Tim McGraw, Miranda Lambert, Keith Urban Lead 2014 ACM Award Nominations
Tim McGraw, Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban lead the list of nominations for the 49th annual Academy of Country Music Awards, which were announced live this morning (Jan. 29) via a 'digital press conference' conducted on the Academy's Facebook page and Twitter accounts.
McGraw and Lambert each received seven nominations, while Urban received six. Other top nominees include Lee Brice, Kacey Musgraves, Blake Shelton, and Taylor Swift, who each received five nominations; the groups Florida Georgia Line and Lady Antebellum, which each received four; and Luke Bryan and Darius Rucker, who each received three (see the full list of 2014 ACM nominees on Radio.com).
Nominees this year for Entertainer of the Year, the ACM's highest honor, are Lambert, Shelton, Swift, Bryan (the ACM's currently reigning Entertainer of the Year) and George Strait. This is a fan-voted category; voting begins Monday, March 24 at 3pm ET at VoteACM.com, and it closes during the live ACM Awards broadcast, which takes place Sunday, April 6 on CBS. Voting is also currently open on that same site for the previously announced list of New Artist of the Year semi-finalists.
Strait was nominated in just one category (Entertainer of the Year), as was Jason Aldean, who has been an Entertainer of the Year nominee in years past. Aldean earned a Male Vocalist of the Year nomination, a category he won last year.
Brice set a new personal record for nominations this year, earning a total of five, including Male Vocalist of the Year, his first time in that prestigious category. Musgraves earned her second Female Vocalist of the Year nomination, as well as Album of the Year honors for her GRAMMY-winning Same Trailer, Different Park.
A surprise on the list is Dan + Shay, who earned a Vocal Duo of the Year nomination, despite only having one single out so far that has only just cracked the Top 20. Sheryl Crow also received one nomination (Female Vocalist of the Year), while Carrie Underwood received two, getting nods in both the Female Vocalist category as well as Video of the Year for "Two Black Cadillacs." The Band Perry received two nominations as well, for Vocal Group of the Year and Video of the Year.
Related: See All ACM Award News
A number of artists and special guests participated in the live unveiling of the nominees, including Rucker, Jerrod Niemann, Lucy Hale, Dallas Davidson, CBS This Morning co-anchor Gayle King, sports broadcaster Erin Andrews, 2 Broke Girls star Beth Behrs, The Insider co-anchor Kevin Frazier, Entertainment Tonight co-anchor Nancy O'Dell, Duck Dynasty stars Willie and Korie Robertson and The Talk hosts Julie Chen, Sara Gilbert, Sharon Osbourne, Aisha Tyler & Sheryl Underwood.