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The best in country music was celebrated at the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards!

Shania Twain hosted the show live from the Grand Ole Opry House on Thursday (September 26) in Nashville, Tenn.

Make sure to check out all of our posts about the event and the best red carpet photos!

The show mainly consisted of performances instead of handing out all of the awards. Many of the main categories of the night, including the top awards, were not announced on TV.

Head inside to check out the full winners list…

You can see the full winners list below though!

People’s Choice Country Awards Winners

The People’s Artist of 2024:

1. Beyoncé

2. Jelly Roll

3. Kacey Musgraves

4. Kane Brown

5. Lainey Wilson

6. Luke Combs

7. Morgan Wallen – Winner

8. Zach Bryan

The Female Artist of 2024:

1. Beyoncé

2. Carly Pearce

3. Dolly Parton

4. Kacey Musgraves

5. Kelsea Ballerini

6. Lainey Wilson – Winner

7. Megan Moroney

8. Miranda Lambert

The Male...

Shaboozey, Mgk, and Morgan Wallen were among the winners at the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards. Hosted by Shania Twain, the fan-voted awards were held in Nashville at the Opry House, the home of the Grand Ole Opry.

2024 People’s Choice Country Awards winners list:

The People’s Artist of 2024

Beyoncé

Jelly Roll

Kacey Musgraves

Kane Brown

Lainey Wilson

Luke Combs

Morgan Wallen – Winner

Zach Bryan

The Female Artist of 2024

Beyoncé

Carly Pearce

Dolly Parton

Kacey Musgraves

Kelsea Ballerini

Lainey Wilson – Winner

Megan Moroney

Miranda Lambert

The Male Artist of...

The 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards nominees have been revealed!

Beyonce and her country album Cowboy Carter are up for a whopping 12 awards including the top prizes People’s Artist of 2024, Female Artist of 2024, and Album of 2024! Top nominees also include Zach Bryan, Kacey Musgraves, Shaboozey, Kane Brown, Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs.

The 2024 People’s Choice Awards are set to air live from Nashville, Tennessee on September 26. They’ll be hosted by Shania Twain, and it’ll air on both NBC and Peacock.

We’ve gathered the full list of nominees here for you to see!

Keep reading to see the full list of nominees for the 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards…

2024 People’s Choice Country Awards Nominations List

The People’s Artist of 2024

• Beyoncé

• Jelly Roll

• Kacey Musgraves

• Kane Brown

• Lainey Wilson

• Luke Combs

• Morgan Wallen

• Zach Bryan

The Female Artist of 2024

• Beyoncé

• Carly Pearce

• Dolly Parton...

The 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards nominations are out, and Zach Bryan, Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Shaboozey lead the list.

Beyoncé’s first country album has her up for 12 awards, including the People’s Artist of 2024, Female Artist of 2024, and Social Country Star. The singer also scored nods in The Song of 2024 category for “Texas Hold ‘Em” and The Album of 2024 category for Cowboy Carter.

Other country stars nominated include Kane Brown, Morgan Wallen, and Luke Combs.

Shania Twain is set to host the 2024 People’s Choice Awards live from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville on September 26 at 8 p.m. Et, airing on NBC and streaming on Peacock.

The 2024 People’s Choice Country Awards is produced by Den of Thieves, with Jesse Ignjatovic, Evan Prager and Barb Bialkowski serving as executive producers, along with Rac Clark as executive producer and showrunner.

2024 People’s Choice Country Awards Nominations...

Country’s biggest stars gathered in Nashville Thursday night to kick off the first-ever People’s Choice Country Awards.

Little Big Town hosted the inaugural ceremony live from Nashville’s famed Grand Ole Opry, and it featured several fun performances from Kane Brown, Dan + Shay, Kelsea Ballerini, Carly Pearce, and more; plus, it saw country’s best accept the first time awards. Honorary trophies like the Country Music Icon Award and the Country Champion Award were also presented, to which they were awarded to Toby Keith and Wynonna Judd, respectively.

Read More: Morgan Wallen Leads Inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards Nominations

Amongst the epic night’s top nominees were Ballerini, Brown, Blake Shelton, Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood and Morgan Wallen. There were even a few unexpected musicians, who dabbled into country music over the past year, including Pink, Ed Sheeran and Bebe Rexha, whom were up for some awards.

The first-ever People’s Choice Country Awards just aired on TV and we have the full list of winners right here.

The event was hosted by Little Big Town live from the legendary Grande Ole Opry House on Thursday night (September 28) in Nashville, Tenn.

Brothers Osborne presented the Country Champion award to Wynonna Judd, and Blake Shelton presented the Country Icon award to Toby Keith.

Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, and Morgan Wallen were the big winners of the night.

Head inside to see the full list of winners for the People’s Choice Country Awards…

Keep scrolling to see the full list of winners…

Country Music Icon Award

Toby Keith

Country Champion Award

Wynonna Judd

The People’S Artist Of 2023

Blake Shelton

Kane Brown

Kelsea Ballerini

Lainey Wilson

Luke Combs

Morgan Wallen – Winner

Old Dominion

Zach Bryan

The Male Artist Of 2023

Bailey Zimmerman

Blake Shelton

Hardy

Jelly Roll – Winner

Kane...

The People’s Choice Country Awards made its debut on Thursday night at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville. On this night at least, the people’s choice was Jelly Roll, aka Jason Bradley DeFord, who was a winner in four categories.

Hosted by Little Big Town, the show began its live broadcast airing simultaneously on NBC and Peacock.

The full list of nominees was revealed in August, with country superstars Lainey Wilson, Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen dominating the nominations. Kane Brown and Jelly Roll were also top contenders, earning six nominations each.

The Country Music Icon Award was presented to Toby Keith by Blake Shelton.

The People’S Artist Of 2023

1. Blake Shelton

2. Kane Brown

3. Kelsea Ballerini

4. Lainey Wilson

5. Luke Combs

6. Morgan Wallen

7. Old Dominion

8. Zach Bryan

The Male Artist Of 2023

1. Bailey Zimmerman

2. Blake Shelton

3. Hardy

4. Jelly Roll

5. Kane Brown

6. Luke Combs

7. Morgan Wallen

8. Zach Bryan

The Female...

Lainey Wilson was the first winner at the inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards. The Louisiana native, who just headlined Red Rocks Amphitheatre in Morrison, Colorado, in support of her album Bell Bottom Country, was named Female Artist of the Year.

Dan + Shay were named Group/Duo of 2023. “I didn’t know if we’d stand on stage again, let alone winning an award together,” Shay Mooney said, upon accepting with Dan Smyers. “We were those kids that grew up listening to Toby Keith and Wynonna and Little Big Town.

The inaugural People’s Choice Country Music Awards established itself as country’s hottest night, with a star-studded lineup of genre legends, including Blake Shelton, Wynonna Judd, Toby Keith and Little Big Town, among many others.

Hosted by Little Big Town in Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry House, Jelly Roll swept the awards show as the most recognized artist of the night, scoring best male artist, new artist of 2023, song of the year for “Need a Favor” and collaboration song of 2023 for “Save Me” with Lainey Wilson.

Morgan Wallen came next with three awards, including the people’s artist of 2023, album of the year for “One Thing at a Time” and concert tour of the year. In addition to best collaboration song, Wilson also nabbed the award for female artist of the year, as well as a feature on music video of the year for Hardy’s “Wait in the Truck.

Lainey Wilson tops the 2023 ‘CMA Awards’ nominations (Photo Credit: Alysse Gafkjen / Provided by CMA)

Lainey Wilson tops the list of The 57th Annual CMA Awards nominees, picking up nine nominations including Entertainer of the Year, two Single of the Year nominations, Album, Song, Female Vocalist, two Musical Event nominations, and Music Video of the Year. First-time nominee Jelly Roll scored the second-most nominations with five, followed by Luke Combs and Hardy with four.

Joining Jelly Roll on the roster of first-time nominees are Mason Allen, Trannie Anderson, Renee Blair, Michael H. Brauer, Katelyn Brown, Zach Bryan, Tracy Chapman, Josh Ditty, David Fanning, Nicki Fletcher, Greylan James, Jelly Roll, Paul Jenkins, Gena Johnson, Chase McGill, Cameron Montgomery, and Megan Moroney. Austin Nivarel, Eivind Nordland, John Osborne, Hunter Phelps, David Ray Stevens, Patrick Tohill, Alysa Vanderheym, The War And Treaty, Hailey Whitters, Ben Williams, Dallas Wilson, and Charlie Worsham also earned their first nominations this year.

The 2023 CMA Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, will air live on Wednesday, Nov. 8 on ABC.

Lainey Wilson leads the way for this year’s pack of CMA Awards nominees. The Country Music Association has announced the official nominations for its 57th Annual CMA Awards, with Jelly Roll, Luke Combs and Hardy also among the top contenders.

The 2023 CMA Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, will air live on Wednesday, Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. Et on ABC.

Wilson tops this year’s list of contenders with nine nominations, including several top honors. She’s up for Entertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year and Song of the Year for her “Heart Like A Truck,” as well as Album of the Year for Bell Bottom Country. The “Yellowstone” star is also double nominated in the Musical Event of the Year category...

The Country Music Association on Thursday announced nominees for the 57th annual CMA Awards, with Lainey Wilson continuing her 2020s hot streak with a dominating nine nominations total.

Wilson, the CMA’s reigning Female Vocalist of the Year, also picked up New Artist of the Year out of a total six nominations at last year’s ceremony. This year, she’s nominated for Entertainer of the Year; Single of the Year, for her song “Heart Like a Truck”; Album of the Year, for “Bell Bottom Country”; Song of the Year, for “Heart Like a Truck”; Female Vocalist of the Year and Musical Event of the Year for “Save Me.”

She picked up an additional three nominations thanks to her collaboration with Hardy, “Wait in the Truck”: Single of the Year, Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year.

Other potential big winners from the ceremony include Jelly Roll with five nominations,...

Lainey Wilson and Jelly Roll are looking like the new faces of country music. Wilson, with nine, and Jelly Roll, with five, led all nominees when the nominations for the 2023 CMA Awards were announced Thursday morning.

For Wilson, her multiple nominations cement her status as the genre’s next superstar: She scored her first Entertainer of the Year nod this year after releasing only two major-label albums and headlining her first arena show in July. She’s also up for Album of the Year for Bell Bottom Country, Female Vocalist of the Year,...

The Country Music Association announced the nominees for The 57th Annual CMA Awards, set to air live from Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 8 from 8 p.m. – 11 p.m., Est. The show will be hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning.

Lainey Wilson tops the list with nine nominations. Wilson is on the ballot for Entertainer of the Year, Single of the Year (“Heart Like A Truck”), Single of the Year (“wait in the truck”), Album of the Year (Bell Bottom Country), Song of the Year (“Heart Like A Truck”), Female Vocalist of the Year, Musical Event of the Year (“Save Me”), Musical Event of the Year (“wait in the truck”) and Music Video of the Year (“wait in the truck”).

Other top nominees include first-timer Jelly Roll with five nominations. Luke Combs and Hardy earned four nominations each.

Vying for the night’s highest honor, reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Combs is nominated alongside Stapleton,...

There’s a new awards show in town.

On Wednesday, the nominations for the inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards were announced, celebrating the best in country music.

Read More: Morgan Wallen Debuts Shaved Head At Ohio Concert: ‘I Didn’t Like My Long Hair Anymore’

Controversial artist Morgan Wallen leads the way with 11 nominations, on the back of his hit album One Thing at a Time, which is nominated for Best Album of 2023, and earned him a nod for The People’s Artist of 2023.

Luke Combs and Hardy came in behind Wallen with nine nominations each, followed by Jelly Roll with eight, Lainey Wilson with seven, and Zach Bryan and Kane Brown with six each.

Other big nominees include Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and Ashley McBryde.

Icons like Shania Twain and Dolly Parton also received nods for Social Country Star of 2023.

Hosted by Little Big Town,...

Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Hardy, and Jelly Roll are the top nominees at the inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards, airing live Sept. 28 from Nashville’s Opry House, the home of the Grand Ole Opry.

Wallen leads the field with 11 nominations, including multiple nods in categories like The Song of 2023 (“Last Night,” “Thinkin’ About Me”) and The Collaboration Song of 2023 (“Cowgirls” featuring Ernest, “Red” with Hardy, who picked up nine nominations). Wallen is also up for The People’s Artist of 2023, Male Artist of 2023, and The Album of 2023 for One Thing at a Time.

The nominations are in for the inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards. Blake Shelton, Kane Brown, Kelsea Ballerini, Laney Wilson, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Old Dominion and Zach Bryan will be vying for the night’s top honor, The People’s Artist award of 2023.

Other nominees include Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, Elle King, Lainey Wilson, Ballerini and Megan Maroney, who are up for Female Artist of the year.

Hosted by Little Big Town, the first-ever People’s Choice Country Awards will air live Thursday, Sept. 28 at 8 p.m. Et/Pt simultaneously on NBC and Peacock from the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.

Voting is now open online at votepcca.com. where fans can make their choice for their favorite nominees across 12 categories.

As previously announced, Toby Keith will receive the Country Music Icon Award, presented by Blake Shelton. Additional honorary award recipients, performers, presenters and...

The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards announced their winners on Thursday, May 11. Hosted by Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, the event streamed live exclusively on Amazon Prime Video from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Scroll down for the complete list of winners.

A couple of relative newcomers led this year’s nominations. Hardy was the top contender with seven nominations: Song of the Year, Song of the Year again (as songwriter for “Sand in My Boots”), Visual Media of the Year (“Wait in the Truck”), Artist-Songwriter of the Year, and Music Event of the Year (as artist and producer for “Wait in the Truck”).

Lainey Wilson followed with six: Song of the Year, Visual Media of the Year and Musical Event of the Year for “Wait in the Truck,” Female Artist of the Year, Album of the Year (“Bell Bottom Country”), and Single of the...

Hardy scored seven nominations and tops the list of the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards nominees. Lainey Wilson picked up six nominations, followed by Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, and Cole Swindell with five.

Dolly Parton is returning as ACM Awards host for the second straight year. She’ll be joined by Garth Brooks who’ll be making his Academy of Country Music Awards hosting debut.

This year’s awards show will take place at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The ACM Awards will air live on Prime Video on Thursday, May 11th.

58th Academy of Country Music Awards 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...

The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards announced their nominations on Thursday, April 13, in advance of the awards that will take place on Thursday, May 11. Hosted by Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, the event will stream live exclusively on Amazon Prime Video at 8:00pm Eastern/5:00pm Pacific from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Scroll down for the complete list of contenders.

A couple of relative newcomers lead this year’s lineup. Hardy is the top contender with seven nominations: Song of the Year, Song of the Year again (as songwriter for “Sand in My Boots”), Visual Media of the Year (“Wait in the Truck”), Artist-Songwriter of the Year, and Music Event of the Year (as artist and producer for “Wait in the Truck”). Perhaps surprisingly given that impressive haul, Hardy missed the cut for Male Artist of the Year and Entertainer of the Year.

The Academy of Country Music has unveiled its roster of 2023 ACM Awards nominees, with Hardy and Lainey Wilson leading the way.

Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks will host “Country Music’s Party of the Year,” which is set to stream live on Prime Video on Thursday, May 11 at 8 p.m. Edt/7 p.m. Cdt/5 p.m. Pdt from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

Hardy scored seven nominations this year, including Song of the Year and Artist-Songwriter of the Year, sharing three of those noms with collaborator Wilson for their song, “wait in the truck.” For her part, Wilson received six nods — the most for a female artist this year — including Female Artist of the Year.

Meanwhile, Miranda Lambert is breaking records before the telecast even kicks off. The “If I Was a Cowboy” singer received her 17th Female Artist of the Year nomination, passing the record...

Morgan Wallen released One Thing at a Time in 2023, an album created with the help of co-writers Ernest and Hardy. During an interview with the All Country Podcast, the musician detailed working with the artists, calling it an “easy flow of creativity.” Here’s what wek now about the “I Wrote the Book” songwriter.

Morgan Wallen works on music with Ernest and Hardy Ernest, ACM Milestone Award Honoree Morgan Wallen, and ACM Songwriter of the Year Honoree Hardy attend the 15th Annual Academy Of Country Music Honors | Terry Wyatt/Getty Images for ACM

Wallen has several impressive songwriter friends, Ernest and Hardy being the most notable. Recently, Ernest and Hardy earned songwriting credits on Wallen’s One Thing at a Time — the chart-topping album with 36 tracks.

Hardy is credited under his real name, Michael Hardy, as a co-writer for “Tennesse Fan,” while Ernest is listed as a co-writer (under Ernest Keith Smith...

Australian actor Peter Hardy, known for such TV series as McLeod’s Daughters, as well as films and stage musicals, died from drowning during a snorkeling excursion at West Australia’s South Beach in Fremantle on Thursday March 16. He was 66.

The actor was reportedly pulled from the water unconscious at 10:40 Am local time on Thursday. Before paramedics arrived on the scene, bystanders tried to revive him, but he could not be saved.

Hardy’s credits include drama/romance series McLeod’s Daughters in which he appeared in 44 episodes. He also made three appearances on long running soap Neighbours, as well as stints on crime dramas Rush and Stingers. He was also in Andrew Dominik’s award-winning 2000 feature Chopper which starred Eric Bana.

His musical credits include more than 1,500 performances as Bill Austin in the Australian cast of Mamma Mia! Hardy also was in The Boy from Oz alongside Hugh Jackman during its Australian tour,...

Peter Hardy, who graced screens as an actor on Australian drama series “McLeod’s Daughters” and in the movie “Chopper,” has died at 66 after drowning in a snorkeling accident off the Australian coast.

Hardy’s brother, Michael Hardy, shared the news in a Facebook post Thursday, saying “I am devastated to say that my brother, Peter Hardy, passed away suddenly this morning… Rest in peace my beloved little brother.”

According to local reports, Hardy passed away after snorkeling at a beach in Fremantle after traveling to see his mother in the city nearby Perth in Western Australia. The West Australian reported that, prior to the incident, Hardy had posted on social media and tagged himself at Cottesloe Beach and South Beach in Fremantle just an hour before he was taken out of the water, unresponsive.

In addition to his roles in “McLeod’s Daughters” and “Chopper,” Hardy also appeared in several episodes of the series “Neighbors,...

Lainey Wilson tops the 2022 CMA Awards nomination list (Photo Credit: Alysse Gafkjen)

First-time nominee Lainey Wilson topped the list of The 56th Annual CMA Awards nominees, picking up six nominations in categories including 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”). Following close behind with five nominations each are Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, Chris Stapleton, and Shane McAnally.

“This is my first time being cordially invited to the CMA Awards and what a wonderful invitation it is,” stated Lainey Wilson. “It has been such a challenging but beautiful journey up until this point and to see the Country music community and the incredible fans be so receptive to me and my music is such a blessing.

The winners are in for the 56th annual Academy of Country Music Awards show, which climaxed with Luke Bryan being named entertainer of the year, after Maren Morris won female vocalist and Thomas Rhett won male vocalist. See the complete list of winners, below..

The first award of the evening went to Old Dominion, for group of the year, followed by recognition for Morris as singer and co-writer of the song of the year, “The Bones.” Subsequent winners included Dan + Shay for duo, “I Hope You’re Happy Now” by Carly Pearce and Lee Brice for single of the year, and Chris Stapleton for album of the year for “Starting Over.”.

The ACM Awards were co-hosted by Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton. To read Variety‘s interview with Guyton, click here. ACM CEO Damon Whiteside offered Variety a preview of what to expect from the show here.

Entertainer of the...

The 2021 Academy of Country Music Awards were presented on Sunday night, April 18, during a live ceremony broadcast from three different locations in Nashville, Tennessee: the Grand Ole Opry House, Ryman Auditorium, and the Bluebird Café. But who took home trophies? Scroll down for our complete list of the 56th Annual ACM winners, updated live throughout the night.

Maren Morris and Chris Stapleton entered these awards with a leading six nominations apiece. Morris was up for Female Artist of the Year, Group of the Year (as a member of The Highwomen), Single of the Year (“The Bones”), Song of the Year (“The Bones” as both artist and songwriter), and Video of the Year (“Better Than We Found It”). She’s a three-time previous ACM winner, including Female Artist in 2020.

SEEWho’s performing at ACM Awards 2021? Full list of ACM performers

Meanwhile, Stapleton contended for Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year,...

Next month, country singer Justin Moore will be releasing Straight Outta the Country, the singer’s first collection of new music since his 2019 album Late Nights and Longnecks. The record was produced by Moore’s longtime collaborator Jeremy Stover.

The singer announced the album on his podcast earlier today. “We had three times as many songs as we put on the last album,” Moore said. “This, to me, is just kind of an extension of that album. I think if people loved the last one, they’re gonna also love this one.

Just a few months after the 2020 Academy of Country Music Awards were delayed to last September due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2021 nominees have been announced. Maren Morris and Chris Stapleton lead with six nominations each. They’re followed by Miranda Lambert with five and Ashley McBryde and Thomas Rhett with four. Though those women earned multiple noms, there are zero women up for Entertainer of the Year, which at this point isn’t too surprising for the ACMs. Scroll down for the complete list of nominees, and find out who wins when the awards are handed out on April 18.

Stapleton contends for the top Entertainer award, which is his third nomination in that category. He’s also up for Male Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for “Starting Over” (nominated as both artist and producer), and Song of the Year for the title track (nominated as both...

Country artists Chris Stapleton and Maren Morris topped the ACM Awards nominations today, with each getting six nominations from the Academy of Country Music.

The nominations were announced on CBS This Morning today by CBS, the ACM and dick clark productions. The 56th Academy of Country Music Awards will air live from three iconic country music venues – the Grand Ole Opry House, Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium and the Bluebird Cafe – on Sunday, April 18 at 8 p.m. Et/delayed Pt) on CBS and streamed live and on demand on Paramount+.

See the entire list of nominations below.

Among the notable nominations:

Reigning Female Artist of the Year Maren Morris took six nominations, with “The Bones” nominated for both Song of the Year and Single of the Year. Morris received an additional nod for songwriter of “The Bones,” her first time receiving a nomination both as an artist and songwriter for Song of the Year.

Maren Morris and Chris Stapleton emerged as the leading nominees with six each when the nominations for the 56th Academy of Country Music Awards were announced Friday morning.

Morris’ strong showing is due in part to the success of her song “The Bones,” which landed her nominations for Single of the Year and Song of the Year (Morris co-wrote the crossover hit). As an artist, she’s up for Female Artist of the Year and, as a member of the Highwomen, for Group of the Year.

Stapleton’s nominations arrive...

Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) has had an absolutely humiliating 24 hours, thanks to his ill-advised decision to take a luxury vacation to Cancun, Mexico, in the middle of the worst weather disaster to hit his home state in generations, try in vain to hide it, then after getting caught trying to blame his daughters for his decision.

Cruz has pretty much been the main character on Twitter ever since, with the vast majority of discourse devoted to either condemning his tone-deaf disregard for his constituents, or dunking on him for it. But he found a way to make the whole bad day become ridiculous, thanks to his decision to leave the family dog behind at his Houston home while the family bounced for Mexico. Which is how we all found out Cruz’s dog’s name: Snowflake. Yeah.

On Thursday, New York Magazine writer Michael Hardy broke the story that Cruz...

“More Than My Hometown” and “7 Summers” may have been the radio hits so far off Morgan Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album, but it’s the LP’s opening track “Sand in My Boots” that is breaking out as a viral hit. On Friday, Wallen made the nostalgic tale of a fleeting beach romance even more irresistible by releasing a solo piano version, the same arrangement he performed to open his livestream concert at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium earlier this month.

Written by Ashley Gorley, Michael Hardy, and Josh Osborne,...

In a first for the Acm Awards, two artists tied for the night’s top prize: Thomas Rhett and Carrie Underwood each won Entertainer of the Year. “2020, right?” Underwood said, upon accepting the award and elbow-bumping host Keith Urban. Underwood won Entertainer of the Year twice before in 2008 and 2009; this is Rhett’s first Entertainer win.

Elsewhere, Luke Combs’ What You See Is What You Get was named Album of the Year. The “Lovin’ on You” singer also won Male Artist of the Year, while Maren Morris won Female Artist of the Year.

The 55th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards were held on Wednesday night, September 16, after being delayed by several months due to the coronavirus pandemic. So who came out on top when prizes were handed out? Scroll down for our complete list of winners in all categories, from Entertainer of the Year to Music Event of the Year.

Old Dominion, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett and Dan and Shay topped the nominations, which were announced way back on February 27. The awards show was originally scheduled to air on April 5 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. But then Covid-19 spread across the globe, forcing TV productions, movie shoots and myriad entertainment events to shut down in order to limit the spread of the disease.

SEEWho is performing at the Acm Awards 2020? List of performers at 55th Academy of Country Music Awards

So the Acm Awards were delayed, and...

Morgan Wallen offers another preview of his upcoming second album with the new song “More Than My Hometown,” released overnight on Friday. The “Whiskey Glasses” singer’s follow-up to If I Know Me is due via Big Loud Records later in 2020.

With a mix of clean guitar sounds that suggest movement, “More Than My Hometown” depicts a crossroads for two young people. He’s a small-town guy at heart and they’ve known each other forever, but she’s got dreams that can only be realized in a bigger city.

Bailey Bryan may have been wearing a Reba T-shirt when she took the stage at Cma Fest in June, but there was little else “country” about her set. And the 21-year-old Washington State native knew it. Since releasing her debut Ep So Far in 2017 and its clever single “Own It,” Bryan had been slowly transitioning into a pop artist, writing lyrics and embracing sounds in the studio that were far afield from what’s being played on already poppy country radio.

“A week or so after that show is when...

The 53rd Annual Country Music Association Awards announced their nominations on August 28, and the kudos are led by Maren Morris with six nominations. Scroll down to see the full list of this year’s nominees, and tune in on Wednesday night, November 13, to find out who wins when the awards are handed out.

Morris earned nominations for Album of the Year (“Girl“), plus Single, Song, and Music Video of the Year for the title track from that album. Her other two bids are for Female Vocalist of the Year and Musical Event of the Year (“All My Favorite People” featuring Brothers Osborne).

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Despite sweeping the nominations, Morris isn’t up for Entertainer of the Year. The only woman who made the cut in that top category was Carrie Underwood, who is joined by a field of solo male artists: Garth Brooks,...

It’s Maren Morris’ year. The country music artist scored the most Cma Awards nominations of any act this year, with six nods. Brothers Osborne are two behind her with four, and a whole bevy of musicians — including Luke Combs, Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton and Kacey Musgraves, to handpick just a few — earned three apiece.

Morris is a finalist in the following categories: Single of the Year (“Girl”), Album of the Year (“Girl”), Song of the Year (“Girl”), Female Vocalist of the Year, Musical Event of the Year (“All My Favorite People”), and Music Video of the Year (“Girl”).

The highly coveted Entertainer of the Year trophy will go home with either Stapleton, Underwood, Garth Brooks, Eric Church, or Keith Urban. See all the nominees below.

Also Read: MTV VMAs: 5 Things You Didn't See on TV (Photos & Video)

Underwood will host the show with “special guest hosts” Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton.

The Country Music Association went with an all-female hosting lineup for this year’s show, and that woman-celebrating theme continued when nominations for the 53rd annual Cma Awards were announced Wednesday morning: Maren Morris led the pack with six nods.

Morris’ sophomore album, “Girl,” is up for album of the year, while the song of the same name, a recent No. 1 at country radio, is nominated in the single, song and music video categories. Her collaboration with Brothers Osborne, “All My Favorite People,” got a nod for musical event of the year. Morris also received a nomination for female vocalist of the year.

In short, Morris got a nomination in every category she possibly could have — with the exception of entertainer of the year. The Cma continues to reserve that top category for veteran acts with a lot of arena tours under their belt, even if that means leaving out...

Devin Dawson is enjoying his first Number One as a songwriter this week, as Blake Shelton’s recording of “God’s Country” currently sits atop the country airplay charts. In celebration, Dawson — who wrote the song with Michael Hardy and Jordan Schmidt — has released his own acoustic performance of the song.

“God’s Country” is a fittingly brooding number for Dawson, whose signature black-on-black style often bleeds into his layered, introspective recordings. In the video, he’s situated on the banks of a creek with his guitar and a microphone.

Blake Shelton heads back to Oklahoma in the cinematic new video for “God’s Country.” The singer and Voice coach released the track March 29th and performed it live on the 54th Acm Awards on April 7th.

Directed by Sophie Muller (Beyoncé, Rihanna, Gwen Stefani), the clip was filmed in and around Tishomingo, Oklahoma, where Shelton makes his primary residence. It’s interspersed with vintage footage of Dust Bowl-era farmers and vicious twisters, highlighting the stark contrast between the natural beauty of the land and its sometimes-unforgiving nature. In other scenes,...

Blake Shelton’s swampy ode to rural living, Alice Wallace’s examination of life on the road and Sam Outlaw’s laid-back Don Williams cover make up the list of must-hear country and Americana songs this week.

Matt Stell, “Prayed for You”

A God-fearing epic about faith, love and the salvation provided by a good romantic match, Matt Stell’s “Prayed for You” toes the line between Christian and country music. “I kept my faith like that old King James said I’m supposed to,” Stell sings, happy that he...

Florida Georgia Line are joined by newcomer Hardy on the energetic song “Y’all Boys,” a tribute to small-town, easygoing Southern men like themselves. This follows their recent ode “Women” as the latest release from the upcoming album Can’t Say I Ain’t Country.

Built around a rumbling, rockabilly-style guitar riff, “Y’all Boys” starts by bringing up “those boys who got the kind of ride, gets 55 to the gallon/They listen to that new school, never heard of George or Alan” and then saying, well, this song isn’t really about them.

The latest release from rising songwriter Bailey Bryan, a new ballad from Toby Keith and the current Number One country song in the U.S. make up this week’s list of must-hear country and Americana tracks.

Dead Lee, “Are We Free”

The Portland-based pairing of singer-songwriter Kara Harris and Blitzen Trapper’s Brian Koch, Dead Lee buries the wreckage of a shipwrecked romance in the new video for “Are We Free.” The folksong itself carries a similar message, framing two lovers’ painful breakup against a backdrop of guitar tremolo and vocal harmonies.