Lainey Wilson is the Runaway CMA Awards leader with nine nominations; Jelly Roll comes with five

CMA Awards voters love Lainey Wilson. The singer ran far ahead of the pack when the nominations for the 57th annual Country Music Association Awards were announced Thursday, earning nine nods, nearly twice as many as the closest finisher, Jelly Roll, who earned five. Luke Combs and Hardy followed with four each.

Part of the hat trick Wilson pulled off was landing a nomination for the top prize, entertainer of the year. The CMA tends to make up-and-coming artists wait until they’ve headlined arenas for a while before being inducted into the lofty category, even if they otherwise lead the field of nominees. But Wilson picked up her entertainer of the year nod while she’s on only her second major-label album and has still mostly been an opener on the biggest bills, indicating how quickly Nashville has embraced her as a mascot for the future of country music. .

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This is Wilson’s second year leading the field of nominees, though in 2022 she managed to do so with just six nods. The CMA pointed out that she has become the first artist ever to receive the most nominations in her first two years of receiving nominations at all.

(Scroll down for the full list of 2023 nominees.)

Part of the reason Wilson did so well, besides the obvious love for her among voters, is her penchant for duets, which earned her several nominations for being a featured artist on Hardy’s “Wait in the Truck” , on top of the nods. for his own standout hit, “Heart Like a Truck.” Both tracks are nominated for single of the year and song of the year. She’s also competing against herself in the musical event of the year category, where “Heart Like a Truck” is up against “Save Me,” the Jelly Roll song that features Wilson as a guest.

In addition to competing against herself in those three categories, Wilson is also up for Album of the Year (for her sophomore BBR effort, “Bell Bottom Country”), Female Vocalist of the Year and Music Video of the Year (“Wait in the Truck”).

Wilson’s competitors for entertainer of the year are Combs, Chris Stapleton, Carrie Underwood and Morgan Wallen. This is the fourth year in a row that two women have been nominated for the entertainer trophy, after a period of many years when that number was zero or one. In the previous three years, the female nominees were Underwood and Miranda Lambert, with the latter singer bumped out of the category this year.

To win entertainer of the year, Wilson will have to fend off Combs, who won the award the previous two years and remains a strong contender in 2023, especially with his cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” currently a country/Top 40 crossover smash.

A changing of the guard is evident in Jelly Roll’s runner-up status among the nominees, as neither of the two CMA Awards frontrunners previously had another major-label release under their belt (although both had independent releases and EPs in the past). to join the greats).

The nominees who got three nods each are Stapleton, Wallen, Jordan Davis, Ashley McBryde, producer/mix engineer Joey Moi, songwriter/producer Jordan Schmidt and musician/producer Derek Wells.

Perhaps the most unlikely CMA nominee is Tracy Chapman, who is up for song of the year for “Fast Car,” thanks to Combs’ cover. Chapman originally had a pop hit with the tune in 1988. She has mostly been out of sight since she released her last album 15 years ago, but issued a statement thanking Combs for her hit rendition.

Wallen, whose “One Thing at a Time” album has been the biggest release of 2023 in any genre, was well represented in the nominations, just as he was last year — though it may be a surprise not to see “Last Night,” which some considered the song of the summer, up to single or song of the year.

Jason Aldean, who has recently been country’s most controversial figure with his polarizing “Try That in a Small Town,” isn’t up for any CMAs, though it’s no surprise not to see him among the contenders; he was last nominated in 2018.

Current Hot 100 and Billboard 200 chart topper, as well as Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, Zach Bryan earned a single nomination for New Artist of the Year. Bryan was shut out last year, and after his fans made a stink, he said on Twitter: “Guys, I will not and will never be considered for the CMAs. … Really more fun to laugh at than to get hurt over the ass. Bryans new album and single came out after the end of the eligibility period, so he could still be in contention next year (whether he welcomes it or not), Bryan said last year at this time, in response to a Twitter user who suggested , that he was going to do a concert right outside the CMAs in 2023, that “if I don’t have a show, you have my word on this.” Bryan hasn’t booked any concerts for November, so it remains to be seen if he will live up to his word and bustle outside the Bridgestone Arena.

The full list of nominees for the 2023 awards, which will take place on November 8 and air live on ABC:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

• Luke Combs

• Chris Stapleton

• Carrie Underwood

• Morgan Wallen

• Lainey Wilson

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
The award goes to artist(s), producer(s) and mix engineer(s)

• “Fast Car” – Luke Combs
  Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton
  Mixing Engineer: Chip Matthews

• “Heart Like a Truck” – Lainey Wilson
  Producer: Jay Joyce
  Mixing Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce

• “Need A Favor” – Jelly Roll
  Producer: Austin Nivarel
  Mixing Engineer: Jeff Braun

• “Next Thing You Know” – Jordan Davis
  Producer: Paul DiGiovanni
  Mix Engineer: Jim Cooley

• “Wait in the Truck” – Hardy (feat. Lainey Wilson)
  Producers: Hardy, Joey Moi, Jordan Schmidt, Derek Wells
  Mix Engineer: Joey Moi

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
The award goes to artist, producer(s) and mix engineer(s)

• Ashley McBryde presents: Lindeville – Ashley McBryde
  Producers: John Osborne, John Peets
  Mixing Engineers: Gena Johnson, John Osborne

• Bell Bottom Country – Lainey Wilson
  Producer: Jay Joyce
  Mixing Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce

• Getting old – Luke Combs
  Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton
  Mixing Engineers: Michael H. Brauer, Jim Cooley, Chip Matthews

• One thing at a time – Morgan Wallen
  Producers: Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome, Joey Moi, Cameron Montgomery
  Mix Engineers: Josh Ditty, Joey Moi, Eivind Nordland

• Rolling out the welcome mat – Kelsea Ballerini
  Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Alysa Vanderheym
  Mixing Engineers: Dan Grech-Marguerat, Alysa Vanderheym

SONG OF THE YEAR
The award goes to the songwriter(s)

• “Fast Car”
  Songwriter: Tracy Chapman

• “Heart like a truck”
  Songwriters: Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, Lainey Wilson

• “Next thing you know”
  Songwriters: Jordan Davis, Greylan James, Chase McGill, Josh Osborne

• “Tennessee Orange”
  Songwriters: David Fanning, Paul Jenkins, Megan Moroney, Ben Williams

• “Wait in the Truck”
  Songwriters: Renee Blair, Michael Hardy, Hunter Phelps, Jordan Schmidt

FEMALE VOCALS OF THE YEAR

• Kelsea Ballerini

• Miranda Lambert

• Ashley McBryde

• Carly Pearce

• Lainey Wilson

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

• Luke Combs

• Jelly Roll

• Cody Johnson

• Chris Stapleton

• Morgan Wallen

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

• Lady A

• Small big city

• Midland

• Old Dominion

• Zac Brown Band

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR

• Brooks & Dunn

• Brothers Osborne

• Dan + Shay

• Maddie & Tae

• War and Treaty

THE MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
The prize goes to artists and producer(s)

Producers: Zach Crowell, David Ray Stevens

Producer: Zach Crowell

Producer: Dann Huff

Producers: Hardy, Joey Moi, Jordan Schmidt, Derek Wells

Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Carly Pearce

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR

• Jenee Fleenor

• Paul Franklin

• Rob McNally

• Derek Wells

• Charlie Worsham

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
The award goes to artist(s) and director(s)

Director: Reid Long

Directors: Mason Allen, Nicki Fletcher

Director: Patrick Tohill

Instructor: Running Bear

Director: Justin Clough

NEW ARTISTS OF THE YEAR

• Zach Bryan

• Jelly Roll

• Parker McCollum

• Megan Moroney

• Hailey Whitters

2023 CMA BROADCAST AWARDS – BROADCAST PERSONALITY OF THE YEAR FINALISTS (by market size):

Weekly National

• “American Country Countdown” (Kix Brooks) – Cumulus/Westwood One

• “Country Countdown USA” (Lon Helton) – Compass Media Networks

• “Honky Tonkin’ with Tracy Lawrence” (Tracy Lawrence and Patrick Thomas) – Silverfish Media

• “On The Horizon with Buzz Brainard” (Buzz Brainard) – SiriusXM

• “Y’all Access with Kelly Sutton” (Kelly Sutton) – Firefly Media/Silverfish Media

Daily National

• “Angie Ward” – iHeartMedia

• “The Big D and Bubba Show” (Derek “Big D” Haskins, Sean “Bubba” Powell, Patrick Thomas and Carsen Humphreville) – Silverfish Media

• “Katie & Company” (Katie Neal) – Audacity

• “Nights with Elaina” (Elaina Smith) – Westwood One

• “The Sam Alex Show” (Sam Alex) – Sam Alex Productions, LLC

Larger market

• “Chris Carr & Company” (Chris Carr, Kia Becht and Sam Sansevere) – KEEY, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.

• “Frito & Katy” (Tucker “Frito” Young and Katy Dempsey) – KCYY, San Antonio, Texas

• “Hawkeye in the Morning with Hawkeye and Michelle” (“Hawkeye” Mark Louis Rybczyk and Michelle Rodriguez) – KSCS, Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas

• “Josh, Rachael & Grunwald” (Josh Holleman, Rachael Hunter and Steve Grunwald) – WYCD, Detroit, Mich.

• “Scotty Kay” (Scotty Kay) – WUSN, Chicago, Ill.

Big market

• “The Big Dave Show” (“Big Dave” Chandler, Ashley Heiert and Jason “Stattman” Statt) – WUBE, Cincinnati, Ohio

• “The Morning Drive with Mike Kellar and Jenny Matthews” (Mike Kellar and Jenny Matthews) – KBEQ, Kansas City, Mo.

• “Scott and Shannen” (Scott Dolphin and “Shannen O” Oesterreich) – WMIL, Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.

• “Tim & Chelsea In The Morning” (Tim Leary and Chelsea Taylor) – WIRK, West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Fla.

• “The Wayne D Show” (“Wayne D” Danielson and Tay Hamilton) – WSIX, Nashville, Tenn.

Middle market

• “Cait & Bradley Morning Show” (Cait Fisher and Matt Bradley) – KWEN, Tulsa, Okla.

• “Clay & Company” (Clay Moden, Rob Banks and Kadie Daye) – WYRK, Buffalo-Niagara Falls, NY

• “Ellis and Bradley Show” (Bill Ellis and Beth Bradley) – WSSL, Greenville-Spartanburg, SC

• “Mo & StyckMan” (Melissa “Mo” Wagner and Greg “StyckMan” Owens) – WUSY, Chattanooga, Tenn.

• “Steve & Gina In The Morning” (Steve Lundy and Gina Melton) – KXKT, Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa

Small market

• “The B100 Morning Show with Brittney Baily” (Brittney Baily) – WBYT, South Bend, Ind.

• “The Eddie Foxx Show” (Eddie Foxx and Amanda Foxx) – WKSF, Asheville, NC

• “Officer Don & DeAnn” (“Officer Don” Evans and DeAnn Stephens) – WBUL, Lexington-Fayette, Ky.

• “Steve & Tiffany in the Morning” (Steve Waters and Tiffany Kay) – WFLS, Fredericksburg, Va.

• “Steve, Ben and Nikki” (Steve Stroud, Ben Walker and Nikki Thomas) – WXBQ, Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.-Va.

2023 CMA BROADCAST AWARDS – RADIO STATION OF THE YEAR FINALISTS (by market size):

Larger market

• KCYY – San Antonio, Texas

• KEEY – Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minn.

• KKBQ – Houston, Texas

• KSCS – Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas

• WXTU – Philadelphia, Pa.

Big market

• WIRK – West Palm Beach-Boca Raton, Fla.

• WKDF – Nashville, Tenn.

• WMIL – Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.

• WUBE—Cincinnati, Ohio

• WWKA – Orlando, Fla.

Middle market

• KUZZ – Bakersfield, California.

• KXKT – Omaha-Council Bluffs, Neb.-Iowa

• WGGY – Wilkes Barre-Scranton, Pa.

• WPCV – Lakeland-Winter Haven, Fla.

• WQMX – Akron, Ohio

Small market

• KCLR – Columbia, Mo.

• WBYT – South Bend, Ind.

• WKML – Fayetteville, NC

• WXBQ – Johnson City-Kingsport-Bristol, Tenn.-Va.

• WYCT – Pensacola, Fla.

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