Dan + Shay, Blake Shelton Earn Multiple Nods;
Devin Dawson, Cody Johnson, Ashley McBryde Up for First-Ever Awards
Warner Music Nashville’s skyrocketing recording artist Ashley McBryde revealed her first-ever CMA Awards nomination today on Good Morning America and with it multiple nods for her labelmates across an impressive seven categories. Fellow breakout star and first-time nominee Cody Johnson also nabbed a slot among the New Artist of the Year contenders.
Platinum-selling pair Dan + Shay add to ACM, Billboard, CMT, GRAMMY and Teen Choice wins with nominations in Single (“Speechless”), Album (Dan + Shay) and Duo of the Year. The duo’s Dan Smyers picked up an additional Song of the Year nod for the global smash that kicked off their meteoric rise – “Tequila.” Superstar Blake Shelton exploded right out of the gates of “God’s Country” this year, with his record-breaking anthem of the same name up for Video, Single and Song of the Year, earning co-writer Devin Dawson his first CMA Awards nomination as well. In addition, Shelton’s massive duet with Garth Brooks, “Dive Bar,” is nominated for Musical Event of the Year.
“What a great year for our artists and Warner Music Nashville,” said Chairman & CEO John Esposito. “We’re thrilled that Dan + Shay, Blake, Devin, Cody and Ashley have been recognized for their talent, dedication and amazing work. On behalf of our artists and the WMN family, congratulations. Additionally, I would like to recognize WMN’s EVP A&R and Creative Advisor Scott Hendricks as the producer for Dan + Shay and Blake, bringing up his total to an incredible 19 CMA nominations.”
With more than 2.5 billion global on-demand streams already in their career, Dan + Shay are currently among the brightest stars in country music. Their CMA nominations come on the heels of their sixth No. 1 single, “All To Myself.” Their latest hit follows both their 2x Platinum, multi-week chart-topping smash “Speechless” and the most-streamed country song released in 2018, the 3x Platinum “Tequila.” With “Tequila” and “Speechless,” they also became the only duo ever to hold the top two spots on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart simultaneously for eight consecutive weeks. All three are featured on Dan + Shay, which debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart.
“This album will always hold extra special meaning to us,” said Smyers. “It’s amazing to have ‘Speechless,’ a song that is so important to us both, recognized in the Single of the Year category. And for ‘Tequila,’ which kicked off this crazy ride, to be nominated again for Song – it’s just incredible”
Added Shay Mooney: “It’s been such an exciting year and we’re honored to be recognized alongside of some of our favorite artists!”
Five-time CMA Male Vocalist of the Year winner Blake Shelton looks to add to his myriad accolades this year with his multiple nominations. “God’s Country” became his 26th No. 1 on country radio, were it remained for a multi-week run, in addition to his 16th No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart and the fastest country single in the past year to reach one million track equivalents. The “southern-rockin’ country stomper” (Rolling Stone), has accumulated 200 million on-demand streams. Shelton has also teamed up with the legendary Garth Brooks for rapidly climbing single “Dive Bar,” which earned the highest chart debut in seven years. He just announced his brand new single “Hell Right” featuring Trace Adkins and penned by David Garcia, Brett Tyler and Michael Hardy.
“Going into 20 years of this, I’ve won my fair share and can’t complain about what happens now,” said Shelton. “But getting the call this morning that I’ve been nominated for several awards… it’s icing on the cake. It’s a good feeling to know that I’m still in the game. It literally blows my mind. As far as the nominations go – I’m almost more excited for the people I work with. My violinist Jenee Fleenor is the first-ever female to be nominated in the Musician of the Year category! And that Song of the Year category for Devin Dawson, Jordan Schmidt and Michael Hardy, that’s a big deal. It’s just a different honor to get something as a songwriter. ‘God’s Country’ transcends all the rules. I still can’t believe that they let me sing it.”
After the success of “All On Me,” the Platinum-certified hit from his debut album Dark Horse, Devin Dawson changed the landscape of country music by teaming up with Michael Hardy and Jordan Schmidt to write “God’s Country.” Called “one of country music’s most tender and articulate wordsmiths” by The Tennessean, the Dawson earned MusicRow’s 2018 Breakthrough Artist-Writer of the Year award in addition to multiple nominations from the ACM, CMT Music and Radio Disney awards. He has also earned overwhelming critical praise from outlets such as Billboard, Huffington Post, Entertainment Weekly, People, ELLE and more.
“CMA Song of the Year award is like the holy grail for any Nashville songwriter,” said Dawson. “To see my name amongst the nominees this morning is truly a dream come true! Especially when I get to share it with my best friends and co-writers. I will always write and sing my own songs, but getting the chance to have another artist share my narrative has been really rewarding. I’m fired up for all of Blake's huge nominations and am honored to be considered alongside these all-star nominees."
With over 500 million career on-demand streams, many from when he was creating his own traction as an independent artist, Cody Johnson has established a rabid following of loyal fans who thirst for his authentic brand of country music. The aptly named “CoJoNation” regularly pack out shows across the country, with Johnson already selling out more than 30 shows so far in 2019 alone. For the second consecutive year, he sold out NRG Stadium at Rodeo Houston with over 74,000 in attendance. Johnson’s first major release on CoJo Music LLC / Warner Music Nashville, Ain’t Nothin’ To It shot to No. 1 on both the Billboard Top Country Albums and All-Genre Digital Sales charts.
Lauded by The New York Times as “an alluringly flexible singer, fluent in classic country, blues and Southern rock, with a voice that moves easily from tender to tough,” Ashley McBryde couples her ACM New Female Artist of the Year win with a CMA New Artist nomination. The GRAMMY-nominated Girl Going Nowhere earned the Arkansas native critical acclaim from The New York Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Variety and more. Her honors span the entertainment industry, this year bringing her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program. The widely lauded singer / songwriter has caught the attention of some of Nashville’s most raucous entertainers, landing her dates opening for Eric Church, Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Luke Combs and most recently, the “King of Country” himself, George Strait.
Said McBryde: “I got up at 3:00 a.m. – and was delighted to do so – to announce the nominees on Good Morning America. As if being nominated wasn’t enough, hearing it come out of my friend Jimmie’s mouth made it so special. There’s nothing like finding out you’re nominated on national television!”
