Academy of Country Music Awards Nominations: Chris Stapleton, Maren Morris Lead Roster; As Expected, Morgan Wallen Absent – Complete List

Greg Evans
·5 min read
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Country artists Chris Stapleton and Maren Morris topped the Country Music Awards nominations today, with each getting six nominations from the Academy of Country Music.

The nominations were announced on CBS This Morning today by CBS, the ACM and dick clark productions. The 56th Academy of Country Music Awards will air 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 at 8 p.m. ET/delayed PT) on CBS and streamed live and on demand on Paramount+.

More from Deadline

See the entire list of nominations below.

Among the notable nominations:

  • Reigning Female Artist of the Year Maren Morris took six nominations, with “The Bones” nominated for both Song of the Year and Single of the Year. Morris received 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. Morris is also a nominee for Female Artist of the Year, marking the fifth 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;

  • Overall, this year’s nominations list includes 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.

Notably absent from the roster is the mega-selling Morgan Wallen, who was deemed ineligible for this year’s awards by the ACM after video surfaced of the singer-songwriter using the N-word.

The following is the list of nominees for major awards announced today:

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
Luke Combs
Eric Church
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
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
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
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
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
Ashley Gorley
Michael Hardy
Hillary Lindsey
Shane McAnally
Josh Osborne

MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR (Tie Within Category Increased Nominees)
Be A Light – Thomas Rhett featuring Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, Chris Tomlin, Keith Urban
Does To Me – Luke Combs featuring Eric Church
I Hope You’re Happy Now – Carly Pearce & Lee Brice
Nobody But You – Blake Shelton featuring Gwen Stefani
One Beer – HARDY featuring Lauren Alaina & Devin Dawson
One Too Many – Keith Urban, P!nk

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
Alicia Enstrom
Jim Hoke
Danny Rader
Mickey Raphael
Ilya Toshinsky
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

Best of Deadline

Sign up for Deadline's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.