody But You – Blake Shelton featuring Gwen Stefani Producer: Scott Hendricks Record Label: Warner Music Nashville
One Beer – HARDY featuring Lauren Alaina & Devin Dawson Producers: Derek Wells, Joey Moi Record Label: Big Loud Records
One Too Many – Keith Urban, P!nk Producers: Cutfather, Dan McCarroll, Keith Urban, PhD Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
Miranda Lambert at the 54th Annual CMA Awards at Music City Center in Nashville on November 11, 2020. (Photo courtesy of ABC)
Dan + Shay at the 54th Annual CMA Awards at Music City Center in Nashville on November 11, 2020. (Photo courtesy of ABC)
Thomas Rhett at the 54th Annual CMA Awards at Music City Center in Nashville on November 11, 2020. (Photo courtesy of ABC)
The following is a press release from the Academy of Country Music, CBS and Dick Clark Productions:
CBS, The Academy of Country Music and Dick Clark Productions announced today the full superstar performance lineup for the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards, airing live on Sunday, April 18 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network and streaming live and on demand on Paramount+.
The artists include Kelsea Ballerini, Dierks Bentley, Lee Brice, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay, Mickey Guyton, Ryan Hurd, Jack Ingram, Alan Jackson, Elle King, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris, Carly Pearce, Jon Randall, Thomas Rhett, Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton, The War and Treaty, Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Cece Winans and Chris Young.
Over 30 performances from more than 25 artists will take place from three iconic Country Music venues: the Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe. Additional details on the exciting performances including unprecedented collaborations and surprising moments will be announced in the coming weeks.
Hosted by 15-time ACM Award winner Keith Urban and New Female Artist of the Year nominee Mickey Guyton, the 56th ACM Awards honor and showcase the biggest names and emerging talent in Country Music. Official 56th ACM Awards sponsors include 1000 Stories Bourbon Barrel-Aged Wine, Ford, Security Benefit and T-Mobile.
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 dick clark productions and the Academy of Country Music.
For more information, visit ACMcountry.com. You can also like Academy of Country Music on Facebook, follow on Twitter at @ACMawards, follow on Instagram at @ACMawards and sign up for the FREE ACM A-List for more immediate updates.
About the Academy of Country Music Awards(TM)
The 56th Academy of Country Music Awards is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the Country Music industry. The show is produced for television by Dick Clark Productions. R.A. Clark, Barry Adelman and Linda Gierahn are executive producers. Damon Whiteside is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.
April 13, 2021 UPDATE:
CBS, The Academy of Country Music and Dick Clark Productions announced today the exciting collaborations and must-see moments that will take center stage at the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards. Hosted by Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton, the 56th ACM Awards will air live on Sunday, April 18 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.
The 56th ACM Awards will feature an unprecedented number of world television premiere performances, including Elle King and Miranda Lambert opening the show with “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)”; Dierks Bentley performing U2’s poignant classic “Pride (In The Name of Love)” with husband and wife duo The War and Treaty; Brothers Osborne (“I’m Not For Everyone”); Kenny Chesney (“Knowing You”); Eric Church (“Bunch Of Nothing”); Luke Combs (“Forever After All”); Dan + Shay (“Glad You Exist”); Mickey Guyton (“Hold On”); Alan Jackson with “You’ll Always Be My Baby” and a special mashup for “Drive (For Daddy Gene)”; Miranda Lambert with Jack Ingram and Jon Randall (“In His Arms”); Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd (“Chasing After You”); Thomas Rhett premiering “What’s Your Country Song” while also performing “Country Again”; Blake Shelton celebrating the 20th Anniversary of his first hit single “Austin” as well as “Minimum Wage”; Chris Stapleton (“Maggie’s Song”); and Chris Young and Kane Brown (“Famous Friends”).
Additional powerful collaborations include Carly Pearce and Lee Brice duetting on “I Hope You’re Happy Now”; Carrie Underwood performing a medley from her new album of gospel hymns, My Savior, which will also feature a duet with CeCe Winans; and Kelsea Ballerini and Kenny Chesney performing together for “half of my hometown.”
Also, it was announced today that Lady A will join the lineup with recently revealed New Male Artist of the Year Jimmie Allen and New Female Artist of the Year Gabby Barrett, who will all perform on this year’s show. Previously announced performers include Little Big Town, Ashley McBryde and Keith Urban. Additional details on these performances, this year’s presenters and more will be announced in the coming days.
The unforgettable evening showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in Country Music will take place from three iconic Country Music venues: the Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe and also feature performances at legendary locations across the city including the Station Inn, Bridge Building and on Broadway.
Chris Stapleton and Maren Morris (Photo courtesy of ABC/Image Group LA)
The following is a press release from the Academy of Country Music:
The Academy of Country Music®, Dick Clark Productions, and CBS announced today the nominations for the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards, honoring the biggest names and emerging talent in the Country Music industry. The 56th ACM Awards® will broadcast live from three iconic country music venues: the Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe on Sunday, April 18 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network and will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+, ViacomCBS’ upcoming global streaming service.
Kelsea Ballerini and Brothers Osborne appeared live today on “CBS This Morning” to announce this year’s ACM Award nominees for Entertainer of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Duo of the Year, Group of the Year and Single of the Year. “Entertainment Tonight” correspondent Rachel Smith announced additional nominees on ETonline.com.
Reigning Female Artist of the Year Maren Morris receives six nominations, with “The Bones” nominated for both Song of the Year and Single of the Year. Maren Morris receives an additional nod for songwriter of “The Bones,” her first time receiving a nomination both as an artist and songwriter for Song of the Year. Maren Morris is also a nominee for Female Artist of the Year, marking the 5th time she has been nominated in this category, and for Music Video of the Year for the first time. In addition, Morris is a nominee for Group of the Year alongside The Highwomen.
Chris Stapleton receives six nominations, including his third nomination for Entertainer of the Year. In addition, Chris Stapleton is a nominee for Male Artist of the Year, an award he was nominated for five times prior and won twice. Stapleton also receives a nod for Song of the Year as both songwriter and artist, for Album of the Year as artist and producer.
Miranda Lambert continues her streak as the most nominated female artist in Academy history with 68 lifetime nominations. Lambert is a five-time nominee for the 56th ACM Awards, with four nominations for “Bluebird.” “Bluebird” is nominated for Single of the Year, Video of the Year, and Song of the Year. Lambert received an additional nomination as songwriter. In addition, Lambert receives her 15th nomination for Female Artist of the Year, a category she’s won nine times.
For the first time in ACM Awards history, four Black artists are nominated for awards in a single year including Jimmie Allen, Kane Brown, Mickey Guyton and John Legend.
Producer Jay Joyce receives four nominations, including two Album of the Year nominations for Ashley McBryde’s “Never Will” and Brothers Osborne’s “Skeletons.”
Every Single of the Year nomination features a female artist, and this was the first nomination in this category for three of the six nominees: Carly Pearce, Ingrid Andress, and Gabby Barrett.
Ashley McBryde receives four nominations, including her first for Album of the Year.
Reigning Entertainer of the Year Thomas Rhett receives four nominations, including his second nomination for Entertainer of the Year.
Reigning Male Artist of the Year Luke Combs is a nominee for Entertainer of the Year and Male Artist of the Year, and first-time nominee for Music Event of the Year for his duet with Eric Church on “Does to Me.” In addition to Music Event of the Year, Eric Church is also a nominee for Entertainer of the Year and Male Artist of the Year.
Luke Combs and Chris Stapleton are both 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.
Ingrid Andress receives three nominations, including her second nomination for New Female Artist of the Year and her first nomination for Single of the Year, with an additional nomination as producer.
HARDY receives three nominations for Songwriter of the Year, New Male Artist of the Year, and Music Event of the Year. Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson are also nominated alongside HARDY for Music Event of the Year for “One Beer,” marking Devin Dawson’s first nomination in the category and Lauren Alaina’s second.
Producer Dann Huff receives three nominations, including his 11th nomination for Producer of the Year.
Reigning Group of the Year, Old Dominion, receives two nominations, including their 6th nomination in the Group of the Year category. Band member Matthew Ramsey receives an additional nomination as songwriter for “Some People Do.”
Carly Pearce receives three nominations, including her first for Single of the Year and Music Event of the Year for her collaboration with Lee Brice on “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” and her first for Female Artist of the Year.
55th ACM Awards host Keith Urban is a double nominee in the Music Event of the Year Category for his collaboration with Thomas Rhett, Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, and Chris Tomlin in “Be A Light” and for his duet with P!nk in “One Too Many.” Urban receives an additional nomination for Producer of “One Too Many.” P!nk’s nomination in this category also marks the singer’s first ACM Award nomination.
Gabby Barrett receives two nominations, including her second nod as New Female Artist of the Year and first for Single of the Year.
Brothers Osborne receives two nominations, including their first for Album of the Year. Dierks Bentley receives two nominations, including his sixth nod for Video of the Year and seventh nod for Male of the Year.
Kane Brown earns his first ever nominations in the Album of the Year category for “Mixtape Vol. 1” and Video of the Year for “Worldwide Beautiful.”
Luke Bryan receives two nominations, including his ninth nomination for Entertainer of the Year.
Producer busbee receives two posthumous nominations for Music Event and Single of the Year for “I Hope You’re Happy Now.”
Jimmie Allen received his second nod for New Male Artist of the Year.
On the heels of her history-making performance from the 55th ACM Awards in 2020,
Mickey Guyton receives her second New Female Artist of the Year nomination.
John Legend receives his first-ever ACM Awards nomination for Video of the Year for his duet with Carrie Underwood on “Hallelujah,” while Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton received a nomination for Music Event of the Year for their duet, “Nobody But You,” marking Gwen Stefani’s first ACM Award nomination.
Overall, this year’s nominations include 14 artists and industry creators receiving their first-ever ACM Awards nominations: Tenille Arts, Spencer Cullum, Travis Denning, Kris Donegan, Alicia Enstrom, Jason Hall, Gena Johnson, John Legend, P!nk, Steve Mackey, Gwen Stefani, Benmont Tench, Chris Tomlin and Kristin Wilkinson.
Following is the full list of nominees for the Main Awards and Studio Recording Awards categories.
MAIN AWARDS
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR Luke Bryan Eric Church Luke Combs Thomas Rhett Chris Stapleton
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Kelsea Ballerini Miranda Lambert Ashley McBryde Maren Morris Carly Pearce
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Dierks Bentley Eric Church Luke Combs Thomas Rhett Chris Stapleton
DUO OF THE YEAR Brooks & Dunn Brothers Osborne Dan + Shay Florida Georgia Line Maddie & Tae
GROUP OF THE YEAR Lady A Little Big Town Old Dominion The Cadillac Three The Highwomen
NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Ingrid Andress Tenille Arts Gabby Barrett Mickey Guyton Caylee Hammack
NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Jimmie Allen Travis Denning HARDY Cody Johnson Parker McCollum
ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Born Here Live Here Die Here – Luke Bryan Producers: Jeff Stevens, Jody Stevens Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
Mixtape Vol. 1 – Kane Brown Producers: Andrew Goldstein, Charlie Handsome, Dann Huff, Lindsay Rimes Record Label: RCA Nashville
Never Will – Ashley McBryde Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: Warner Music Nashville
Skeletons – Brothers Osborne Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: EMI Records Nashville
Starting Over – Chris Stapleton Producers: Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb Record Label: Mercury Nashville
SINGLE OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Bluebird – Miranda Lambert Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: Vanner Records/RCA Records Nashville
I Hope – Gabby Barrett Producers: Ross Copperman, Zach Kale Record Label: Warner Music Nashville
I Hope You’re Happy Now – Carly Pearce & Lee Brice Producers: busbee Record Label: Big Machine Records / Curb Records
More Hearts Than Mine – Ingrid Andress Producers: Ingrid Andress, Sam Ellis Record Label: Warner Music Nashville
The Bones – Maren Morris Producer: Greg Kurstin Record Label: Columbia Nashville
SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
Bluebird – Miranda Lambert Songwriter(s): Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby Publishers: Emileson Songs; Little Louder Songs; Pink Dog Publishing; Songs of Universal, INC; Sony ATV Tree Publishing; Wrucke for You Publishing
One Night Standards – Ashley McBryde Songwriter(s): Ashley McBryde, Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally Publishers: Canned Biscuit Songs; Smackworks Music; Smack Blue, LLC; Smackstreet Music; Tempo Investments; Warner Geo Met Ric Music; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp
Some People Do – Old Dominion Songwriter(s): Jesse Frasure, Matt Ramsey, Thomas Rhett, Shane McAnally Publishers: Carrot Seed Songs; EMI Blackwood Music INC; Smackville Music; Songs of ROC Nation; Teremitry Rhythm House Music; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp; Smack Hits; Tempo Investments; Warner Gro Met Ric Music
Starting Over – Chris Stapleton Songwriter(s): Chris Stapleton, Mike Henderson Publishers: I Wrote These Songs; Straight Six Music; WC Music Corp
The Bones – Maren Morris Songwriter(s): Jimmy Robbins, Maren Morris, Laura Veltz Publishers: Big Machine Music, LLC; Extraordinary Alien Publishing; International Dog Music; Oh Denise Publishing; Round Hill Songs; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp.
VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]
Better Than We Found It – Maren Morris Director: Gabrielle Woodland Producers: Sarah Kunin, Jennifer Pepke
Bluebird – Miranda Lambert Director: Trey Fanjoy Producer: Heather Levenstone
Gone – Dierks Bentley Directors: Wes Edwards, Ed Pryor, Travis Nicholson, Running Bear and Sam Siske, with animation by Skylar Wilson Producer: David Garcia
Hallelujah – Carrie Underwood and John Legend Director: Randee St. Nicholas Producer: Greg Wells
Worldwide Beautiful – Kane Brown Director: Alex Alvga Producer: Christen Pinkston
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR*(Off Camera Award) Ashley Gorley Michael Hardy Hillary Lindsey Shane McAnally Josh Osborne
MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR (Tie Within Category Increased Nominees) [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
Be A Light – Thomas Rhett featuring Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, Chris Tomlin, Keith Urban Producer: Dann Huff Record Label: The Valory Music Co.
Does To Me – Luke Combs featuring Eric Church Producer: Scott Moffatt Record Label: River House Artists/Columbia Nashville
I Hope You’re Happy Now – Carly Pearce & Lee Brice Producer: busbee Record Label: Big Machine Records / Curb Records
Nobody But You – Blake Shelton featuring Gwen Stefani Producer: Scott Hendricks Record Label: Warner Music Nashville
One Beer – HARDY featuring Lauren Alaina & Devin Dawson Producers: Derek Wells, Joey Moi Record Label: Big Loud Records
One Too Many – Keith Urban, P!nk Producers: Cutfather, Dan McCarroll, Keith Urban, PhD Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
STUDIO RECORDING AWARDS
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Jarrod Travis Cure Mark Hill Tony Lucido Steve Mackey Glenn Worf
DRUMMER OF THE YEAR Fred Eltringham Evan Hutchings Derek Mixon Jerry Roe Aaron Sterling
GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR J.T. Corenflos Kris Donegan Jedd Hughes Ilya Toshinskiy Derek Wells
PIANO/KEYS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Dave Cohen David Dorn Charlie Judge Mike Rojas Benmont Tench
SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT PLAYER OF THE YEAR (Tie Within Category Increased Nominees) Alicia Enstrom Jim Hoke Danny Rader Mickey Raphael Ilya Toshinskiy Kristin Wilkinson
STEEL GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR Spencer Cullum Dan Dugmore Mike Johnson Russ Pahl Justin Schipper
AUDIO ENGINEER OF THE YEAR Jeff Balding Jason Hall Gena Johnson Vance Powell F. Reid Shippen
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR Buddy Cannon Dave Cobb Dann Huff Jay Joyce Joey Moi
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, which factors into their official count.
Award recipients in each category are noted above parenthetically in the Album of the Year, Single of the Year, Song of the Year, Video of the Year and Music Event of the Year.
The 2019 Industry Awards and the 2019 and 2020 Studio Recording Awards will be presented to recipients at ACM Honors™, a special event held annually in August at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN.
The 56th ACM Awards®, honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in Country Music, will feature exciting performances, unprecedented collaborations, surprising moments and more to be announced in the coming months.
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 Dick Clark Productions and the Academy of Country Music.
For more information, visit ACMcountry.com. You can also like Academy of Country Music on Facebook, follow on Twitter at @ACMawards, follow on Instagram at @ACMawards and sign up for the FREE ACM A-List for more immediate updates.
About the Academy of Country Music Awards™
The 56th Academy of Country Music Awards™ is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the Country Music industry. The show is produced for television by dick clark productions and will broadcast LIVE on Sunday, April 18, 2021 (8:00-11:00 PM, live ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network, and will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+, ViacomCBS’ upcoming global streaming service. R.A. Clark, Amy Thurlow, Barry Adelman, Mark Bracco and Linda Gierahn are executive producers. Damon Whiteside is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.
NOMINATION FAST FACTS
56TH ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS™ NOMINEES
**Awards presented in 2021 are for works produced in the calendar year 2020**
TOP ARTIST NOMINEE FAST FACTS
This year’s leading nominees are Chris Stapleton and Maren Morris, each with SIX ACM Award nominations.
Maren Morris receives SIX nominations, including her first for Song of the Year with an additional nomination as songwriter, and her first for Video of the Year.
Miranda Lambert, the most nominated female artist in ACM history, receives FIVE nominations, including her 15th nomination for Female Artist of the Year.
Ashley McBryde receives FOUR nominations, including her first for Album of the Year. Reigning Entertainer of the Year Thomas Rhett receives FOUR nominations, including his second nomination for Entertainer of the Year.
Carly Pearce receives THREE nominations, including her first for Single of the Year and Music Event of the Year for her collaboration with Lee Brice on “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” and her first for Female Artist of the Year.
Ingrid Andress receives THREE nominations, including her second nomination for New Female Artist of the Year and her first nomination for Single of the Year, receiving an additional nomination as producer.
HARDY receives THREE nominations for Songwriter of the Year, New Male Artist of the Year, and Music Event of the Year.
Luke Bryan receives TWO nominations, including his ninth nomination for Entertainer of the Year.
Kane Brown receives TWO nominations, including his first for Video of the Year and Album of the Year.
PRODUCER NOMINEE FAST FACTS
Producer Jay Joyce receives FOUR nominations, including two Album of the Year nominations for Ashley McBryde’s “Never Will” and Brothers Osborne’s “Skeletons.”
Producer Dann Huff receives THREE nominations, including his 11th nomination for Producer of the Year.
Producer busbee receives TWO posthumous nominations for Music Event and Single of the Year for “I Hope You’re Happy Now.”
MORE
For the first time in ACM Awards history, four Black artists are nominated for Awards in a single year including Jimmie Allen, Kane Brown, Mickey Guyton and John Legend.
For the first time in history, every Single of the Year nomination features a female artist, and this was the first nomination in this category for three of the six nominees. Carly Pearce, Ingrid Andress and Gabby Barrett.
Chris Stapleton receives SIX nominations, including his third nomination for Entertainer of the Year. In addition, Stapleton is a nominee for Male Artist of the Year, an Award he was nominated for five times prior and won twice. Stapleton also receives a nod for Song of the Year as both songwriter and artist, for Album of the Year as artist and producer, and for Music Video of the Year.
Reigning Female Artist of the Year Maren Morris receives SIX nominations, with “The Bones” nominated for both Song of the Year and Single of the Year. Morris receives an additional nod for songwriter of “The Bones,” her first time receiving a nomination for Song of the Year both as an artist and songwriter. Morris is also a nominee for Female Artist of the Year, marking the fifth time she has been nominated in this category, and a first-time nominee for Music Video of the Year. In addition, Morris is nominated for Group of the Year alongside The Highwomen.
Miranda Lambert continues her streak as the most nominated female artist in Academy history with 68 lifetime nominations. Lambert receives FIVE total nominations for the 56th ACM Awards, with four nominations for “Bluebird.” “Bluebird” is nominated for Single of the Year, Video of the Year, and Song of the Year. Lambert receives an additional nomination as songwriter. In addition, Lambert receives her 15th nomination for Female Artist of the Year, a category she previously won nine times prior.
55th ACM Awards host Keith Urban is a double nominee in the Music Event of the Year Category for his collaboration with Thomas Rhett, Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, and Chris Tomlin in “Be A Light,” and for his duet with P!NK in “One Too Many.” Urban receives an additional nomination for Producer of “One Too Many.” P!NK’s nomination in this category mark’s the singer’s first ACM Award nomination.
Reigning Male Artist of the Year Luke Combs is a nominee for Entertainer of the Year and Male Artist of the Year, and receives his first nomination for Music Event of the Year for his duet with Eric Church on “Does to Me.” In addition to Music Event of the Year, Eric Church receives nominations for Entertainer of the Year and Male Artist of the Year.
HARDY receives THREE nominations for Songwriter of the Year, New Male Artist of the Year, and Music Event of the Year. Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson are nominees alongside HARDY for Music Event of the Year for “One Beer,” marking Dawson’s first nomination in the category and Alaina’s second.
Luke Combs and Chris Stapleton are both nominees for Entertainer of the Year. A win for either artist in that category will also clinch the coveted Triple Crown Award. Reigning Group of the Year, Old Dominion, receives TWO nominations, including their sixth nomination in the Group of the Year category. Band member Matthew Ramsey receives an additional nomination as songwriter for “Some People Do.”
Lady A receives a nomination for Group of the Year, with singer Hillary Scott receiving an additional nomination for Music Event of the Year with “Be A Light.”
Gabby Barrett receives TWO nominations, including her second nod as New Female Artist of the Year and first for Single of the Year.
Dierks Bentley receives TWO nominations, including his sixth nod for Video of the Year and seventh nod for Male of the Year.
Brothers Osborne receives TWO nominations, including their first for Album of the Year.
On the heels of her history-making performance from the 55th ACM Awards in 2020, Mickey Guytonreceives her second New Female Artist of the Year nomination. Jimmie Allen receives his second nod for New Male Artist of the Year.
Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton received a nomination for Music Event of the Year for their duet, “Nobody But You,” marking Stefani’s first ACM Award nomination.
John Legend received his first-ever ACM Awards nomination for Video of the Year for his duet with Carrie Underwood on “Hallelujah.”
Brooks & Dunn continue their streak as the most nominated Duo in Academy history with 64 lifetime nominations.
The Cadillac Three receives their first nomination for Group of the Year.
Nominations include 14 artists and industry creators receiving their first-ever ACM Awards nominations. Tenille Arts, Spencer Cullum, Travis Denning, Kris Donegan, Alicia Enstrom, Jason Hall, Gena Johnson, John Legend, P!nk, Steve Mackey, Gwen Stefani, Benmont Tench, Chris Tomlin and Kristin Wilkinson.
Maren Morris at the 54th Annual CMA Awards in Nashville on November 11, 2020 (Photo courtesy of ABC)
Luke Combs at the 54th Annual CMA Awards in Nashville on November 11, 2020 (Photo courtesy of ABC)
Morgan Wallen at the 54th Annual CMA Awards in Nashville on November 11, 2020 (Photo courtesy of ABC)
by Carla Hay
With three prizes, Maren Morris was the biggest winner at the 54th annual CMA Awards, which were presented at Nashville’s Music City Center on November 11, 2020. ABC had the U.S. telecast of the ceremony, which was hosted by Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker. Morris received the awards for Female Vocalist of the Year, while her hit “The Bones” was named Song of the Year and Single of the Year.
Other big winners were Eric Church (who was named Entertainer of the Year) and Luke Combs, who won the prizes for Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year (for “What You See Is What You Get”).
Miranda Lambert, who went into the ceremony with the most nominations (seven) and ended up winning one CMA Award: Music Video of the Year, for “Bluebird.” Other winners of the 2020 CMA Awards included Old Dominion (Vocal Group of the Year); Dan + Shay (Vocal Duo of the Year); ; Morgan Wallen (New Artist of the Year); and Carly Pearce and Lee Brice’s duet “I Hope You’re Happy Now”(Musical Event of the Year). Charley Pride received the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award.
Performers at the ceremony included Jimmie Allen; Ingrid Andress; Kelsea Ballerini; Gabby Barrett featuring Charlie Puth; Brothers Osborne; Eric Church; Luke Combs; Dan + Shay with Justin Bieber; Lambert; Little Big Town; Ashley McBryde; McEntire with Rucker; Maren Morris; Old Dominion; Jon Pardi; Carly Pearce with Charles Kelley; Rucker; Chris Stapleton Keith Urban; and Morgan Wallen. In addition, Thomas Rhett, McEntire and Chris Tomlin teamed up for a performance.
Presenters included Lauren Akins, Lauren Alaina, Dierks Bentley, Bobby Bones, Charles Esten, Sara Evans, Taylor Hill, Jake Owen, Patrick Schwarzenegger and Cece Winans.
The 54th Annual CMA Awards was a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton was the executive producer. Alan Carter was the director, and David Wild was the head writer.
The following is a complete list of winners and nominees for the 2020 CMA Awards:
*=winner
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Eric Church* Luke Combs Miranda Lambert Carrie Underwood Keith Urban
SINGLE OF THE YEAR Award goes to artist(s), producer(s), and mix engineer
“10,000 Hours” – Dan + Shay (with Justin Bieber) (Producer: Dan Smyers; Mix Engineer: Jeff Juliano)
“Beer Never Broke My Heart” – Luke Combs (Producer: Scott Moffatt; Mix Engineer: Jim Cooley)
“Bluebird” – Miranda Lambert Producer: Jay Joyce; Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce)
ALBUM OF THE YEAR Award goes to artist and producer(s)
“Heartache Medication” – Jon Pardi (Producers: Bart Butler, Ryan Gore, Jon Pardi)
“Never Will” – Ashley McBryde (Producers: Jay Joyce, John Peets)
“Old Dominion” – Old Dominion (Producers: Shane McAnally, Old Dominion)
“What You See Is What You Get” – Luke Combs (Producer: Scott Moffatt)*
“Wildcard” – Miranda Lambert (Producer: Jay Joyce)
SONG OF THE YEAR Award goes to songwriters
“Bluebird” (Songwriters: Luke Dick, Natalie Hemby, Miranda Lambert)
“The Bones” (Songwriters: Maren Morris, Jimmy Robbins, Laura Veltz)*
“Even Though I’m Leaving” (Songwriters: Luke Combs, Wyatt B. Durrette III, Ray Fulcher)
“I Hope You’re Happy Now” (Songwriters: Luke Combs, Randy Montana, Carly Pearce, Jonathan Singleton)
“More Hearts Than Mine” (Songwriters: Ingrid Andress, Sam Ellis, Derrick Southerland)
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Miranda Lambert Ashley McBryde Maren Morris* Kacey Musgraves Carrie Underwood
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Eric Church Luke Combs* Thomas Rhett Chris Stapleton Keith Urban
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady A Little Big Town Midland Old Dominion* Rascal Flatts
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)
“10,000 Hours” – Dan + Shay with Justin Bieber (Producer: Dan Smyers)
“Be A Light” – Thomas Rhett featuring Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, Chris Tomlin, Keith Urban (Producer: Dann Huff)
“The Bones” – Maren Morris with Hozier (Producer: Greg Kurstin)
“Fooled Around And Fell In Love” – Miranda Lambert feat. Maren Morris, Elle King, Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes & Caylee Hammack (Producer: Jay Joyce)
“I Hope You’re Happy Now” – Carly Pearce and Lee Brice (Producer: Busbee)*
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Jenee Fleenor, Fiddle* Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar Rob McNelley, Guitar Ilya Toshinskiy, Guitar Derek Wells, Guitar
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR Award goes to artist(s) and director
“10,000 Hours” – Dan + Shay with Justin Bieber (Director: Patrick Tracy)
“Bluebird” – Miranda Lambert (Director: Trey Fanjoy)*
“Homemade” –Jake Owen (Director: Justin Clough)
“I Hope You’re Happy Now” – Carly Pearce and Lee Brice (Director: Sam Siske)
“Second One To Know” – Chris Stapleton (Director: David Coleman)
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jimmie Allen Ingrid Andress Gabby Barrett Carly Pearce Morgan Wallen*
FINALISTS FOR BROADCAST PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR (by market size): National
“American Country Countdown” (Kix Brooks) – Westwood One “The Blair Garner Show” (Blair Garner and “Off Eric” Garner) – Westwood One “CMT After Midnite” (Cody Alan) – Premiere Networks “Country Countdown USA” (Lon Helton) – Westwood One* “The Mayor of Music Row” (Charlie Monk) – Sirius XM Satellite Radio
Major Market
“Angie Ward” – WUBL, Atlanta, Ga. “Chris Carr & Company” (Chris Carr, Kia Becht, and McKaila Granning) – KEEY, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.* “Double-L” (Lois Lewis) – KNIX, Phoenix, Ariz. “Fitz in the Morning” (Cory Fitzner) – KNUC, Seattle-Tacoma, Wash. “Paul Schadt & Sarah Lee in the Morning with Producer Geof” (Paul Schadt, Sarah Lee and Geof Knight) – WKKT, Charlotte-Gastonia-Rock Hill, N.C.-S.C.
Large Market
“The Big Dave Show (“Big Dave” Chandler, Chelsie Shinkle, Jason Statt and Ashley Hempfling) – WUBE, Cincinnati, Ohio* “Jim, Deb & Kevin” (Jim Denny, Deborah Honeycutt and Kevin Freeman) – WFMS, Indianapolis, Ind. “Lexi & Banks” (“Lexi” Elena Abatgis and “Banks” Jared Danielson) – KUBL, Salt Lake City-Ogden-Provo, Utah “Obie & Ashley” (“Obie” Obed Diaz and Ashley Morrison) – WWKA, Orlando, Fla. “Ridder, Scott and Shannen” (“Ridder” Shaun Ridderbush, Scott Dolphin, and Shannen Oesterreich) – WMIL, Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.
Medium Market
“Brent Michaels” – KUZZ, Bakersfield, Calif. “Clay & Company” (Clay Moden, Rob Banks, and Val Townsend) – WYRK, Buffalo-Niagara Falls, N.Y.* “Kenn McCloud” – KUZZ, Bakersfield, Calif. “Scott and Sarah in the Morning” (Scott Wynn and Sarah Kay) – WQMX, Akron, Ohio “Steve & Gina In The Morning” (Steve Lundy and Gina Melton) – KXKT, Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.- Iowa
Small Market
“Big Rick In The Morning” (“Big Rick” Daniels) – WGGC, Bowling Green, Ky. “Bobby & Steve (and Mandi!)” (Bobby Cook, Steve Schwetman and Mandi Turner) – WKYQ, Paducah, Ky. “Brent and Candy – The Cat Pak Morning Show” (Brent Lane and Candy Cullerton) – WYCT, Pensacola, Fla. “Officer Don & DeAnn” (“Officer Don” Evans and DeAnn Stephens) – WBUL, Lexington-Fayette, Ky.* “Steve And Jessica Mornings” (Steve Waters and Jessica Cash) – WFLS, Fredericksburg, Va.
FINALISTS FOR RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (by market size):
The following is a press release from Dick Clark Productions and CBS:
Winners have been announced for the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards, a night of heart and hits live from Nashville. Fifteen-time ACM Award-winning artist Keith Urban hosted the show, featuring three iconic Nashville venues, including Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe. For the first time in ACM Awards history, Thomas Rhett and Carrie Underwood tied for the Academy’s highest honor Entertainer of the Year Award – the first ever tie in that category. This is Rhett’s first win in the Entertainer of the Year category, and Underwood’s third win, making her the most awarded female in the ACM Entertainer of the Year category.
Old Dominion won Group of the Year Award for the third consecutive year and won their first Song of the Year Award for “One Man Band” with Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen and Brad Tursi each receiving an additional win as songwriters. This marks two overall wins as a group, with Ramsey, Rosen and Tursi leading the night with three individual wins, each. Miranda Lambert continues her reign as most-awarded artist in ACM Awards history with 35 wins, after taking home this year’s trophy in Music Event of the Year category for “Fooled Around And Fell In Love.” Dan + Shay won Duo of the Year marking their second win in a row in the category.
The evening continued with more first-time wins including Luke Combs earning his first Male Artist of the Year Award and his first-ever win for Album of the Year for “What You See Is What You Get.” Maren Morris won her first Female Artist of the Year Award and her first Music Event of the Year for “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” alongside Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes, Caylee Hammack & Elle King. Blake Shelton won Single of the Year Award for “God’s Country” making this his first-ever win in the category.
Previously announced, Riley Green won New Male Artist of the Year and Tenille Townes won New Female Artist of the Year. Townes also won her first Music Event of the Year and both performed on the telecast and are featured on the newly released “On The Road Again (ACM Lifting Lives® Edition)” single, Willie Nelson’s timeless hit, featuring the ACM New Artist Nominees Ingrid Andress, Gabby Barrett, Jordan Davis, Russell Dickerson, Lindsay Ell, Caylee Hammack, Cody Johnson, and Morgan Wallen, joined by Nelson. Produced by Ross Copperman and Jimmy Robbins, the single is available via Warner Music Nashville across all digital platforms and can be heard on Country radio now (LISTEN HERE). Proceeds from the single will benefit ACM Lifting Lives COVID-19 Response Fund to be disbursed to individuals in the Country Music community who are currently in need of pandemic relief assistance.
This year’s 55th ACM Awards featured an all-star lineup of collaborations and memorable performances featuring 24 performances, including 41 hit songs. The awards telecast kicked off with Entertainer of the Year nominees performing a medley of each of their greatest hits. Luke Bryan performed “Rain Is A Good Thing,” Eric Church performed “Drink In My Hand,” Luke Combs performed “When It Rains It Pours,” Thomas Rhett performed “It Goes Like This” and Carrie Underwood performed “Before He Cheats.”
Global superstar and two-time ACM Entertainer of the Year, Taylor Swift, returned to the ACM Awards stage for the first time in seven years with a world premiere performance of “Betty” off her record-breaking new album “Folklore. “The 55th ACM Awards host Keith Urban performed the world television premiere of his new single, “One Too Many” with international pop icon P!NK, from Urban’s new album out September 18, 2020: “Speed of Now.” Mickey Guyton made her solo ACM Award performance debut with “What Are You Gonna Tell Her?” featuring surprise guest Urban on piano. Blake Shelton featuring Gwen Stefani performed their latest single “Happy Anywhere.” Eric Church opened his performance with “Ragged Old Flag” a poem read by Johnny Cash which led into his single “Stick That in Your Country Song.”
In celebration of the 95th anniversary of the Grand Ole Opry, newly crowned three-time ACM Entertainer of the Year winner, Carrie Underwood, honored trailblazing female Opry members by performing a medley of songs including Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” Loretta Lynn’s “You Ain’t Woman Enough (To Take My Man),” Barbara Mandrell’s “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool,” Martina McBride’s “A Broken Wing,” Reba McEntire’s “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” and Dolly Parton’s “Why’d You Come in Here Lookin’ Like That.”
Additional performances included first-time ACM Awards performer Jimmie Allen (“Make Me Want To”); Kelsea Ballerini (“Hole in the Bottle”), Gabby Barrett (“I Hope”); Kane Brown (“Worldwide Beautiful”); Luke Bryan (“One Margarita”); Luke Combs (“Better Together”); Dan + Shay (“I Should Probably Go To Bed”); Florida Georgia Line (“I Love My Country”); Riley Green (“I Wish Grandpas Never Died”); Miranda Lambert (“Bluebird”) featuring songwriters Natalie Hemby & Luke Dick; Tim McGraw (“I Called Mama”); Maren Morris (“To Hell & Back”); Old Dominion (Medley of “One Man Band,” “Written in the Sand,” “No Such Thing as a Broken Heart,” “Break Up With Him,” “Snapback,” “Song For Another Time,” “Hotel Key” & “Make It Sweet”); Thomas Rhett featuring Jon Pardi (“Beer Can’t Fix”); Tenille Townes (“Somebody’s Daughter”); and Morgan Wallen (“Whiskey Glasses”). Presenters included Lauren Alaina, Lily Aldridge, Clint Black, Lisa Hartman Black, ACM National Radio Personality of the Year winner Bobby Bones, Cam, Darius Rucker, Runaway June and CeCe Winans. Rucker also gave a sneak peek of the National Museum of African American Music, scheduled to open this Fall in Downtown Nashville.
For the first time in the show’s history, the 55th ACM Awards took place in Nashville, broadcasting from three iconic Country Music venues: Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and The Bluebird Cafe. Artists who performed from the Ryman include Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Riley Green, Maren Morris, Old Dominion, Thomas Rhett featuring Jon Pardi, and Tenille Townes. Performances from the Grand Ole Opry House included Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Dan + Shay, Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line, Mickey Guyton, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and Morgan Wallen. Artists at The Bluebird Cafe included Jimmie Allen, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert featuring songwriters Natalie Hemby and Luke Dick, and Tim McGraw. Fans also enjoyed a virtual collaboration by Keith Urban and P!NK as well as a virtual Bluebird Cafe performance with Blake Shelton featuring Gwen Stefani. Multi-ACM Award winning artist Trisha Yearwood delivered a special performance from the Opry House of “I’ll Carry You Home” from her critically acclaimed album “Every Girl” for the In Memoriam, paying tribute to those we have lost in the country music industry.
Following is the list of winners and nominees of the 55th ACM Awards:
*=winner
MAIN AWARDS
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR Luke Bryan Eric Church Luke Combs Thomas Rhett* (tie) Carrie Underwood* (tie)
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Kelsea Ballerini Miranda Lambert Maren Morris* Kacey Musgraves Carrie Underwood
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Dierks Bentley Luke Combs* Thomas Rhett Chris Stapleton Keith Urban
DUO OF THE YEAR Brooks & Dunn Brothers Osborne Dan + Shay* Florida Georgia Line Maddie & Tae
GROUP OF THE YEAR Lady Antebellum Little Big Town Midland Old Dominion* The Highwomen
NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Ingrid Andress Gabby Barrett Lindsay Ell Caylee Hammack Tenille Townes*
NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR Jordan Davis Russell Dickerson Riley Green* Cody Johnson Morgan Wallen
ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)] Center Point Road – Thomas Rhett Producers: Julian Bunetta, Jesse Frasure, Dann Huff, Thomas Rhett, The Stereotypes, Cleve Wilson Record Label: The Valory Music Co.
Girl – Maren Morris Producers: busbee, Greg Kurstin, Maren Morris Record Label: Columbia Nashville
Heartache Medication – Jon Pardi Producers: Bart Butler, Ryan Gore, Jon Pardi Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
What You See Is What You Get – Luke Combs* Producer: Scott Moffatt* Record Label: River House Artists/Columbia Nashville*
Wildcard – Miranda Lambert Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: Vanner Records/RCA Records Nashville
SINGLE OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)] God’s Country – Blake Shelton* Producer: Scott Hendricks Record Label: Warner Bros. (Nashville)
One Man Band – Old Dominion Producer: Shane McAnally Record Label: RCA Records Nashville
Rainbow – Kacey Musgraves Producers: Ian Fitchuk, Kacey Musgraves, Daniel Tashian Record Label: MCA Nashville
Rumor – Lee Brice Producers: Lee Brice, Dan Frizsell, Kyle Jacobs, Jon Stone Record Label: Curb Records
What If I Never Get Over You – Lady Antebellum Producer: Dann Huff Record Label: BMLG Records
SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)] 10,000 Hours – Dan + Shay Featuring Justin Bieber Songwriters: Justin Bieber, Jason “Poo Bear” Boyd, Jessie Jo Dillon, Shay Mooney, Jordan Reynolds, Dan Smyers Publishers: Beats and Banjos (ASCAP), WB Music Corp. (ASCAP) / Shay Mooney Music (BMI), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI) / Big Ass Pile Of Dimes Music (BMI), Big Machine Music (BMI) / Buckeye 26 (ASCAP), Jreynmusic (ASCAP), WB Music Corp. (ASCAP) / Bieber Time Publishing (ASCAP), Universal Music (ASCAP) / Poo B Z Inc. (ASCAP), BMG Gold Songs (ASCAP).
Girl Goin’ Nowhere – Ashley McBryde Songwriters: Jeremy Bussey, Ashley McBryde Publishers: Songs of Song Factory (BMI) / Universal Tunes (SESAC). God’s Country – Blake Shelton Songwriters: Devin Dawson, Michael Hardy, Jordan Schmidt Publishers: Relative Music Group (BMI), Administered by Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing (BMI) / WB Music Corp. / Georgia Song Vibez / We-volve Music (ASCAP) / Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. / Neon Cross Music (BMI).
One Man Band – Old Dominion* Songwriters: Josh Osborne, Matthew Ramsey, Trevor Rosen, Brad Tursi Publishers: WB Music Corp/Smackville Music/Smack Songs LLC (ASCAP) adm by Kobalt Songs Music Publishing. Rezsongs/Reehits World/Smacktown Music, a division of Smack Blue, LLC/Unfair Entertainment (ASCAP) adm. by Me Gusta Music. We’re Really Doin’ It Publishing (ASCAP) adm by Words & Music. Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing/Smackville Music/Smack Songs LLC (ASCAP) adm. by Kobalt Songs Music Publishing.
Some of It – Eric Church Songwriters: Eric Church, Clint Daniels, Jeff Hyde, Bobby Pinson Publishers: Sony/ATV Tree Publishing/Longer and Louder Music, admin. by Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC; Mammaw’s Fried Okra Music/Little Louder Songs, admin. by Songs of Kobalt Music Publishing; New Writers Of Sea Gayle Music, admin. by ClearBox Rights; New Writers Of Sea Gayle Music/Not A Track Guy Music, admin. by ClearBox Rights (BMI).
VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)] 10,000 Hours – Dan + Shay Featuring Justin Bieber Director: Patrick Tracy Producer: Christen Pinkston
God’s Country – Blake Shelton Director: Sophie Muller Producers: Jamie Amos, Patrick Kennedy
One Man Band – Old Dominion Director: Mason Allen Producer: Mason Allen
Remember You Young – Thomas Rhett* Director: TK McKamy Producer: Dan Atchison
Sugar Coat – Little Big Town Directors: Alexa Kinigopoulos, Stephen Kinigopoulos Producers: Wes Edwards, Carlo Glorioso, Angie Lorenz
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR *(Off Camera Award) Ashley Gorley Michael Hardy Hillary Lindsey* Shane McAnally Josh Osborne
MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)] 10,000 Hours – Dan + Shay Featuring Justin Bieber Producers: Dan Smyers Record Label: Warner Music Nashville
Dive Bar – Garth Brooks Featuring Blake Shelton Producers: Garth Brooks Record Label: Pearl Records, Inc.
Fooled Around and Fell in Love – Miranda Lambert Featuring Maren Morris, Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes, Caylee Hammack & Elle King* Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: Vanner Records/RCA Records Nashville
Old Town Road – Lil Nas X Featuring Billy Ray Cyrus Producers: Michael Trent Reznor, Atticus Matthew Ross, YoungKio Record Label: Columbia Records
What Happens in a Small Town – Brantley Gilbert Featuring Lindsay Ell Producer: Dann Huff Record Label: The Valory Music Co.
INDUSTRY AWARDS
(Winners are to be announced.)
CASINO OF THE YEAR – THEATER The Colosseum at Caesars Palace – Las Vegas, NV The Joint: Tulsa – Tulsa, OK Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort – Mt. Pleasant, MI The Venetian Resort Hotel Casino – Las Vegas, NV WinStar Global Event Center – Thackerville, OK
CASINO OF THE YEAR – ARENA Mark G. Etess Arena – Atlantic City, NJ MGM Grand Garden Arena – Las Vegas, NV Sandia Amphitheater – Albuquerque, NM Stir Concert Cove – Council Bluffs, IA T Mobile Arena – Las Vegas, NV
FAIR/RODEO OF THE YEAR California Mid-State Fair – Paso Robles, CA Cheyenne Frontier Days – Cheyenne, WY Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo – Houston, TX Minnesota State Fair – St. Paul, MN San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo – San Antonio, TX
FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR Boots and Hearts Music Festival – Oro-Medonte, OR Stagecoach – Indio, CA Tortuga Music Festival – Fort Lauderdale, FL Watershed Festival – George, WA Windy City Smokeout – Chicago, IL
CLUB OF THE YEAR Billy Bob’s Texas – Fort Worth, TX Coyote Joe’s – Charlotte, NC Grizzly Rose – Denver, CO Joe’s Live – Rosemont, IL Losers Bar & Grill – Nashville, TN
THEATER OF THE YEAR The Beacon Theatre – New York, NY The Chicago Theatre – Chicago, IL DeJoria Center – Salt Lake City, UT Rialto Square Theatre – Joliet, IL Ruth Eckerd Hall – Clearwater, FL
OUTDOOR VENUE OF THE YEAR Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion – Gilford, NH Greek Theatre – Los Angeles, CA Innsbrook After Hours – Glen Allen, VA Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, CO Rose Music Center – Huber Heights, OH The Wharf at Orange Beach – Orange Beach, AL
ARENA OF THE YEAR Infinite Energy Center – Duluth, GA Madison Square Garden – New York, NY Staples Center – Los Angeles, CA Van Andel Arena – Grand Rapids, MI VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena – Jacksonville, FL
DON ROMEO TALENT BUYER OF THE YEAR Clay Campbell – Triangle Talent Gary Osier – Gary Osier Presents Gil Cunningham – Neste Live! Kell Houston – Houston Productions Nina Rojas – Neste Live! Todd Boltin – Variety Attractions
PROMOTER OF THE YEAR Adam Weiser – AEG Presents Brian O’Connell – Live Nation Jered Johnson – Pepper Productions Stacy Vee – Messina Touring Group Troy Vollhoffer – Premier Global Production
STUDIO RECORDING AWARDS
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Eli Beaird Mike Brignardello Tim Marks Michael Rhodes Jimmie Lee Sloas
DRUMMER OF THE YEAR Fred Eltringham Miles McPherson Greg Morrow Jerry Roe Nir Zidkyahu
GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR Tom Bukovac Dann Huff Rob McNelley Adam Shoenfeld Ilya Toshinskiy
PIANO/KEYBOARDS PLAYER OF THE YEAR David Dorn Tony Harrell Charlie Judge Tim Lauer Gordon Mote Mike Rojas
SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT(S) PLAYER OF THE YEAR Stuart Duncan Jenee Fleenor Jim Hoke Danny Rader Joe Spivey Charlie Worsham
STEEL GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR Dan Dugamore Paul Franklin Josh Grange Russ Pahl Justin Schipper
AUDIO ENGINEER OF THE YEAR Chuck Ainlay Jeff Balding Tony Castle Julian King Steve Marcantonio Justin Niebank
PRODUCER OF THE YEAR busbee Buddy Cannon Dann Huff Michael Knox Joey Moi
NATIONAL ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
(Winners were announced several days before the ceremony.)
Blair Garner, “Off Eric” Garner The Blair Garner Show
Bobby Bones, Amy, Lunchbox, Eddie, Morgan, Ray* The Bobby Bones Show
Charlie Chase, Lorianne Crook The Crook & Chase Countdown
Buzz Brainard The Music Row Happy Hour
Storme Warren, Mary Carlisle Callahan, Thomas Massad The Storme Warren Show
ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – MAJOR MARKET
Bud and Broadway WIL-FM – St. Louis, MO
Kelly Ford in the Morning – Kelly Ford WNSH-FM – New York, NY
Mason & Remy WIL-FM – St. Louis, MO
The Morning Wolfpack with Matt McAllister – Matt McAllister, Emily Raines, Slow Joe Wallace KKWF-FM – Seattle, WA
The Rob and Holly Show* – Rob Stone, Holly Hutton WYCD-FM – Detroit, MI
ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – LARGE MARKET
Lexi and Banks KUBL-FM – Salt Lake City, UT
Marty McFly WSM-FM – Nashville, TN
Q Morning Crew with Mike and Janie WQDR-FM – Raleigh, NC
Robyn & Roger in the Morning CKRY-FM – Calgary, AB
The Big Dave Show – Big Dave, Chelsie, Statt, Ashley* WUBE-FM – Cincinnati, OH
ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM MARKET
Brent Michaels KUZZ-AM/FM – Bakersfield, CA
Clay & Company* WYRK-FM – Buffalo, NY
Kenn McCloud KUZZ-AM/FM – Bakersfield, CA
Steve & Gina in the Morning – Steve Lundy, Gina Melton KXKT-FM – Omaha, NE
The Cowboy Kyle Show – Cowboy Kyle WUSY-FM – Chattanooga, TN
ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – SMALL MARKET
Adam & Jen in the Morning KIOK-FM – Kennewick, WA
Ben & Arnie – Ben Butler, Arnie Andrews WCOW-FM – Sparta, WI
Big Rick In The Morning – “Big” Rick Daniels WGGC-FM – Bowling Green, KY
Scotty & Catryna in the Morning – Scotty Cox, Catryna Craw KCLR-FM – Columbia, MO
Steve & Jessica – Steve Waters, Jessica Cash* WFLS-FM – Fredericksburg, VA
