Stapleton, Church & Morris Lead 2016 CMA Awards Nominations

Posted on August 31, 2016
CMA Awards
50th Annual CMA Awards Photo: YouTube

This morning was exciting for country artists AND country fans! The nominees for the 50th Annual CMA Awards were announced live today on Good Morning America!

Congratulations to Eric Church, Maren Morris and Chris Stapleton who top the list of nominees with five each.

This could be another semi big year for a newcomer, as last year Chris Stapleton seemed to come out of nowhere to dominate the CMA Awards. The five nominations that Eric Church received also help him look really good as it now gives him a total of 22 nominations since his first CMA Awards in 2011.

Dierks Bentley, Cam, and Keith Urban announced the nominees earlier this morning from the Grand Ole Opry stage in Nashville. While Eric, Maren, and Chris dominated, it was also a good year for Dierks, Keith, and Carrie Underwood who all received four nominations.

Tune in as Carrie and Brad Paisley co-host one of the most amazing award shows live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, November 2nd on ABC.

Here’s the full list of nominees:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

  • Garth Brooks
  • Luke Bryan
  • Chris Stapleton
  • Carrie Underwood
  • Keith Urban

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

  • Kelsea Ballerini
  • Miranda Lambert
  • Maren Morris
  • Kacey Musgraves
  • Carrie Underwood

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

  • Dierks Bentley
  • Eric Church
  • Tim McGraw
  • Chris Stapleton
  • Keith Urban

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR

  • Kelsea Ballerini
  • Brothers Osborne
  • Maren Morris
  • Old Dominion
  • Cole Swindell

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR

  • Brothers Osborne
  • Dan + Shay
  • Florida Georgia Line
  • Joey + Rory
  • Maddie & Tae

SINGLE OF THE YEAR

  • “Die a Happy Man” – Thomas Rhett; Producers Dann Huff and Jesse Frasure; Mix engineers Justin Niebank; The Valory Music Co.
  • “Humble and Kind” – Tim McGraw; Producers Byron Gallimore and Tim McGraw; Mix engineers Byron Gallimore; Big Machine Records.
  • “My Church” – Maren Morris; Producers busbee and Maren Morris; Mix engineers Dave Clauss and busbee; Columbia Nashville/Sony Music Nashville.
  • “Nobody To Blame” – Chris Stapleton; Producers Dave Cobb and Chris Stapleton; Mix engineers Vance Powell; Mercury Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville.
  • “Record Year” – Eric Church; Producers Jay Joyce; Mix engineers Jay Joyce and Jason Hall; EMI Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

  • Black – Dierks Bentley; Produced by Ross Copperman and Arturo Buenahora, Jr.; Capitol RecordsNashville/Universal Music Group Nashville.
  • Hero – Maren Morris; Produced by busbee, Maren Morris, and Brad Hill; Columbia Nashville/Sony Music Nashville.
  • Mr. Misunderstood – Eric Church; Produced by Jay Joyce and Arturo Buenahora, Jr.; EMI Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville.
  • Ripcord – Keith Urban; Produced by Jeff Bhasker, Tyler Johnson, Dann Huff, Greg Wells, Nile Rodgers, busbee, K-Kov, Nathan Chapman, Jonny Price, and Keith Urban; Hit Red Records/Capitol Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville.
  • Storyteller – Carrie Underwood; Produced by Jay Joyce, Mark Bright, and Zach Crowell; 19 Recordings/Arista Nashville/Sony Music Nashville.

SONG OF THE YEAR

  • “Burning House” – Camaron Ochs, Tyler Johnson, Jeff Bhasker
  • “Die a Happy Man” – Sean Douglas, Thomas Rhett, and Joe Spargur
  • “Humble and Kind” – Lori McKenna
  • “My Church” – Busbee and Maren Morris
  • “Record Year” – Eric Church and Jeff Hyde

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR

  • “Different For Girls” – Dierks Bentley feat. Elle King; Capitol Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville.
  • “Home Alone Tonight” – Luke Bryan featuring Karen Fairchild; Capitol Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville.
  • “The Fighter” – Keith Urban (featuring Carrie Underwood); Hit Red Records/Capitol Records Nashville/Universal Music Group Nashville.
  • “Think of You” – Chris Young (duet with Cassadee Pope); RCA Nashville/Sony Music Nashville.
  • “You Are My Sunshine” – Morgane Stapleton with Chris Stapleton; Low Country Sound/Elektra Records.

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR

  • (Award goes to Artist and Director(s))
  • “Burning House” – Cam; Directed by Trey Fanjoy.
  • “Fire Away” – Chris Stapleton; Directed by Tim Mattia.
  • “Humble and Kind” – Tim McGraw; Directed by Wes Edwards.
  • “Record Year” – Eric Church; Directed by John Peets and Reid Long.
  • “Somewhere On A Beach” – Dierks Bentley; Directed by Wes Edwards.

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