Warner Music Nashville artists make history today with nine nominations for the 52ndAnnual CMA Awards, a record since the company’s official inception in 2009 under current Chairman & CEO John Esposito. Superstar Kenny Chesney returns to the coveted Entertainer of the Year category, an accomplishment bolstered by his massive, scale-tipping Trip Around the Sun Tour and recent two-week reign atop the Country Airplay charts with his 30th No. 1 single “Get Along.” Platinum-selling pair Dan + Shay picked up four nominations between them – among the highest of any artists this year – including Song, Single and Video of the Year for their global smash “Tequila” as well as a Duo of the Year nod. Breakout singer / songwriter and consummate performer Chris Janson snagged three nominations, two for his impactful single “Drunk Girl” (Song and Video of the Year) and his first for New Artist of the Year.
“Warner Music Nashville prides itself on artist development, and these nominations are reflection our dedicated building process,” said Esposito. “Dan + Shay have taken it to an entirely new level, and Chris Janson is proving to be the next big thing in country music. Having Kenny in the Entertainer of the Year category is just the cherry on top. Congratulations to all our nominees – and all WMN artists for their incredible successes over the past year. They are far too many and too great to count. Today is one of the proudest days of my career at this company.”
With four past Entertainer of the Year wins under his belt, Chesney rejoins the category for the first time since 2015. The hit-making country legend also notched a Vocal Event of the Year nomination for his No. 1 song “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” alongside David Lee Murphy. Just yesterday Chesney marked yet another success as his brand new single “Better Boat” became this week’s most-added song at country radio with 66 stations offering their support. “Better Boat” follows two-week chart-topper “Get Along” from his recently released album Songs for the Saints. Proceeds from the new record, which debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Sales and Country Albums charts and hit No. 2 on Billboard's Top 200, benefit his Love for Love City Foundation. Chesney just wrapped hisTrip Around the Sun Tour, which boasted almost 1.3 million total attendance, including 1,298,088 tickets sold across 19 stadiums and 41 shows.
"You don't do this stuff for recognition,” said Chesney. "You make music to give people pieces of your life, pieces of their life – and in this case, to help put a whole lot of lives back together. The idea that music can heal, can give people hope or inspire? The islands always did that for me, but even in the face of such destruction, the willingness to dig in by the locals, that resilience and especially their joy in such dire times taught me a lot about life."
Dan + Shay joined Luke Bryan and Sugarland this morning on Good Morning America to announce the nominations, earning four of their own in the process. Just two weeks ago the skyrocketing duo took over Nashville’s own Music Row, putting together a street fair and performance that attracted a crowd of nearly 10,000. This summer has seen continual milestones for the pair, whose Platinum-certified No. 1 smash “Tequila” has proved itself a viral sensation as the most-streamed country song released in 2018 with more than 220 million on-demand streams to date. Their current single “Speechless” has already accumulated 50 million on-demand streams and sold nearly a half million track equivalents just weeks after impacting country radio. They’ve taken these two massive hits to national television stages including Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Ellen, the CMA Fest concert special, the 53rd Annual ACM Awards, the 2018 CMT Music Awards and the Citi Summer Concert Series on TODAY. Both tracks hail from the duo’s self-titled third record, which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart in June.
“Our fans reward us every time we go on stage, and without them none of this would be possible,” Smyers said. “To be recognized by our peers in the music industry with these nominations adds to what has been the best year of our music career so far. We’ll surely be pouring some tequila to celebrate!”
Cindy Watts of The Tennessean called it early on when she wrote that Chris Janson’s “Drunk Girl” would be a “shoo-in for a song of the year nomination” – and today that declaration proved true. Janson’s additional nods, including Video of the Year and New Artist of the Year, stem in part from the track noted as “quite possibly the most important song to come out of Nashville in years” (CMT). “Drunk Girl” has already earned MusicRow magazine’s “Song of the Year” trophy and is currently approaching Top 10 at country radio. The chart-topping, stage-owning entertainer has also earned widespread praise for his high-octane live performances. A sold-out headlining show at the Ryman earlier this year led to a surprise invitation to join the Grand Ole Opry. His official induction in March via Garth Brooks made him the youngest living member of the hallowed organization. Janson kept the momentum going throughout the spring alongside Cole Swindell before taking his never-ceasing energy on the road this summer with Jake Owen.
Said Janson: “My heart is full. This has been an unbelievable morning. I’m humbled by the nominations and thankful to everyone for believing in me. The opportunity to make music for a living is beyond anything I could’ve ever have imagined and for that I’ll forever be grateful. Thank you. To be nominated as new artist after 10 years in this town – I’m proof that dreams do really come true. This is for every one of you that has been in my life along the way and listened to my songs.”
ABOUT WARNER MUSIC NASHVILLE
Warner Music Nashville was created in 2009 with the goal of expanding the presence of WMG and its family of labels has had in the Nashville music community for more than 60 years. Under the leadership of Chairman & CEO John Esposito, the division is home to Warner Bros. Nashville and Atlantic Nashville.
