CMA Awards 2022: First-time nominee Lainey Wilson leads pack with six nods

"The 56th Annual CMA Awards" event, hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, will emanate live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, November 9, from 7-10 p.m. CT and air on ABC.

The event's broadcast will feature first-time nominee Lainey Wilson, nominated in six categories -- Album of the Year (Sayin' What I'm Thinkin'), Female Vocalist of the Year, Music Video of the Year ("Never Say Never"), Musical Event of the Year ("Never Say Never"), New Artist of the Year, and Song of the Year ("Things A Man Oughta Know").

Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, and Chris Stapleton, songwriter, and producer Shane McAnally have five nominations, while Cody Johnson and songwriter/producer Josh Osborne are nominated four times. Moreover, Luke Combs, HARDY, Miranda Lambert, Midland, and Carrie Underwood have three nominations.

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Notable as well, Morgan Wallen will contend for the night's most vaunted honor, Entertainer of the Year, against 2021 winner Combs, plus  Lambert, Stapleton, and Underwood.

In 2021, 2020's CMA Award-winning Best New Artist Wallen was banned from even attending the ceremony where his "Dangerous: The Double Album" contended against Carly Pearce's "29," Eric Church's "Heart," Brothers Osborne's "Skeletons" and the winner, Chris Stapleton's "Starting Over."

This followed Wallen being seen using a racial slur in a February 2021 video. As a result, the CMAs ruled that he was not eligible for any solo awards -- namely Male Artist or Entertainer of the year, but his collaborative works were eligible.

Baskin, Louisiana native Wilson is the fourth artist in CMA Awards history to achieve six nominations in their first-ever nomination cycle (Glen Campbell, 1968; Brad Paisley, 2000; and Kacey Musgraves, 2013).

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Lambert's five nominations bring her career total to 61, allowing her to remain the most nominated female artist in CMA Awards history and the third most-nominated overall artist, following George Strait (83) and Alan Jackson (81). This is her 16th nomination for Female Vocalist since 2007 -- she has won the honor seven times. Also, 2022 finds her earning her sixth nomination for Album and Entertainer of the Year.

Overall, a sizable crop of first-time nominees includes First-time CMA Awards nominees include BRELAND, Alexa Campbell, Jack Clarke, Dan Grech-Marguerat, Jacob Davis, Dustin Haney, Walker Hayes, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins, Jason Lehning, Blake Lively, Chip Matthews, Parker McCollum, Michael Monaco, Jason Nix, Mikey Reaves, Harper Smith, Trent Willmon, and the previously-mentioned Wilson.

"It's thrilling to celebrate these deserving nominees while our industry is returning to live music," says Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. "This year's slate is impressive, with some nominees logging historic milestones while others are just getting started. No matter what stage in their career, they each bring a unique voice and unforgettable story to life, showing that Country Music is stronger than ever! We look forward to honoring them this November."

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Full list of CMA Award nominees

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

• Luke Combs

• Miranda Lambert

• Chris Stapleton

• Carrie Underwood

• Morgan Wallen

SINGLE OF THE YEAR

(Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer)

• “Buy Dirt” – Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan, Producer: Paul DiGiovanni, Mix Engineer: Jim Cooley

• "half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (feat. Kenny Chesney), Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins, Mix Engineer: Dan Grech-Marguerat

• “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde, Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne. Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore

• “'Til You Can't” – Cody Johnson, Producer: Trent Willmon, Mix Engineer: Jack Clarke

• “You Should Probably Leave” – Chris Stapleton, Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton, Mix Engineer: Vance Powell

ALBUM OF THE YEAR   

(Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s))

• Growin' Up – Luke Combs, Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton, Mix Engineers: Jim Cooley, Chip Matthews

• Humble Quest – Maren Morris, Producer: Greg Kurstin, Mix Engineer: Serban Ghenea

• Palomino – Miranda Lambert, Producers: Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall, Mikey Reaves, Mix Engineer: Jason Lehning

• Sayin' What I'm Thinkin' – Lainey Wilson, Producer: Jay Joyce, Mix Engineer: F. Reid Shippen

• Time, Tequila & Therapy – Old Dominion, Producers: Shane McAnally, Old Dominion, Mix Engineer: Justin Niebank

SONG OF THE YEAR  

(Award goes to Songwriters)

• “Buy Dirt” - Songwriters: Jacob Davis, Jordan Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins

• “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” - Songwriters: Shane McAnally, Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce

• “Sand In My Boots” - Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Michael Hardy, Josh Osborne

• “Things A Man Oughta Know” - Songwriters: Jason Nix, Jonathan Singleton, Lainey Wilson

• “You Should Probably Leave” - Songwriters: Chris DuBois, Ashley Gorley, Chris Stapleton

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR  

• Miranda Lambert

• Ashley McBryde

• Carly Pearce

• Carrie Underwood

• Lainey Wilson

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

• Eric Church

• Luke Combs

• Cody Johnson

• Chris Stapleton

• Morgan Wallen

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

• Lady

• Little Big Town

• Midland

• Old Dominion

• Zac Brown Band

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR   

•    Brooks & Dunn

•    Brothers Osborne

•    Dan + Shay

•    LOCASH

•    Maddie & Tae

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR  

(Award goes to Artist(s) and Producer(s))

• “Beers On Me” – Dierks Bentley with BRELAND & HARDY, Producers: Dierks Bentley, Ross Copperman

• “If I Didn't Love You” – Jason Aldean & Carrie Underwood, Producer: Michael Knox

• “Longneck Way To Go” – Midland (featuring Jon Pardi), Producers: Dann Huff, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne

• “Never Say Never” – Cole Swindell (with Lainey Wilson), Producer: Zach Crowell

• “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde, Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR

• Jenee Fleenor, Fiddle

• Paul Franklin, Steel guitar

• Brent Mason, Guitar

• Ilya Toshinskiy, Banjo

• Derek Wells, Guitar

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR  

(Award goes to Artist(s) and Directors)

• “I Bet You Think About Me” (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) – Taylor Swift (featuring Chris Stapleton), Director: Blake Lively

• “Longneck Way To Go” – Midland (featuring Jon Pardi), Director: Harper Smith

• “Never Say Never” – Cole Swindell (with Lainey Wilson), Director: Michael Monaco

• “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde, Director: Alexa Campbell

• “'Til You Can't” – Cody Johnson, Director: Dustin Haney

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR

• HARDY

• Walker Hayes

• Cody Johnson

• Parker McCollum

• Lainey Wilson

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This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: CMA Awards 2022 nominations: Lainey Wilson, Chris Stapleton, more lead