The Country Music Association announced on Wednesday the nominees for the 56th Annual CMA Awards, which will be hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning and air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 9 on ABC (8:00-11:00 PM/EST).
First-time nominee Lainey Wilson leads the way with six nominations, including album of the year, female vocalist of the year, new artist of the year, music video of the year, musical event of the year and song of the year.
Wilson is only the fourth artist in history to debut on the CMA ballot with six nominations as a first-time nominee, a fete that has only been achieved by Glen Campbell, Brad Paisley and Kacey Musgraves.
Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, Chris Stapleton and songwriter and producer Shane McAnally are close behind with five nominations each. Cody Johnson and songwriter/producer Josh Osborne scored four nominations each, while Luke Combs, HARDY, Miranda Lambert, Midland and Carrie Underwood secured three nominations each.
Akron’s own WQMX (94.9FM) is nominated for a CMA Broadcast Award for Station of the Year – Medium Market.
The following is the full list of nominees for the 56th Annual CMA Awards:
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 A
- 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
2022 CMA BROADCAST AWARDS – FINALISTS FOR BROADCAST PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR (by market size):
Weekly National
- “American Country Countdown” (Kix Brooks) – Westwood One
- “The Country Top 40 with Fitz” (Cory Fitzner) – Hubbard Radio
- “The Crook & Chase Countdown” (Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase) – iHeartMedia
- “Today’s Country with Kelleigh Bannen” (Kelleigh Bannen) – Apple Music Radio
- “With Elaina” (Elaina Smith) – Westwood One
Daily National
- “Angie Ward” – iHeartMedia
- “The Big D and Bubba Show” (Derek “Big D” Haskins, Sean “Bubba” Powell, Patrick Thomas, and Carsen Humphreville) – Compass Media Networks
- “The Bobby Bones Show” (Bobby Bones, Amy Brown, “Lunchbox” Dan Chappell, Eddie Garcia, “Morgan #2” Huelsman, “Raymundo” Ray Slater, “Scuba Steve” Stephen Spradlin, “Mike D” Rodriguez, and “Phone Screener Abby” Anderson) – Premiere Networks
- “Nights with Elaina” (Elaina Smith) – Westwood One
- “The Sam Alex Show” (Sam Alex) – Sam Alex Productions, LLC
Major Market
- “The Andie Summers Show” (Andie Summers) – WXTU, Philadelphia, Pa.
- “Chris Carr & Company” (Chris Carr, Kia Becht, and McKaila Poppen) – KEEY, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
- “Danny Dwyer” – KUPL, Portland, Ore.
- “Josh, Rachael & Grunwald” (Josh Holleman, Rachel Hunter, and Steve Grunwald) – WYCD, Detroit, Mich.
- “The Morning Wolfpack with Matt McAllister” (Matt McAllister, Emily Raines, and Joe Wallace) – KKWF, Seattle, Wash.
Large Market
- “Jim, Deb & Kevin” (Jim Denny, Deborah Honeycutt and Kevin Freeman) – WFMS, Indianapolis, Ind.
- “The Wayne D Show” (“Wayne D” Danielson and Tay Hamilton) – WSIX, Nashville, Tenn.
- “The Dale Carter Morning Show” (Dale Carter) – KFKF, Kansas City, Mo.
- “The Big Dave Show” (“Big Dave” Chandler, Chelsie Shinkle, Jason “Stattman” Statt, and Ashley Hempfling) – WUBE, Cincinnati, Ohio
- “The Wake Up Call with David and Kelli” (David Bugenske and Kelli Green) – KFRG, Riverside-San Bernardino, Calif.
- “The New Q-Morning Crew with Mike and Amanda” (Mike Wheless and Amanda Daughtry) – WQDR, Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
Medium Market
- “Buzz Jackson” – KIIM, Tucson, Ariz.
- “Cliff & Tanya in the Morning” (Cliff Dumas and Tanya Brakebill) – KUZZ, Bakersfield, Calif.
- “Julie and DJ in the Morning” (“Julie K” Kansy, “D.J. Thee Trucker” Dale Sellers, and Jon Dennis) – WPCV, Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.
- “New Country Mornings with Nancy and Woody” (Nancy Wilson and Aaron “Woody” Woods) – WHKO, Dayton, Ohio
- “Steve & Gina In The Morning” (Steve Lundy and Gina Melton) – KXKT, Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa
Small Market
- “The Cat Pak Morning Show with Brent and Mel” (Brent Lane and Mel McCrae) – WYCT, Pensacola, Fla.
- “Dr. Shane and Tess in the Morning” (“Dr. Shane” Collins and Tess Connell) – WPAP, Panama City, Fla.
- “The Eddie Foxx Show” (Eddie Foxx and Amanda Foxx) – WKSF, Asheville, N.C.
- “Liz & Scotty in the Morning” (Liz Del Grosso and Scotty Cox) – KCLR, Columbia, Mo.
- “Officer Don & DeAnn” (“Officer Don” Evans and DeAnn Stephens) – WBUL, Lexington-Fayette, Ky.
2022 CMA BROADCAST AWARDS – FINALISTS FOR RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR (by market size):
Major Market
- KILT – Houston, Texas
- KNIX – Phoenix, Ariz.
- KSCS – Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas
- WXTU – Philadelphia, Pa.
- WYCD – Detroit, Mich.
Large Market
- KFKF – Kansas City, Mo.
- WIRK – West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Fla.
- WMIL – Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.
- WQDR – Raleigh-Durham, N.C.
- WSIX – Nashville, Tenn.
Medium Market
- KXKT – Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa
- WHKO – Dayton, Ohio
- WIVK – Knoxville, Tenn.
- WQMX – Akron, Ohio
- WUSY – Chattanooga, Tenn.
Small Market
- WCOW – La Crosse, Wis.
- WKML – Fayetteville, N.C.
- WKXC – Augusta, Ga.
- WXBQ – Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.-Va.
- WXFL – Florence-Muscle Shoals, Ala.
