NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED FOR THE
50th ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC® AWARDS
COUNTRY MUSIC’S PARTY OF THE YEAR®
ACM AWARDS TO AIR LIVE FROM AT&T STADIUM IN NORTH TEXAS
Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 8:00 PM ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network
Miranda Lambert leads with 8 nominations;
Dierks Bentley receives 7 nominations;
Florida Georgia Line receives 5 nominations;
Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, and Eric Church each receive 4 nominations
Nominations were announced today for the 50th ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, Country Music’s Party of the Year®, honoring country music’s superstars and hottest emerging talent. Hosted by ACM Award winners Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan, the ACM Awards are produced for television by dick clark productions and will be broadcast LIVE, and as previously announced, extended by half an hour in celebration of its golden anniversary, from the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 8:00 PM – 11:30PM ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network.
Nominees were revealed online via the fourth annual ACM digital press conference this morning. Jason Aldean, Lee Brice, Kristian Bush, Brandy Clark, Tara Lipinski, Dustin Lynch, Joel McHale, Nancy O’Dell, Melissa Peterman, Jamie Lynn Spears and the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders all announced nominations via photo postings to the Academy’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts during the online event.
Fans will once again help select the winner of both the Academy’s most prestigious honor, Entertainer of the Year, and the New Artist of the Year. As previously announced, Brett Eldredge, Tyler Farr, Sam Hunt, Kip Moore, Thomas Rhett, Chase Rice, Cole Swindell, and Dan + Shay are the semi-finalists for this year’s ACM New Artist of the Year Award. These top eight (8) artists from the first round of ACM professional voting will compete via fan vote at VoteACM.com and voteacm.CMT.com, combined with the ACM professional membership vote, to determine the three nominees for the award. An additional combined fan and professional membership vote will determine the winner. The winners of Entertainer of the Year and New Artist of the Year will be announced live during the 50th Academy of Country Music Awards.
Miranda Lambert earned eight nominations, including her forth nomination for Entertainer of the Year and ninth consecutive nod for Female Vocalist of the Year, with additional nominations for Album of the Year, plus Single Record of the Year and twice for Song of the Year, as artist and songwriter, for “Automatic.” Her nominations continue with Video of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year for “Somethin’ Bad” with Carrie Underwood. Lambert is the reigning ACM Female Vocalist of the Year.
Dierks Bentley received seven nominations, including Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year for Riser, Single Record of the Year and Video of the Year for “Drunk On A Plane.” In the category for Song of the Year, Bentley is nominated twice for “I Hold On,” as artist and songwriter. Bentley is also nominated for Vocal Event of the Year with The Cadillac Three, Florida Georgia Line and Mike Eli for “The South.”
Reigning Vocal Duo of the Year Florida Georgia Line were nominated for five awards, including their first in the Entertainer of the Year category, third consecutive nod for Vocal Duo of the Year, Single Record of the Year for “Dirt,” and twice in the Vocal Event of the Year category, once for “The South” with The Cadillac Three, Dierks Bentley and Mike Eli, and “This Is How We Roll” with Luke Bryan.
Luke Bryan received four nominations, including his third consecutive nomination for both Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year. He also earned a Song of the Year nomination for “Drink A Beer” and Vocal Event of the Year nomination for “This Is How We Roll” with Florida Georgia Line.
Kenny Chesney was nominated for four awards including Song of the Year, Video of the Year and twice in the Single Record of the Year category as an artist and producer. All of Chesney’s nods were attributed to his hit song, “American Kids.”
Eric Church earned four nominations, including a nod for Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year for The Outsiders. Church is also nominated twice in the Song of the Year category, as the artist and songwriter, for “Give Me Back My Hometown.”
The Academy of Country Music’s professional membership selects the nominees and winners of the Academy of Country Music Awards, and selects the final top five nominees of the Entertainer of the Year category. New Artist of the Year final nominees will be selected by a combined vote of the fans and professional members.
Fan voting for Entertainer of the Year begins on Wednesday, April 8 at 3:00 PM ET/12noon PT at VoteACM.com and will close during the third hour of the LIVE broadcast. First round fan voting for New Artist of the Year is now open at VoteACM.com and voteacm.CMT.com, and will close on Tuesday, February 10 at 6:00 PM ET. The final three nominees will be announced in the coming weeks and will move on to compete in the final round of voting for the New Artist category at VoteACM.com. Final round fan voting for the New Artist of the Year category begins on Wednesday, April 8 at 3:00 PM ET/12noon PT and will close at 8:00 PM ET/5:00 PM PT on Sunday, April 19 (before the LIVE telecast begins).
Following is the list of final nominees. Winners in each of the categories, except where noted, will be presented with an ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARD during the live television broadcast:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
- Jason Aldean
- Garth Brooks
- Luke Bryan
- Miranda Lambert
- Florida Georgia Line
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR [TIE]
- Jason Aldean
- Dierks Bentley
- Luke Bryan
- Eric Church
- Brad Paisley
- Blake Shelton
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
- Brandy Clark
- Miranda Lambert
- Martina McBride
- Kacey Musgraves
- Carrie Underwood
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
- Brothers Osborne
- Dan + Shay
- Florida Georgia Line
- Maddie & Tae
- The Swon Brothers
Vocal Group OF THE YEAR
- Lady Antebellum
- Little Big Town
- Rascal Flatts
- The Band Perry
- Zac Brown Band
ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
- Old Boots, New Dirt – Jason Aldean
Producer: Michael Knox
Record Label: Broken Bow Records
- Pain Killer – Little Big Town
Producer: Jay Joyce
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
- Platinum – Miranda Lambert
Producers: Chuck Ainlay, Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf
Record Label: RCA Nashville
- Riser – Dierks Bentley
Producers: Ross Copperman, Jaren Johnston
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
- The Outsiders – Eric Church
Producer: Jay Joyce
Record Label: EMI Records Nashville
Single Record of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
- American Kids – Kenny Chesney
Producers: Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney
Record Label: Blue Chair Records/Columbia Nashville
- Automatic – Miranda Lambert
Producers: Chuck Ainlay, Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf
Record Label: RCA Nashville
- Dirt – Florida Georgia Line
Producer: Joey Moi
Record Label: Republic Nashville
- Drunk On A Plane – Dierks Bentley
Producer: Ross Copperman
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
- I Don’t Dance – Lee Brice
Producer: Lee Brice
Record Label: Curb Records
Song of the Year [TIE] [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
- American Kids – Kenny Chesney
Songwriters: Rodney Clawson, Luke Laird, Shane McAnally
Publishers: Big Red Toe Music (BMI), Creative Nation Music (BMI), Farm Town Songs (BMI), Smack Ink (ASCAP), Songs Of Universal, Inc. (BMI), Twangin And Slangin Songs (BMI), Universal Music Corporation (ASCAP)
- Automatic – Miranda Lambert
Songwriters: Nicolle Galyon, Natalie Hemby, Miranda Lambert
Publishers: EMI Blackwood Music, Inc. (BMI), Pink Dog Publishing (BMI), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI), Wruckestrike (BMI)
- Drink A Beer – Luke Bryan
Songwriters: Jim Beavers, Chris Stapleton
Publishers: House of Sea Gayle Music (ASCAP), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), WB Music Corp. (ASCAP)
- Follow Your Arrow – Kacey Musgraves
Songwriters: Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves
Publishers: 351 Music (BMI), Highway 508 Songs (ASCAP), House of Sea Gayle Music (ASCAP), Smack Ink (ASCAP), Universal Music Corporation (ASCAP), Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. (BMI)
- Give Me Back My Hometown – Eric Church
Songwriters: Eric Church, Luke Laird
Publishers: Creative Nation Music (BMI), Longer And Louder Music (BMI), Songs Of Universal, Inc. (BMI), Sony/ATV Tree Publishing (BMI), Twangin And Slangin Songs (BMI)
- I Hold On – Dierks Bentley
Songwriters: Dierks Bentley, Brett James
Publishers: Atlas Holdings (ASCAP), Big White Tracks (ASCAP), External Combustion Music (ASCAP), Songs of Brett (ASCAP), WB Music Corp. (ASCAP)
songwriter of the year *(Off Camera Award)
- Rodney Clawson
- Ashley Gorley
- Luke Laird
- Josh Osborne
- Chris Tompkins
Video of the Year [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)] *(Off Camera Award)
- American Kids – Kenny Chesney
Director: Shaun Silva
Producer: Don Lepore
- Cop Car – Keith Urban
Director: John Urbano
Producer: Michelle Abnet
- Drunk On A Plane – Dierks Bentley
Director: Wes Edwards
Producer: Clarke Gallivan
- I’m Not Gonna Miss You – Glen Campbell
Director: James Keach
Producer: Julian Raymond
- Somethin’ Bad – Miranda Lambert Duet With Carrie Underwood
Director: Trey Fanjoy
Producer: Trent Hardville
Vocal Event of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]*(Off Camera Award)
- Lonely Tonight – Blake Shelton Featuring Ashley Monroe
Producer: Scott Hendricks
Record Label: Warner Bros. Records
- Meanwhile Back At Mama’s – Tim McGraw Featuring Faith Hill
Producers: Byron Gallimore, Tim McGraw
Record Label: Big Machine Records
- Somethin’ Bad – Miranda Lambert Duet With Carrie Underwood
Producers: Chuck Ainlay, Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf
Record Label: RCA Nashville
- The South – The Cadillac Three Featuring Florida Georgia Line, Dierks Bentley & Mike Eli
Producers: Dann Huff, Justin Niebank
Record Label: Big Machine Records
- This Is How We Roll – Florida Georgia Line Featuring Luke Bryan
Producer: Joey Moi
Record Label: Republic Nashville
RADIO AWARDS – The following radio awards will be presented during the annual Radio Winners Reception held the day prior to the ACM Awards telecast, on Saturday, April 18th in Arlington, TX.
NATIONAL ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR
- Big D, Bubba, Patrick Thomas The Big D and Bubba Show
- Cody Alan CMT After MidNite
- Crook and Chase The Crook and Chase Countdown
- Lia Knight The Lia Show
- Shawn Parr, Elaina Smith Nash Nights Live
ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – MAJOR MARKET
- Ben Campbell and Matt McAllister KNIX-FM Phoenix, AZ
- Dave and Veronica WQYK-FM Tampa, FL
- Lisa Dent & Ramblin’ Ray WUSN-FM Chicago, IL
- Razz on the Radio WXTU-FM Philadelphia, PA
- Rob Tanner, Guenn, Chris & Captain Jim WSOC-FM Charlotte, NC
ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – LARGE MARKET
- AJ & Ashley WWKA-FM Orlando, FL
- Big Dave, Chelsie, Stattman WUBE-FM Cincinnati, OH
- Dave O’Brien WLHK-FM Indianapolis, IN
- Mike Wheless, Marty Young, Janie Carothers WQDR-FM Raleigh, NC
- The Odd Squad CKRY-FM Calgary, Alberta
ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM MARKET
- 97 Country Breakfast Club with Roger, Tom, WPCV-FM Lakeland, FL
Melissa and DJ Thee Trucker
- Buzz Jackson KIIM-FM Tucson, AZ
- Cash and Carey KWEN-FM Tulsa, OK
- Steve & Gina and the Kat 103.7 Morning Show KXKT-FM Omaha, NE
- Wynn & Wilson in The Morning WQMX-FM Akron, OH
ON-AIR PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR – SMALL MARKET
- Brian Gary, Todd Harding, and Susan KUAD-FM Ft. Collins-Greeley, CO
Moore -The Good Morning Guys
- Gator, Styckman, Cowboy Kyle WUSY-FM Chattanooga, TN
- Fletcher Brown WXFL-FM Florence, AL
- Philip Gibbons WGSQ-FM Cookeville, TN
- Scotty Cox & Cara Denis KCLR-FM Columbia, MO
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – MAJOR MARKET
- KNIX-FM Phoenix, AZ
- WIL-FM St. Louis, MO
- WKLB-FM Boston, MA
- WSOC-FM Charlotte, NC
- WUSN-FM Chicago, IL
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – LARGE MARKET
- CKRY-FM Calgary, Alberta
- KAJA-FM San Antonio, TX
- WMIL-FM Milwaukee, WI
- WUBE-FM Cincinnati, OH
- WWKA-FM Orlando, FL
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM MARKET
- KUZZ-AM/FM Bakersfield, CA
- KXKT-FM Omaha, NE
- WCYQ-FM Knoxville, TN
- WQMX-FM Akron, OH
- WYRK-FM Buffalo, NY
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – SMALL MARKET
- KCLR-FM Columbia, MO
- KTHK-FM Idaho Falls, ID
- WGSQ-FM Cookeville, TN
- WXFL-FM Florence, AL
- WYCT-FM Pensacola, FL
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR *(Off Camera Award)
- Rodney Clawson
- Ashley Gorley
- Luke Laird
- Josh Osborne
- Chris Tompkins
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – MAJOR MARKET
- KNIX-FM Phoenix, AZ
- WIL-FM St. Louis, MO
- WKLB-FM Boston, MA
- WSOC-FM Charlotte, NC
- WUSN-FM Chicago, IL
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – LARGE MARKET
- CKRY-FM Calgary, Alberta
- KAJA-FM San Antonio, TX
- WMIL-FM Milwaukee, WI
- WUBE-FM Cincinnati, OH
- WWKA-FM Orlando, FL
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – MEDIUM MARKET
- KUZZ-AM/FM Bakersfield, CA
- KXKT-FM Omaha, NE
- WCYQ-FM Knoxville, TN
- WQMX-FM Akron, OH
- WYRK-FM Buffalo, NY
RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR – SMALL MARKET
- KCLR-FM Columbia, MO
- KTHK-FM Idaho Falls, ID
- WGSQ-FM Cookeville, TN
- WXFL-FM Florence, AL
- WYCT-FM Pensacola, FL
*Industry Awards and Studio Recording Awards will be announced at a later date.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Awards counts for artists reflect categories in which they have been recognized as individuals or as part of their duo or group. In some cases, an artist may receive more than one nomination which factors into their official count. For example, Kenny Chesney received two nominations in the Single Record of the Year category—one each as artist and producer—because that category recognizes both.
Award recipients in each category are noted above parenthetically in the Album of the Year, Single Record of the Year, Song of the Year, Video of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year.
About the Academy of Country Music Awards
The 50th 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 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX on Sunday, April 19, 2015 at 8:00 PM live ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, R.A. Clark and Barry Adelman are executive producers. Bob Romeo is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.