Taylor Swift, Kacey Musgraves Lead CMA Awards Nominations
Taylor Swift and newcomer Kacey Musgraves lead the nominees for this year’s Country Music Association Awards, with both musicians notching an impressive six nods at this morning’s announcement ceremony in New York City.
Swift and Musgraves will compete for Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year (Red and Same Trailer Different Park, respectively), and Single of the Year (Musgrave’s “Merry Go ‘Round” and Swift’s collaboration with Tim McGraw and Keith Urban, “Highway Don’t Care”). Swift will also look to take home her third Entertainer of the Year award, going up against Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton and George Strait (who now holds a record-setting 82 CMA nominations).
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Musgraves will even compete against herself in the Song of the Year category, nominated for both her solo song “Merry Go ‘Round” and her writing contributions to Miranda Lambert’s “Mama’s Broken Heart.” She will also compete against Brett Eldredge, Florida Georgia Line, Kip Moore and Lee Brice in the New Artist of the Year category.
Last year’s Entertainer of the Year, Blake Shelton, tallied a second-best five nominations, including Male Vocalist of the Year, and Video and Vocal Event for his single “Boys ‘Round Here” with the Pistol Annies. Four nods went to Urban, while Aldean, McGraw, Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood and Little Big Town all took three.
Up-and-comers Florida Georgia Line’s New Artist of the Year nomination was accompanied by nods for Vocal Duo of the Year, while their hit “Cruise” is in the running for Single and Vocal Event of the Year (the latter, specifically, for the song’s remix with Nelly).
Though perhaps the most interesting first time nominee at this year’s CMAs is Bob Dylan, who’s up for Song of the Year thanks to Darius Rucker’s smash cover of “Wagon Wheel.”
The full list of nominees is available over at the CMA’s website. The big show will be hosted by Underwood and Brad Paisley (for the sixth straight year) and broadcast live from Nashville on Wednesday, November 6th on ABC.