CHRIS YOUNG LEADS ACM AWARD NOMS

RCA Nashville’s Chris Young secured the most nominations—seven—for the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards. He's up for Album, Single and Music Event as both a performer and a producer and for Video as a performer. Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton and first-timer Walker Hayes received five nods each.

Carly Pearce, Carrie Underwood and Morgan Wallen received four noms apiece, as did songwriters Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, the most-nominated non-performers. Jordan Davis secured four as well, all for his single with Luke Bryan, “Buy Dirt.”

Close to 35% of this year’s nominees are first-timers either in their respective categories or altogether. Co-hosts Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett, for example, received their first nods in the Male and Female Artist of the Year categories. Lambert, who has tied Reba McEntire with her 16th Female Artist of the Year nomination, is also recognized as a producer for the first time.

The ACMs, hosted by Dolly Parton, will stream live 3/7 exclusively on Prime Video from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.

The nominees are:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Miranda Lambert
Chris Stapleton
Carrie Underwood

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Gabby Barrett
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Maren Morris
Carly Pearce

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Jimmie Allen
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Morgan Wallen

DUO OF THE YEAR
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
LOCASH
Maddie & Tae

GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady A
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion
The Cadillac Three

NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Tenille Arts
Priscilla Block
Lily Rose
Caitlyn Smith
Lainey Wilson

NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
HARDY
Walker Hayes
Ryan Hurd
Parker McCollum
Elvie Shane

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
[Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
29: Written in Stone – Carly Pearce Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Jimmy Robbins, Tony Brown; (Big Machine Records)

Country Again: Side A – Thomas RhettProducers: Dann Huff, Jesse Frasure, Matt Dragstrem; (Big Machine Label Group)

Dangerous: The Double Album – Morgan Wallen
Producer: Joey Moi, Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome, Matt Dragstrem, Dave Cohen; (Big Loud/Republic)

Famous Friends – Chris Young
Producer: Mark Holman, Corey Crowder, Chris Young, Chris DeStefano; (RCA Nashville)

The Marfa Tapes – Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall
Producers: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall; (Vanner/RCA Nashville)

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
[Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

“Buy Dirt” – Jordan Davis f/ Luke Bryan
Producer: Paul DiGiovanni; (MCA Nashville)

“Famous Friends” – Chris Young and Kane Brown
Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young; (RCA Nashville)

“Fancy Like” – Walker Hayes
Producers: Walker Hayes, Shane McAnally, Joe Thibodeau; (Monument Records)

“If I Didn’t Love You” – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood
Producers: Michael Knox; (Broken Bow/Macon Music/BBR Music Group/BMG)

“You Should Probably Leave” – Chris Stapleton
Producer: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton; (Mercury Nashville)

SONG OF THE YEAR
[Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]

“7 Summers” – Morgan Wallen
Songwriters: Morgan Wallen, Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally
Publishers: Big Loud Mountain, Bo Wallace Publishing, Smackborne Music, Sony/ATV Accent, Smackstreet Music, Tempo Investments, Warner Geo Met Ric Music

“Buy Dirt” – Jordan Davis f/Luke Bryan
Songwriters: Jordan Davis, Jacob Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins
Publishers: Anthem Music Publishing II, Bentprop Pub, Big Blue Nation Music, Combustion Five, Jentown, Jordan Davis Music, Smackwork Music, Smack Blue, Kobalt Music Group Music, Universal Music Corporation, WC Music Corp

“Fancy Like” – Walker Hayes
Songwriters: Cameron Bartolini, Josh Jenkins, Shane Stevens, Walker Hayes
Publishers: Songs of SMACK, Rarespark Media Group, Smackworks Music, Smack Blue, Kobalt Music Group, Holy Graffiti Music, Purplebeatz, WC Music Corp

“Knowing You” – Kenny Chesney
Songwriters: Adam James, Brett James, Kat Higgins
Publishers: 3 Ring Circus, BMG Platinum Songs, Pompano Run Music, Songs of Brett, WC Music Corp

“Things A Man Oughta Know” – Lainey Wilson
Songwriters: Jason Nix, Jonathan Singleton, Lainey Wilson
Publishers: Sony/ATV Accent, Sony/ATV Countryside, Spirit Two Nashville, Super Big Music

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
[Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]

“Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” – Elle King and Miranda Lambert
Producers: Angie Lorenz, Wes Edwards, James Stratakis
Directors: Alexa Kinigopoulos, Stephen Kinigopoulos

“Famous Friends” – Chris Young and Kane Brown
Producer: Jennifer Ansell
Director: Peter Zavadil

“I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor’s Version)” – Taylor Swift f/Chris Stapleton
Producers: Jil Hardin, Blake Lively, Kathy Palmer, Austin Swift
Director: Blake Lively

“If I Didn’t Love You” – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood
Producers: Christen Pinkston, Wesley Stebbins-Perry
Director: Shaun Silva

“Never Wanted To Be That Girl” – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde
Producer: Ryan Byrd
Director: Alexa Campbell

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Jesse Frasure
Nicolle Galyon
Ashley Gorley
Michael Hardy
Josh Osborne

MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR
[Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

“Buy Dirt” – Jordan Davis f/Luke Bryan
Producer: Paul DiGiovanni (MCA Nashville)

"Famous Friends" – Chris Young and Kane Brown
Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young (RCA Nashville)

“half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini f/Kenny Chesney
Producers: Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins, Kelsea Ballerini (Black River Entertainment)

“If I Didn’t Love You” – Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood
Producer: Michael Knox (Broken Bow/Macon Music/BBR Music Group/BMG)

“Never Wanted To Be That Girl” – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde
Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne (Big Machine Label Group/Warner Nashville)

INDUSTRY AWARDS
CASINO OF THE YEAR – THEATER
Agua Caliente – Rancho Mirage, Calif.
Choctaw Casino – Durant, Okla.
Deadwood Mountain Grand – Deadwood, S.D.
Resorts World – Las Vegas
Soaring Eagle Casino – Mt. Pleasant, Mich.

CASINO OF THE YEAR – ARENA
Hard Rock (Live at Etess Arena) – Atlantic City, N.J.
Laughlin Event Center – Laughlin, Nev.
Mohegan Sun Arena – Uncasville, Conn.
Mystic Lake Casino – Prior Lake, Minn.

FESTIVAL OF THE YEAR
Carolina Country Music Fest – Myrtle Beach, S.C.
Country Thunder – Florence, Ariz.
Faster Horses Festival – Brooklyn, Mich.
Tortuga Music Festival – Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Windy City Smokeout Festival – Chicago

FAIR/RODEO OF THE YEAR
Auburn Rodeo – Auburn, Ala.
California Mid-State Fair – Paso Robles
Cheyenne Frontier Days – Cheyenne, Wyo.
Minnesota State Fair – St. Paul, Minn.
San Antonio Rodeo – San Antonio

CLUB OF THE YEAR
Basement East – Nashville
Billy Bob’s – Ft. Worth
Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa
Coca-Cola Roxy – Atlanta
Georgia Theatre – Athens, Ga.

THEATER OF THE YEAR
American Music Theatre – Lancaster, Pa.
Andrew J Brady ICON Music Center – Cincinnati
Blue Gate Performing Arts Center – Shipshewana, Ind.
Ruth Eckerd Hall – Clearwater, Fla.
Ryman Auditorium – Nashville

OUTDOOR VENUE OF THE YEAR
Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion – Gilford, N.H.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre – Morrison, Colo.
Saint Augustine Amphitheatre – St. Augustine, Fla.
The Wharf Amphitheater – Orange Beach, Ala.
Whitewater Amphitheater – New Braunfels, Tex.

ARENA OF THE YEAR
BOK Center – Tulsa
Bridgestone Arena – Nashville
Dickies Arena – Ft. Worth
Ford Center – Evansville, Ind.
Rupp Arena – Lexington, Ky.

DON ROMEO TALENT BUYER OF THE YEAR
Brent Fedrizzi
Michelle Romeo
RJ Romeo
Shawn Radley
Todd Boltin

PROMOTER OF THE YEAR
Aaron Spalding
Adam Weiser
Bradley Jordan
Brian O’Connell
Ed Warm

STUDIO RECORDING AWARDS
BASS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
J.T. Cure
Mark Hill
Viktor Krauss
Jimmie Lee Sloas
Glenn Worf

DRUMMER OF THE YEAR
Chad Cromwell
Fred Eltringham
Evan Hutchings
Derek Mixon
Jerry Roe
Nir Z

ACOUSTIC GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Dave Cobb
Todd Lombardo
Bryan Sutton
Ilya Toshinskiy
Charlie Worsham

PIANO/KEYBOARDS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
David Dorn
Charlie Judge
Billy Justineau
Gordon Mote
Benmont Tench

SPECIALTY INSTRUMENT PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Stuart Duncan
Paul Franklin
Josh Matheny
Mickey Raphael
Kristin Wilkinson

ELECTRIC GUITAR PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Tom Bukovac
Dan Dugmore
Jedd Hughes
Rob McNelley
Derek Wells

AUDIO ENGINEER OF THE YEAR
Brandon Bell
Jim Cooley
Gena Johnson
Jason Hall
Vance Powell

PRODUCER OF THE YEAR
Buddy Cannon
Dave Cobb
Ian Fitchuk
Dann Huff
Joey Moi