Eric Church, Gabby Barrett and Chris Stapleton Dominate 2021 CMA Awards Nominations

Final Nominees for the The 55th Annual CMA Awards were revealed on Thursday morning and Eric Church and Chris Stapleton lead…

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Lauren Jo Black

| Posted on

September 9, 2021

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7:06 am

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Eric Church, Gabby Barrett, Chris Stapleton

Final Nominees for the The 55th Annual CMA Awards were revealed on Thursday morning and Eric Church and Chris Stapleton lead the pack with five nominations each.

Gabby Barrett follows with four nominations alongside mix engineer Jason Hall and producer Jay Joyce. 

Other top nominees include Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris and Chris Young, who scored three nominations each. 

First-time CMA Awards nominees include Brown, Dave Cohen, Corey Crowder, Jordan Davis, Paul DiGiovanni, Matt Dragstrem, Jacob Durrett, Aaron Eshuis, Chris Galland, Mickey Guyton, Charlie Handsome, Nicolette Hayford, Ryan Hurd, Martin Johnson, Emily Landis, Manny Marroquin, Jim McCormick, Sean Moffitt, Travis Nicholson, Drew Parker, Ed Pryor, Teddy Reimer, Running Bear and Aaron Sterling.  

“This year, we have the opportunity to honor the superstars, new artists and emerging creators who are paving the way for Country Music,” says Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “These nominees exemplify the creativity, passion and heart that make our Country Music community unlike any other genre. The breadth of voices is evident in this year’s nominations, and we could not be more thrilled to celebrate our deserving nominees in November!” 

Hosts, performers and presenters for The 55th Annual CMA Awards will be announced in the coming weeks. The program will air in November on ABC. 

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
  • Eric Church  
  • Luke Combs   
  • Miranda Lambert    
  • Chris Stapleton  
  • Carrie Underwood   
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)  
  • “Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown  
    Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young  
    Mix Engineer: Sean Moffitt 
  • “The Good Ones” – Gabby Barrett  
    Producers: Ross Copperman, Zach Kale  
    Mix Engineers: Chris Galland, Manny Marroquin 
  • “Hell Of A View” – Eric Church  
    Producer: Jay Joyce  
    Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce   
  • “One Night Standards” – Ashley McBryde  
    Producer: Jay Joyce  
    Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce   
  • “Starting Over” – 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) 
  • 29 – Carly Pearce 
    Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne and Jimmy Robbins  
    Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore  
  • Dangerous: The Double Album – Morgan Wallen  
    Producers: Dave Cohen, Matt Dragstrem, Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome and Joey Moi  
    Mix Engineer: Joey Moi  
  • Heart – Eric Church  
    Producer: Jay Joyce 
    Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce 
  • Skeletons – Brothers Osborne  
    Producer: Jay Joyce  
    Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce 
  • Starting Over – Chris Stapleton  
    Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton  
    Mix Engineer: Vance Powell 
SONG OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Songwriter(s)  
  • “Forever After All”   
    Songwriters: Luke Combs, Drew Parker, Robert Williford  
  • “The Good Ones”   
    Songwriters: Gabby Barrett, Zach Kale, Emily Landis, Jim McCormick 
  • “Hell Of A View”   
    Songwriters: Casey Beathard, Eric Church, Monty Criswell  
  • “One Night Standards”   
    Songwriters: Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally, Ashley McBryde 
  • “Starting Over”   
    Songwriters: Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton  
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR   
  • Gabby Barrett 
  • Miranda Lambert    
  • Ashley McBryde   
  • Maren Morris   
  • Carly Pearce  
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR 
  • Dierks Bentley 
  • Eric Church    
  • Luke Combs   
  • Thomas Rhett   
  • Chris Stapleton   
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
  • Lady A  
  • Little Big Town   
  • Midland   
  • Old Dominion    
  • Zac Brown Band 
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
  • Brooks & Dunn   
  • Brothers Osborne   
  • Dan + Shay    
  • Florida Georgia Line   
  • Maddie & Tae 
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artist(s) and Producer(s)  
  • “Buy Dirt” – Jordan Davis and Luke Bryan  
    Producer: Paul DiGiovanni  
  • “Chasing After You” – Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris  
    Producers: Aaron Eshuis, Teddy Reimer 
  • “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” – Elle King & Miranda Lambert  
    Producer: Martin Johnson  
  • “Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown  
    Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young 
  • “half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney)  
    Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins 
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
  • Jenee Fleenor, Fiddle  
  • Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar  
  • Aaron Sterling, Drums  
  • Ilya Toshinskiy, Banjo  
  • Derek Wells, Guitar  
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR   
Award goes to Artist(s) and Director(s)  
  • “Chasing After You” – Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris 
    Director: TK McKamy  
  • “Famous Friends” – Chris Young with Kane Brown  
    Director: Peter Zavadil  
  • “Gone” – Dierks Bentley 
    Directors: Wes Edwards, Travis Nicholson, Ed Pryor, Running Bear, Sam Siske
  • “half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney)  
    Director: Patrick Tracy  
  • “Younger Me” – Brothers Osborne  
    Director: Reid Long  
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
  • Jimmie Allen
  • Ingrid Andress   
  • Gabby Barrett   
  • Mickey Guyton 
  • HARDY 
      
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Lauren Jo Black

Written by

Lauren Jo Black

Lauren Jo Black, a University of Central Florida graduate, has immersed herself in the world of country music for over 15 years. In 2008, she co-founded CountryMusicIsLove, eventually selling it to a major record label in 2015. Following the rebranding of the website to Sounds Like Nashville, Black served as Editor-in-Chief for two and a half years. Currently, she assumes the role of Editor-in-Chief at Country Now and oversees Country Now’s content and digital footprint. Her extensive experience also encompasses her previous role as a Country Music Expert Writer for Answers.com and her work being featured on Forbes.com. She’s been spotlighted among Country Aircheck’s Women of Influence and received the 2012 Rising Star Award from the University of Central Florida. Black also spent time in front of the camera as host of Country Now Live, which brought live music directly to fans in 2021 when the majority of concerts were halted due to the pandemic. During this time, she hosted 24 weeks of live concerts via Country Now Live on Twitch with special guests such as Lady A, Dierks Bentley, Jordan Davis, Brett Young, and Jon Pardi. Over the course of her career, she has had the privilege of conducting interviews with some of the industry’s most prominent stars, including Reba McEntire, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, and many others. Lauren Jo Black is a longtime member of the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music.