Many of the nominations for the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards went just about as expected. The five nominees for male artist of the year – Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Jelly Roll, Chris Stapleton and Morgan Wallen – are a replay of last year’s nods in that category. Six of the seven nominees for entertainer of the year are repeats from last year, as are four of the five nominees for both female artist of the year and duo of the year.
There was more turnover in the nominations for group of the year. Flatland Cavalry, Little Big Town and Old Dominion repeated from last year’s list, but Rascal Flatts and The Red Clay Strays took the slots occupied last year by Lady A and Zac Brown Band. This was the first nod for The Red Clay Strays and the first since 2017 for Rascal Flatts.
Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” and Post Malone featuring Morgan Wallen’s “I Had Some Help” – both of which had long runs at No. 1 on both Hot Country Songs and the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 – are both nominated for single of the year, as expected.
This doesn’t mean there were no surprises in the ACM nominations. “Snubs and surprises,” as they have come to be called, are par for the course at all awards shows. To every artist who was deemed a “Snub” this year, keep in that mind that this setback might just set you up for a Comeback of the Year designation in a future year.
Here are the snubs and surprises in the 60th ACM Awards nominations.
The ACM Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.
