Following this morning’s announcement, Warner Music Nashville is celebrating a landmark year with 15 total nominations across nine categories for The 56th Annual CMA Awards. Top nominees include Ashley McBryde with five, Cody Johnson with four and Cole Swindell with two, alongside label mates Kenny Chesney, Dan + Shay, Zac Brown Band and first-time nominee BRELAND to round out this year’s nominations.
Previous CMA New Artist of the Year winner Ashley McBryde adds five to her seven prior nominations, bringing her career total to 12. She earns her third consecutive nomination for Female Vocalist of the Year and second consecutive nods for Song of the Year (“Never Wanted To Be That Girl”), Single of the Year (“Never Wanted To Be That Girl”) and Musical Event of the Year (“Never Wanted To Be That Girl”). It marks her first time in the Music Video of the Year (“Never Wanted To Be That Girl”) category as well.
Cody Johnson tallies four nominations this year, notching his first Male Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year (“’Til You Can’t”) and Music Video of the Year (“’Til You Can’t”) nods. He returns for a second consecutive nomination in the New Artist of the year category, where he debuted in 2019.
Cole Swindell earns two nominations for “Never Say Never,” his No. 1 collaboration with this year’s most-nominated artist, Lainey Wilson. It marks his first-ever nod for Music Video of the Year and first-ever inclusion in the Musical Event of the Year category, where he is also joined by label-mate and first-time CMA Awards nominee BRELAND (“Beers on Me” – Dierks Bentley with BRELAND & HARDY).
Dan + Shay earn their 16th career CMA Awards nomination and ninth overall Duo of the Year nod, while Zac Brown Band achieve 20 total career nods with their 12th Vocal Group of the Year nomination. Kenny Chesney notches an impressive 52 total career CMA Awards nominations with an appearance in the Musical Event of the Year category (“half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (feat. Kenny Chesney).
Don’t miss “The 56th Annual CMA Awards,” hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning LIVE from Nashville Wednesday, Nov. 9 (8:00 – 11:00 PM/EST) on ABC.