The 56th ACM Nominees Have Been Revealed

​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. Maren Morris leads the nominations with Chris Stapleton at six nominations, every nominee for “Single of the Year” includes a female artist, and four Black artists are nominated. However, the Entertainer of the Year category has no female or diverse representation. 
 
Highlights:
 
Reigning Female Artist of the Year Maren Morris received six nominations, with “The Bones” being nominated for both Song of the Year and Single of the Year. Maren Morris received 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. Maren Morris was also nominated 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 was 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 received five total nominations for the 56th ACM Awards, with four nominations for “Bluebird.” “Bluebird” was nominated for Single of the Year, Video of the Year, and Song of the Year. Lambert received an additional nomination as songwriter. In addition, Miranda Lambert received her 15th nomination for Female Artist of the Year, a category she won nine times prior.
 
For the first time in ACM Awards history, four black artists are nominated for awards including Jimmie Allen, Kane Brown, Mickey Guyton and John Legend, and every Single of the Year nomination features a female artist. This was also the first nomination in this category for three of the six nominees. Carly Pearce, Ingrid Andress, and Gabby Barrett each were nominated for Single of the Year for the first time.
 
Ashley McBryde receives four nominations, including her first for Album 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. 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. Gabby Barrett received two nominations, including her second nod as New Female Artist of the Year and first for Single of the Year.
 
Overall, this year’s nominations include 14 artists and industry creators receiving their first-ever ACM Awards nominations. The first-time nominees include 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 category. 
 
 
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
• Mixtape Vol. 1 – Kane Brown
• Never Will – Ashley McBryde
• Skeletons – Brothers Osborne
• Starting Over – Chris Stapleton

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

• Bluebird – Miranda Lambert
• I Hope – Gabby Barrett
• I Hope You’re Happy Now – Carly Pearce & Lee Brice
• More Hearts Than Mine – Ingrid Andress
  
• The Bones – Maren Morris

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

• Bluebird – Miranda Lambert
• One Night Standards – Ashley McBryde
• Some People Do – Old Dominion
• Starting Over – Chris Stapleton 
• The Bones – Maren Morris

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

• Better Than We Found It – Maren Morris 
• Bluebird – Miranda Lambert 
• Gone – Dierks Bentley
• Hallelujah – Carrie Underwood and John Legend
• Worldwide Beautiful – Kane Brown

 
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)]

• Be A Light – Thomas Rhett featuring Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, Chris Tomlin, Keith Urban
• Does To Me – Luke Combs feat. Eric Church
• I Hope You’re Happy Now – Carly Pearce & Lee Brice
• Nobody But You – Blake Shelton ft. Gwen Stefani
• One Beer – HARDY ft. Lauren Alaina & Devin Dawson
• One Too Many – Keith Urban, P!nk

 
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.