CMA Awards 2021: Full list of nominations

Check out the full list of nominees for the 55th annual CMA Awards.

September 9, 2021, 8:01 AM
Eric Church performs in concert during the 4th annual Mack, Jack & McConaughey charity event in Austin, Texas, April 15, 2016.
Eric Church performs in concert during the 4th annual Mack, Jack & McConaughey charity event in Austin, Texas, April 15, 2016.
Gary Miller/Getty Images, FILE

The nominations for the 55th annual CMA Awards were revealed Thursday.

Eric Church and Chris Stapleton tied for most nominations, earning five nods each in major categories, including entertainer of the year, single of the year, album of the year, male vocalist of the year and song of the year.

"I Hope" singer Gabby Barrett followed close behind with four nominations in categories including single of the year, song of the year, female vocalist of the year and new artist of the year. Mixing engineer Jason Hall and producer Jay Joyce, who have both worked with singers like Eric Church and Ashley McBryde, also received four nominations.

Miranda Lambert earned three nominations and remains the most-nominated female act in the history of the show with a total of 58 nominations. She broke the record previously held by Reba McEntire, who has 51 nods, in 2020. Lambert, an entertainer of the year nominee, is now tied with singer Brad Paisley for third place in overall nominations.

The artists up for entertainer of the year include Lambert, Church, Stapleton, Luke Combs and Carrie Underwood.

The 55th annual CMA Awards will air Wednesday, Nov. 10, live on ABC at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

The biggest night in country music will be executive produced by Robert Deaton and directed by Alan Carter. David Wild is the head writer for the show.

Check out the full list of nominees below:

Entertainer of the year

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

Single of the year

  • "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

  • "29" – Carly Pearce (Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne and Jimmy Robbins; Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore)
  • "Dangerous: The Double Album" – Morgan Wallen (Producers: Dave Cohen, Matt Dragstrem, Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome and Joey Moi; Mix Engineer: Joey Moi)
  • "Heart" – Eric Church (Producer: Jay Joyce; Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce)
  • "Skeletons" – Brothers Osborne (Producer: Jay Joyce; Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce)
  • "Starting Over" – Chris Stapleton (Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton; Mix Engineer: Vance Powell)

Song of the year

  • "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

  • "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

  • "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

Related Topics