From its first-time nominees to its decorated superstars, Warner Music Nashville celebrates 13 nominations across seven categories for The 55th Annual CMA Awards. Gabby Barrett is the most-nominated female artist with four nods across four categories, while Ashley McBryde earns three for Female Vocalist, Single and Song of the Year. Acclaimed hit-makers Dan + Shay, Ingrid Andress, Zac Brown Band, Kenny Chesney and rising singer / songwriter Drew Parker round out this year’s nominations.
With four nominations across four categories, Barrett leads as the most-nominated female artist at the upcoming CMA Awards. Her nods include the coveted Female Vocalist of the Year and New Artist of the Year awards in addition to Song of the Year and Single of the Year for her multi-week chart-topper, “The Good Ones.” The Platinum-certified smash spent three weeks at No. 1 on the country airplay charts and four atop Billboard Hot Country Songs. Barrett is following its success with current radio single “Footprints On The Moon” from her massive debut album, GOLDMINE. She is bringing her burgeoning starpower to the road this fall on Thomas Rhett’s The Center Point Road Tour.
“Oh my goodness, two seconds after I woke up I found out that I had FOUR nominations at the CMA Awards!” said a very excited Barrett. “Most-nominated female, are you kidding me?! Thank you so much to the country music industry for voting and being so kind to me and my songs, both ‘I Hope’ and ‘The Good Ones.’ I’m so excited and truly blown away!”
McBryde garners a total of three nods across three categories and is a first-time Single of the Year and Song of the Year nominee for her Platinum-certified hit “One Night Standards.” The 2019 New Artist of the Year winner also received a Female Vocalist of the Year nomination for the second consecutive year. McBryde recently sold out three consecutive headlining shows at the historic Ryman Auditorium, celebrating songs from her widely lauded debut Girl Going Nowhere and her GRAMMY-nominated follow-up, Never Will. She embarked on her headlining This Town Talks Tour in July and will continue its run through the end of 2021.
“Hot damn!” the 2019 CMA New Artist of the Year exclaimed. “I’m so excited for ‘One Night Standards’ to be nominated for both Song and Single of the Year, and I’m so glad to have my friends and co-writers Nicolette Hayford and Shane McAnally along for the rewarding ride this track has given us. Female vocalist category is STACKED! I’m honored and stoked to be in this category with these women who all work so hard and entertain their asses off.”
Reigning and consecutive CMA Vocal Duo of the Year Dan + Shay add another nomination in the category to their superstar resume. They are celebrating the release of their recent album Good Things, which became the first country album in the streaming era to achieve RIAA Gold certification at release. The new record is quickly approaching one million album equivalents with more than one billion on demand U.S. Streams streams and upwards of 2.5 billion streams worldwide. With three consecutive GRAMMY Award wins, the duo is set to kick off their Dan + Shay The (Arena) Tour tonight in Greenville, S.C.
A multi-platinum selling singer/songwriter, Andress earns her second-consecutive nomination in the New Artist of the Year category. She received a Song of the Year nomination last year for the acclaimed No. 1, “More Hearts Than Mine,” which was featured on her celebrated debut album, Lady Like. The LP was named one of Billboard’s Top 10 Best Country Albums of 2020 and heralded as “one of the year’s strongest albums” by Associated Press. Andress is building on her total of more than 656 million global streams with her latest release, “Wishful Drinking,” featuring country star Sam Hunt. Currently on the road for Dan + Shay’s ‘The (Arena) Tour’, Andress’ own US and European headlining ‘Feeling Things Tour’ will kick off later this month.
“Getting ready for the first night of the Dan + Shay tour and just found out that I’m nominated for CMA Awards’s Best New Artist for CMA AWards,” shared Andress. “Today is gonna be a great day! Thank you!”
Zac Brown Band earns their ninth nomination for Vocal Group of the Year, bringing their total career nominations to 19. Taking home the award for New Artist of the Year in 2010, the group has topped the charts for more than a decade, with six consecutive albums reaching the top 10 on the Billboard 200 and five consecutive albums debuting at No. 1 on Billboard's Country Albums chart. The band has sold more than 30 million singles, nine million albums, amassed nearly ten billion catalog streams, achieved 15 No. 1 radio singles, and is the second act to top both the Country and Active Rock format charts. Zac Brown Band is currently out on the road for The Comeback Tour, which kicked off earlier this month and runs through October.
With four CMA Entertainer of the Year wins to his name, Chesney scores two nominations with “half of my hometown” alongside Kelsea Ballerini for Musical Event of the Year and Music Video of the Year. Chesney has won a total of 10 CMA Awards, and most recently took home the award for Musical Event of the Year in 2018 for his No.1 single “Everything’s Gonna Be Alright” with David Lee Murphy, giving him his third win in said category. He also held the title for Music Video of the Year in 2011 with his 2x Platinum hit “You and Tequila,” directed by frequent collaborator Shaun Silva.
A rising artist and established songwriter, Parker receives his first-ever CMA nomination for Song of the Year with Luke Combs’ multi-week No.1 “Forever After All.” Written by Parker alongside Combs and Robert Williford, the song is among many of Parker’s major publishing credits such as Combs’ fan favorite “1, 2 Many” and Jake Owen’s No.1 single “Homemade.” As his debut single “While You’re Gone” impacts country radio, Parker is currently on the road with Combs on his What You See Is What You Get Tour and will make his Grand Ole Opry debut this Tuesday, Sept. 14.
“I moved to Nashville just hoping for something as big as this,” said Parker. “To be nominated for an award that has been won by many of my heroes is pretty surreal. To be nominated with two of my best friends just makes it that much better.”