Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan, Zac Brown represent for Georgia in ACM Awards nominations
BY MELISSA RUGGIERI
The Academy of Country Music Awards will celebrate its 50th year with a Texas-style, larger-than-life show on April 19 with hosts Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan.
Nominees for the awards, which will take place at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, and air live on CBS, were unveiled on Friday.
It looks as if Miranda Lambert will continue her magnificent run, as she racked up a leading eight nominations, including her fourth for Entertainer of the Year, an award which is partially determined by fan voting (visit VoteACM.com for details).
Dierks Bentley is on Lambert's heels with seven nods, including Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year and Single of the Year.
Georgia artists had their usual robust showing, as Florida Georgia Line nabbed five nominations, including their first in the Entertainer of the Year category.
Bryan is up for four, including his third consecutive appearance in the Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year categories. His collaboration with Florida Georgia Line, “This is How We Roll,” was tapped for a Vocal Event of the Year nod.
Rounding out the artists-with-four-nominations list are Kenny Chesney and Eric Church, who will visit the Georgia Dome in June for the Big Revival Tour.
Other familiar Georgia names garnering nominations are the Zac Brown Band, Little Big Town, Jason Aldean and Little Big Town.
Fan voting for the New Artist of the Year category is open now (VoteACM.com) until 6 p.m. Feb. 10. The voting for Entertainer of the Year begins at 3 p.m. April 8.
Here is the complete list of nominees:
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
- M. 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
About the Author
Melissa Ruggieri has covered music and entertainment for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since 2010 and created the Atlanta Music Scene blog. She's kept vampire hours for more than two decades and remembers when MTV was awesome.
