Morgan Wallen is the leading nominee for the 58th annual CMA Awards, with seven nods. He had some help with that — most notably in the form of his featured duet appearance on Post Malone‘s smash “I Had Some Help,” which was nominated in four categories.
Wallen’s seven nominations for the annual kudos from the Country Music Association are followed by five each for Cody Johnson and Chris Stapleton. Just behind that mark, Post Malone’s four nominations landed him in a tie with reigning entertainer of the year Lainey Wilson.
Seven artists or producer-writers picked up three nominations each: singers Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Megan Maroney and Kacey Musgraves, along with Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome and Hoskins, all three of whom co-produced “I Had Some Help” and also are among the credited writers on the tune.
Prominent double nominees include Kelsea Ballerini and hotshot newcomer Shaboozey. (Scroll down for the full list of nominations.)
In contention for entertainer of the year, which is considered the top category, four of five nominees are repeats from last year, including Wilson, the returning champion, plus Combs, Stapleton and Wallen. The newcomer in the category is Jelly Roll, who knocked out one of the 2023 nominees, Carrie Underwood. Combs previously claimed the title in 2021 and 2022; Stapleton and Wallen have never won it before, along with first-timer Jelly Roll.
“I Had Some Help,” billed to Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen, is the year’s most-nominated song, picking up nods for single of the year, song of the year, musical event of the year and video of the year. Malone split the eligibility period: “I Had Some Help” came out before the July 31 cutoff while his debut country album, “F-1 Trillion,” be released too late to be up for this year’s awards. But that album has been so ecstatically received in the country industry since its release less than a month ago that he’s nearly certain to pick up as many or more nominations in 2025. Malone has gone out of his way to ingratiate his way into the country community, from performing on last year’s CMAs to doing a spot on the Grand Ole Opry, not to mention inviting most of the most popular singers in Nashville to guest on his album.
Not nominated, in contrast: Beyoncé, whose country-themed “Cowboy Carter” album and “Texas Hold ‘Em” single topped the charts, but who received only limited success at country radio. “Texas Hold ‘Em” peaked at No. 33 on the country airplay chart, after debuting at No. 1 on the Hot 100, which left forecasters wondering whether the CMA would follow the lead of critics who embraced the album and single or programmers who proved mostly indifferent.
An artist who appeared as a guest on Beyoncé’s album, Shaboozey, fared better, receiving two nominations. Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” topped the country airplay chart as well as spendng weeks atop the Hot 100, establishing him as a still-rare example of a Black artist being fully embraced in the format. When Billboard published its final Songs of the Summer chart, “A Bar Song” came in second only to “I Had Some Help” — with the fact that country landed the top two slots offering further proof of the genre’s power right now.
The new artist category is a particularly loaded one this year. Shaboozey has one of his two nominations there, the other being for single of the year. But the industry also has a lot of love for Moroney, a rare female to make it to the top of the airplay chart, and Bailey Zimmerman, who has enjoyed pop crossover success. Nate Smith, Mitchell Tenpenny and Zach Top are also up for new artist — with the fact that six are nominated instead of just the usual five being an indication of a tie.
Some attention will go to the fact that Zach Bryan received only a single nomination — for musical event of the year, for his song “I Remember Everything” (which also picked up a nod for his featured duet partner, Musgraves). It’s Bryan’s second nomination overall, following his entry into the best new artist category last year. Bryan’s paucity of nominations at the CMA, ACM and CMT awards shows, respectively, is in contrast with the general public belief that he has been the most popular country artist of the past few years apart from Wallen. Yet he hasn’t fully, officially embraced the role of country artist, and his songs are not actively promoted to country radio, with his absence there leaving him somewhat at odds with the Nashville mainstream. (Interestingly, the new upstart in the country awards field, the People’s Choice Country Awards, has given Bryan a whopping 11 nominations for its upcoming second annual show, no doubt hoping to distinguish itself from the more established programs.)
Entertainer of the year feels like it may be more up for grabs than usual this year, with a strong case to be made that any of the five candidates is a serious contender to win. Jelly Roll, the newcomer in the category, has had a monstrous year, and has arguably become the new poster boy for country in a similar way to how last year’s winner, Wilson, had become the new poster girl.
Stapleton might seem like a long shot for entertainer of the year, due to his history of being nominated seven times without winning — a record. But it’s that very “overdue” status that may make the “White Horse” performer the category’s dark horse. As for Wallen, his chair-tossing incident may be seen as impacting the “leadership” part of the official criteria for the entertainer award — yet it’s possible that industry voters are ready to overlook that when it comes to a guy who has the biggest all-genre album of the last two years and now the biggest song of 2024… not to mention a stadium tour.
Wallen’s leading tally of seven nominations is bolstered by the four he received alongside Post Malone for “I Had Some Help,” but he received three others not directly associated with that smash. Besides entertainer of the year, Wallen is up for male vocalist of the year, and picked up a second nod for musical event of the year for a song on which he is the primary artist and Eric Church has the featured credit, “Man Made a Bar.”
Wallen being in the lead for nominations will come as vindication to his supporters after the events of 2021, when he was disqualified from contending for entertainer of the year or male vocalist and barred from attending the show, months after being caught uttering a racial slur. Although this is his fifth year being nominated for CMAs, he still only has one win, having picked up best new artist in 2020.
Cody Johnson certainly stands as a success story for 2024, in terms of increased nominations. He has never been nominated for more than two CMAs in a single year before, and picked up just one last year, for best male vocalist. This year, he is nominated for that trophy plus single of the year, album of the year, and video of the year — twice, actually, in that last category (for both “Dirt Cheap” and “The Painter”). Although no one knows who came in sixth in the voting for entertainer of the year, chances are it was Johnson, based on his strength in virtually anything else he could have been up for.
Although the best male vocalist lineup remained exactly the same as last year, there was some upending in the female vocalist category, as two 2023 nominees, Miranda Lambert and Carly Pearce, did not repeat this year, joining Underwood on the list of prominent artists who were shut out of nominations for the first time in years.
The CMAs issued a long list of artists, producers, writers and engineers who are nominated for the first time this year, including Andrew Baylis, Louis Bell, Brock Berryhill, Tom Bukovac, Will Bundy, Sean Cook, Benjy Davis, Shawn Everett, Riley Green, Kevin “Thrasher” Gruft, Kat Higgins, Hoskins, Jeff Johnson, Noah Kahan, Ella Langley, Ryan Larkins, Raul Lopez, Josh Phillips, Post Malone, Nevin Sastry, Shaboozey, Ernest Keith Smith, Nate Smith, Konrad Snyder, Mitchell Tenpenny, The Red Clay Strays, Zach Top, Chris Villa, Chandler Paul Walters and Bailey Zimmerman.
Balloting among the CMA’s professional members will take place Oct. 1-29.
The CMA Awards telecast was recently announced as scheduled to take place on Nov. 20 — about two weeks later than it would normally air, likely due to the fact that its traditional broadcast week would intersect with the presidential election and its immediate aftermath, at which point America may have heavier stuff on its mind.
The show will air on that date at 8 p.m. ET/PT on ABC, with streaming availability on Hulu the following day. A host or hosts have not yet been announced. Robert Deaton returns as executive producer, with Alan Carter again directing and Jon Macks set as head writer.
Tickets for the live event at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. CT via Ticketmaster.
The full list of 2024 nominees:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
• Luke Combs
• Jelly Roll
• Chris Stapleton
• Morgan Wallen
• Lainey Wilson
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artist(s), Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)
• “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Shaboozey
Producers: Sean Cook, Nevin Sastry
Mix Engineer: Raul Lopez
• “Dirt Cheap” – Cody Johnson
Producer: Trent Willmon
Mix Engineer: Jack Clarke
• “I Had Some Help” – Post Malone (Feat. Morgan Wallen)
Producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins
Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore
• “Watermelon Moonshine” – Lainey Wilson
Producer: Jay Joyce
Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
• “White Horse” – Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton, Morgane Stapleton
Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artist, Producer(s) and Mix Engineer(s)
• “Deeper Well” – Kacey Musgraves
Producers: Ian Fitchuk, Kacey Musgraves, Daniel Tashian
Mix Engineers: Shawn Everett, Konrad Snyder
• “Fathers & Sons” – Luke Combs
Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton
Mix Engineer: Chip Matthews
• “Higher” – Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton, Morgane Stapleton
Mix Engineer: Vance Powell
• “Leather” – Cody Johnson
Producer: Trent Willmon
Mix Engineer: Jack Clarke
• “Whitsitt Chapel” – Jelly Roll
Producers: Andrew Baylis, Brock Berryhill, Zach Crowell, Jesse Frasure, David Garcia, Kevin “Thrasher” Gruft, Austin Nivarel, David Ray Stevens
Mix Engineers: Jeff Braun, Jim Cooley
SONG OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Songwriter(s)
• “Burn It Down”
Songwriters: Hillary Lindsey, Parker McCollum, Lori McKenna, Liz Rose
• “Dirt Cheap”
Songwriter: Josh Phillips
• “I Had Some Help”
Songwriters: Louis Bell, Ashley Gorley, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins, Austin Post, Ernest Keith Smith, Morgan Wallen, Chandler Paul Walters
• “The Painter”
Songwriters: Benjy Davis, Kat Higgins, Ryan Larkins
• “White Horse”
Songwriters: Chris Stapleton, Dan Wilson
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
• Megan Moroney
• Shaboozey
• Nate Smith
• Mitchell Tenpenny
• Zach Top
• Bailey Zimmerman
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
• Kelsea Ballerini
• Ashley McBryde
• Megan Moroney
• Kacey Musgraves
• Lainey Wilson
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
• Luke Combs
• Jelly Roll
• Cody Johnson
• Chris Stapleton
• Morgan Wallen
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
• Lady A
• Little Big Town
• Old Dominion
• The Red Clay Strays
• Zac Brown Band
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
• Brooks & Dunn
• Brothers Osborne
• Dan + Shay
• Maddie & Tae
• The War and Treaty
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artists and Producer(s)
• “Cowboys Cry Too” – Kelsea Ballerini (with Noah Kahan)
Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Alysa Vanderheym
• “I Had Some Help” – Post Malone (Feat. Morgan Wallen)
Producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins
• “I Remember Everything” – Zach Bryan (ft. Kacey Musgraves)
Producer: Zach Bryan
• “Man Made a Bar” – Morgan Wallen (feat. Eric Church)
Producer: Joey Moi
• “You Look Like You Love Me” – Ella Langley (feat. Riley Green)
Producer: Will Bundy
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
• Tom Bukovac – Guitar
• Jenee Fleenor – Fiddle
• Paul Franklin – Steel Guitar
• Rob McNelley – Guitar
• Charlie Worsham – Guitar
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Award goes to Artist(s) and Director(s)
• “Dirt Cheap” – Cody Johnson
Director: Dustin Haney
• “I Had Some Help” – Post Malone (Feat. Morgan Wallen)
Director: Chris Villa
• “I’m Not Pretty” – Megan Moroney
Directors: Jeff Johnson, Megan Moroney
• “The Painter” – Cody Johnson
Director: Dustin Haney
• “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” – Lainey Wilson
Director: Patrick Tracy
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