Miranda Lambert, Morgan Wallen and the 'Applebee's song' earn ACM Awards nominations

The nominees are in for the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards, and Chris Young is leading the charge.

The veteran hitmaker is up for seven awards, including album and single of the year for the awards which will stream live on Prime Video on March 7 at 8 p.m. EST from Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium. Tickets for the event are currently on sale at Ticketmaster.

Rising stars Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett – along with country legend Dolly Parton – will co-host the streaming event. Allen and Barrett each made an impressive leap from winning as best new artists in 2021 to being nominated for best male and female artists in 2022.

Seventeen years in Nashville could finally be enough for “Fancy Like” (endearingly known as the "Applebee's song") singer Walker Hayes to achieve best new artist status. His inclusion in the category is one of five nods for the first-time ACM Awards nominee.

Hayes ties ACM Awards mainstay Miranda Lambert, who received a record-tying 16th nomination for female artist of the year (only Reba McEntire had previously accomplished the feat) among her five nominations.

ACM Awards 2021 winners list: Luke Bryan takes Entertainer of the Year, Maren Morris takes two honors

Luke Combs, Lambert and Chris Stapleton are three of the five ACM nominees for entertainer of the year. Potentially more significant than a win in the category for the trio is clinching the “Triple Crown Award,” of being an entertainer of the year plus previous wins as a best new artist and artist of the year (male, female, duo or group).

Stapleton also earned five nominations in 2022 – his nod for entertainer of the year is his fourth time overall.

Notable as well is that Morgan Wallen, country’s overall album sales leader for 2021 (at an impressive 3.2 million equivalent album units earned last year), could be a winner on March 7. Though controversial, the numbers for his “Dangerous: The Double Album” don’t lie, and he’s being rewarded with four nominations: first-time nods for male artist of the year, album of the year and song of the year, plus an additional nod as a songwriter.

More: Morgan Wallen used a racist slur but his popularity is skyrocketing. How did we get here?

Also, key on the diversity front, four out of five nominees for music event of the year include female collaborators (including Kelsea Ballerini, Carrie Underwood, and the “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” tandem of Carly Pearce and Ashley McBride). Nominations include three members of the LGBTQ+ community, as Brothers Osborne receives a nomination for duo of the year, Lily Rose is nominated for new female artist of the year and songwriter Shane McAnally has received four nominations.

The two-hour streaming time limit for the 57th ACM Awards has abbreviated the number of trophies to be handed out live at Allegiant Stadium. The Industry Awards and Studio Recording Awards will be presented to recipients at a separate event, the Academy of Country Music Honors, a special event held annually in August at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The Academy of Country Music notes that more details will be announced in the coming months regarding that event.

Here's a list of all awards that will be given on March 7:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

Eric Church

Luke Combs

Miranda Lambert

Chris Stapleton

Carrie Underwood

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Gabby Barrett

Miranda Lambert

Ashley McBryde

Maren Morris

Carly Pearce

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Jimmie Allen

Luke Combs

Thomas Rhett

Chris Stapleton

Morgan Wallen

DUO OF THE YEAR

Brooks & Dunn

Brothers Osborne

Dan + Shay

LOCASH

Maddie & Tae

GROUP OF THE YEAR

Lady A

Little Big Town

Midland

Old Dominion

The Cadillac Three

NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Tenille Arts

Priscilla Block

Lily Rose

Caitlyn Smith

Lainey Wilson

NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

HARDY

Walker Hayes

Ryan Hurd

Parker McCollum

Elvie Shane

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

29: Written in Stone – Carly Pearce

Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Jimmy Robbins, Tony Brown

Record Company-Label: Big Machine Records

Country Again: Side A – Thomas Rhett

Producers: Dann Huff, Jesse Frasure, Matt Dragstrem

Record Company-Label: Big Machine Label Group

Dangerous: The Double Album – Morgan Wallen

Producer: Joey Moi, Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome, Matt Dragstrem, Dave Cohen

Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records / Republic Records

Famous Friends – Chris Young

Producer: Mark Holman, Corey Crowder, Chris Young, Chris DeStefano

Record Company-Label: RCA Records Nashville

The Marfa Tapes – Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall

Producers: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall

Record Company-Label: Vanner Records / RCA Records Nashville

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

Buy Dirt – Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan

Producer: Paul DiGiovanni

Record Company-Label: MCA Nashville

Famous Friends – Chris Young and Kane Brown

Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young

Record Company-Label: RCA Records Nashville

Fancy Like – Walker Hayes

Producers: Walker Hayes, Shane McAnally, Joe Thibodeau

Record Company-Label: Monument Records

If I Didn’t Love You – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood

Producers: Michael Knox

Record Company-Label: Broken Bow Records; Macon Music, LLC; BBR Music Group, BMG

You Should Probably Leave – Chris Stapleton

Producer: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton

Record Company-Label: Mercury Nashville

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

7 Summers – Morgan Wallen

Songwriters: Morgan Wallen, Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally

Publishers: Big Loud Mountain, Bo Wallace Publishing, Smackborne Music, Sony/ATV Accent, Smackstreet Music, Tempo Investments, Warner Geo Met Ric Music

Buy Dirt – Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan

Songwriters: Jordan Davis, Jacob Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins

Publishers: Anthem Music Publishing II, Bentprop Pub, Big Blue Nation Music, Combustion Five, Jentown, Jordan Davis Music, Smackwork Music, Smack Blue, Kobalt Music Group Music, Universal Music Corporation, WC Music Corp

Fancy Like – Walker Hayes

Songwriters: Cameron Bartolini, Josh Jenkins, Shane Stevens, Walker Hayes

Publishers: Songs of SMACK, Rarespark Media Group, Smackworks Music, Smack Blue, Kobalt Music Group, Holy Graffiti Music, Purplebeatz, WC Music Corp

Knowing You – Kenny Chesney

Songwriters: Adam James, Brett James, Kat Higgins

Publishers: 3 Ring Circus, BMG Platinum Songs, Pompano Run Music, Songs of Brett, WC Music Corp

Things A Man Oughta Know – Lainey Wilson

Songwriters: Jason Nix, Jonathan Singleton, Lainey Wilson

Publishers: Sony/ATV Accent, Sony/ATV Countryside, Spirit Two Nashville, Super Big Music

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

Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home) – Elle King and Miranda Lambert

Producers: Angie Lorenz, Wes Edwards, James Stratakis

Directors: Alexa Kinigopoulos, Stephen Kinigopoulos

Famous Friends – Chris Young and Kane Brown

Producer: Jennifer Ansell

Director: Peter Zavadil

I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version) – Taylor Swift featuring Chris Stapleton

Producers: Jil Hardin, Blake Lively, Kathy Palmer, Austin Swift

Director: Blake Lively

If I Didn’t Love You – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood

Producers: Christen Pinkston, Wesley Stebbins-Perry

Director: Shaun Silva

Never Wanted To Be That Girl – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde

Producer: Ryan Byrd

Director: Alexa Campbell

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR*(Off Camera Award)

Jesse Frasure

Nicolle Galyon

Ashley Gorley

Michael Hardy

Josh Osborne

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

Buy Dirt – Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan

Producer: Paul DiGiovanni

Record Company-Label: MCA Nashville

Famous Friends – Chris Young and Kane Brown

Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young

Record Company-Label: RCA Records Nashville

half of my hometown – Kelsea Ballerini featuring Kenny Chesney

Producers: Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins, Kelsea Ballerini

Record Company-Label: Black River Entertainment

If I Didn’t Love You – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood

Producer: Michael Knox

Record Company-Label: Broken Bow Records; Macon Music, LLC; BBR Music Group, BMG

Never Wanted To Be That Girl – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde

Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne

Record Company-Label: Big Machine Label Group, Warner Music Nashville

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: ACM Awards: Morgan Wallen, Miranda Lambert, more notable nominations