ACM Awards 2023: HARDY, Lainey Wilson lead nominations

HARDY's goal for the year was to "change the trajectory of my life," he told The Tennessean, part of the USA TODAY Network, earlier this year.

If the vocalist behind the album "The Mockingbird and the Crow" sweeps all seven Academy of Country Music Awards for which he's nominated on May 11 at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, he'll accomplish just that.

Three of HARDY's nominations are shared with Lainey Wilson – the 2023 ACM Awards' most nominated female vocalist (six nods) for their anti-domestic violence murder ballad "Wait in the Truck." Notable, too, is ACM Triple Crown Award winner (entertainer of the year, new artist and artist category wins) Miranda Lambert passing Reba McEntire as the most nominated female artist of the year nominee in the award program's history, earning her 17th nomination.

Regarding another potential Triple Crown winner in the making, if either Luke Combs or Chris Stapleton win the entertainer of the year trophy, they will clinch that honor.

2022's ACM album of the year winner, Morgan Wallen – HARDY's Big Loud labelmate – has ridden his mega-massive streaming and touring success to his first entertainer of the year nomination, the ninth ACM nomination of his career.

ACM Awards: Garth Brooks, Dolly Parton to host 2023 Academy of Country Music Awards show

Billboard and Mediabase country charts' "it" couple of the moment, the chart-topping husband and wife duo Kane and Katelyn Brown, also have much to celebrate. This year marks Kane's first-ever nominations for entertainer and male artist of the year. The married couple's single "Thank God" has also received three nominations (single, music event and visual media of the year). These mark Katelyn's first nominations and round Kane Brown's career total to 14 overall.

Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks will host the event streaming live for a global audience on Amazon Prime Video at 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT. In addition, the full rebroadcast of "Country Music's Party of the Year" will stream the next day for free on Amazon Freevee.

Here are the nominees:

Entertainer of the year

• Jason Aldean

• Kane Brown

• Luke Combs

• Miranda Lambert

• Chris Stapleton

• Carrie Underwood

• Morgan Wallen

Female artist of the year

• Kelsea Ballerini

• Miranda Lambert

• Ashley McBryde

• Carly Pearce

• Lainey Wilson

Male artist of the year

• Kane Brown

• Luke Combs

• Jordan Davis

• Chris Stapleton

• Morgan Wallen

Duo of the year

• Brooks & Dunn

• Brothers Osborne

• Dan + Shay

• Maddie & Tae

• The War and Treaty

Group of the year

• Lady A

• Little Big Town

• Midland

• Old Dominion

• Zac Brown Band

New female artist of the year

• Priscilla Block

• Megan Moroney

• Caitlyn Smith

• Morgan Wade

• Hailey Whitters

New male artist of the year

• Zach Bryan

• Jackson Dean

• ERNEST

• Dylan Scott

• Nate Smith

• Bailey Zimmerman

Album of the year

• Ashley McBryde, "Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville"

• Lainey Wilson, "Bell Bottom Country"

• Luke Combs, "Growin' Up"

• Jon Pardi, "Mr. Saturday Night"

• Miranda Lambert, "Palomino"

Single of the year

• Lainey Wilson, "Heart Like A Truck"

• Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde, "Never Wanted to Be That Girl"

• Cole Swindell, "She Had Me at Heads Carolina"

• Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown, "Thank God"

• Cody Johnson, " 'Til You Can't"

Song of the year

• Morgan Wallen, "Sand In My Boots"

• Cole Swindell, "She Had Me at Heads Carolina"

• Cody Johnson, " 'Til You Can't"

• HARDY featuring Lainey Wilson, "Wait in the Truck"

• Chris Stapleton, "You Should Probably Leave"

Visual media of the year

• Kelsea Ballerini, "HEARTFIRST"

• Cole Swindell, "She Had Me at Heads Carolina"

• Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown, "Thank God"

• Cody Johnson, " 'Til You Can't"

• HARDY featuring Lainey Wilson, "Wait in the Truck"

• Carly Pearce, "What He Didn't Do"

Songwriter of the year

• Nicolle Galyon

• Ashley Gorley

• Chase McGill

• Josh Osborne

• Hunter Phelps

Artist-songwriter of the year

• Luke Combs

• ERNEST

• HARDY

• Miranda Lambert

• Morgan Wallen

Music event of the year

• Chris Young with Mitchell Tenpenny, "At the End of a Bar"

• Cole Swindell & Jo Dee Messina, "She Had Me at Heads Carolina (Remix)"

• Kane Brown with Katelyn Brown, "Thank God"

• Dustin Lynch featuring MacKenzie Porter, "Thinking 'Bout You"

• HARDY featuring Lainey Wilson, "Wait in the Truck"

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: ACM Awards 2023 nominations: HARDY, Lainey Wilson lead