The nominees for the 2017 Country Music Awards have officially been announced, with Miranda Lambert leading the list. The female country singer has earned a total of five nods, while Keith Urban received four nominations, including Male Vocalist of the Year.
The 51st Annual Country Music Awards is a show that gives honor to the best artists of this genre. Aside from Keith Urban, Little Big Town also received four nominations. The awards show is centered on country music, unlike the other awards show for the entire industry such as the MTV Video Music Awards.
Aside from Urban, competing for Male Vocalist of the Year are artists Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Thomas Rhett and Chris Stapleton. Rhett is a young country musician, and most of his popularity is credited to the year 2000s and thereafter. He has featured the performances of other artists such as Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean and Florida Georgia Line from 2012 to 2015, his official website revealed.
The Female Vocalist of the Year nominees include Kelsea Ballerini, Miranda Lambert, Reba McEntire, Maren Morris and Carrie Underwood. This group is composed of both old and young singers. Morris is one of the youngest artists in the group.
Born in 1990, her major debut album “Hero” earned the number one spot on the country albums chart.
Her debut single reached the number one on the country digital music chart back in 2016, her website said.
Diverse set of nominees
The nominees for this year are diverse, which means that no single artist has dominated the list way more than the others. The Music Video of the Year nominees are Little Big Town for “Better Man,” Keith Urban for “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” Thomas Rhett for “Craving You,” Miranda Lambert for “Vice,” and Brothers Osborne for “It Ain’t My Fault.”
Another major category, Song of the Year will either be won by artists Little Big Town for “Better Man,” Keith Urban for “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” and Sam Hunt for “Body Like A Back Road.” They will be joined by Jon Pardi for “Dirt On My Boots,” and Miranda Lambert for “Tin Man,” Billboard reported.
Some surprises
Rolling Stone noted that there were some country music artists who were allegedly snubbed from any of the categories. Chart-topping singer Jason Aldean did not make it through any of the categories, while Jason Isbell snagged an Album of the Year nod for “The Nashville Sound.” According to the article, Isbell should not have landed on that category.
The 51st Annual CMA Awards will be aired on ABC on November 8 at 8 p.m. The awarding event will be hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood.
