Eric Church and Chris Stapleton top the list of nominations for the 55th CMA Awards, which have just been announced. The two stars have five each, while Gabby Barrett, mix engineer Jason Hall, and producer Jay Joyce have four apiece.
Winners will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible voting CMA members; the third and final ballot will be emailed to CMA members on October 1, and voting ends on October 27. The awards ceremony itself takes place on November 10.
Church and Stapleton are both among the nominees for the centerpiece Entertainer of the Year award, along with Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, and Carrie Underwood. Artists securing three nominations each are Brothers Osborne, first-time nominee Kane Brown, Combs, Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris, and Chris Young.
Church is also shortlisted for Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year (Heart), Single of the Year (“Hell Of A View”), and Song of the Year (“Hell Of A View”). Stapleton is nominated in the exact same categories, as Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year (Starting Over), Single of the Year (“Starting Over”), and Song of the Year (“Starting Over”).
Also nominated for the first time are Dave Cohen, Corey Crowder, Jordan Davis, Paul DiGiovanni, Matt Dragstrem, Jacob Durrett, Aaron Eshuis, Chris Galland, Mickey Guyton, Charlie Handsome, Nicolette Hayford, Ryan Hurd, Martin Johnson, Emily Landis, Manny Marroquin, Jim McCormick, Sean Moffitt, Travis Nicholson, Drew Parker, Ed Pryor, Teddy Reimer, Running Bear, and Aaron Sterling.
“This year, we have the opportunity to honor the superstars, new artists and emerging creators who are paving the way for Country Music,” says CMA chief executive officer Sarah Trahern. “These nominees exemplify the creativity, passion and heart that make our Country Music community unlike any other genre. The breadth of voices is evident in this year’s nominations, and we could not be more thrilled to celebrate our deserving nominees in November!”
See the full list of nominees for the 55th CMA Awards.
