Little Rebellion Music

The list of 2014 CMA Awards nominees confirms Miranda Lambert‘s status as queen of country music. She equals her own 2010 record of nine nominations, including in all the major categories. Dierks Bentley finally arrives on the big award scene with five nods, and Keith Urban returns to the Entertainer of the Year category, along with three other shout-outs, after an unjust absence. Eric Church also received four nominations, and Luke Bryan, Kacey Musgraves, Blake Shelton, and Carrie Underwood each compete in three categories.

Along with current radio stars, country music ambassadors, and Hall of Fame members, Vince Gill, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, and George Strait, also received recognition.

CMA Awards” will be hosted for the seventh time by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood and broadcast live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Wednesday, Nov. 5 (8:00-11:00 PM/ET) on the ABC Television Network.

Winners of “The 48th Annual CMA Awards” will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible voting members of the Country Music Association. CMA Awards balloting is officiated by the international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP. The third and final ballot will be emailed to CMA members Thursday, Oct. 9. Voting for the CMA Awards final ballot ends Monday, Oct. 27 (5:00 PM/CT).

Tickets for “The 48th Annual CMA Awards” go on sale to the public Saturday, Sept. 6 (10:00 AM/CT). Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com; by calling (800) 745-3000; or in person at the Bridgestone Arena Box Office, located at 501 Broadway (corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, Nashville). CMA Awards information is available at CMAawards.com. Or follow the conversation on Twitter at #CMAawards.

The Final Nominees for The 48th Annual CMA Awards:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Luke Bryan
Miranda Lambert
Blake Shelton
George Strait
Keith Urban

How interesting…no more Taylor Swift. It needs to be expected that CMA voters will once again give this to George Strait, and a second farewell gift. Luke Bryan has had a massive year, but he seems to have less clout with voters, so perhaps Blake Shelton should be considered the outside chance here.

SINGLE OF THE YEAR (Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))
“Automatic”
Miranda Lambert
Produced by Frank Liddell, Chuck Ainlay, and Glenn Worf
RCA Nashville

“Drunk On A Plane”
Dierks Bentley
Produced by Ross Copperman, Jaren Johnston, Arturo Buenahora, Jr.
Capitol Records Nashville

“Give Me Back My Hometown”
Eric Church
Produced by Jay Joyce and Arturo Buenahora, Jr.
EMI Records Nashville

“Meanwhile Back At Mama’s”
Tim McGraw featuring Faith Hill
Produced by Byron Gallimore and Tim McGraw
Big Machine

“Mine Would Be You”
Blake Shelton
Produced by Scott Hendricks
Warner Bros./Warner Music Nashville

Given their combination of commercial success and critical acclaim, I am considering ‘Automatic,’ ‘Drunk on a Plane,’ and ‘Mine Would Be You’ the contenders here.

ALBUM OF THE YEAR (Award goes to Artist and Producer(s))
Crash My Party
Luke Bryan
Produced by Jeff Stevens
Capitol Records Nashville

Fuse
Keith Urban
Produced by Benny Blanco, Nathan Chapman, Ross Copperman, Zach Crowell, Mike Elizondo, Dann Huff, Jay Joyce, Stargate, Keith Urban, and Butch Walker
Capitol Records Nashville

Platinum
Miranda Lambert
Produced by Frank Liddell, Chuck Ainlay, and Glenn Worf
RCA Nashville

Riser
Dierks Bentley
Produced by Ross Copperman, Jaren Johnston, and Arturo Buenahora, Jr.
Capitol Records Nashville

The Outsiders
Eric Church
Produced by Jay Joyce and Arturo Buenahora, Jr.
EMI Records Nashville

I would absolutely love to see Riser get this crown, but the two main contenders have to be Crash My Party and The Outsiders, considering Luke Bryan’s commercial success, and Eric Church’ support which won him this title last year.

SONG OF THE YEAR (Award goes to Songwriter(s))
“Automatic”
Nicolle Galyon, Natalie Hemby, and Miranda Lambert

“Follow Your Arrow”
Kacey Musgraves, Brandy Clark, and Shane McAnally

“Give Me Back My Hometown”
Eric Church and Luke Laird

“I Don’t Dance”
Lee Brice, Rob Hatch, and Dallas Davidson

“I Hold On”
Brett James and Dierks Bentley

Any song out of ‘Follow Your Arrow,’ ‘Give Me Back My Hometown,’ or ‘I Hold On,’ and I will be totally fine with it. Either of the other two, and I will be forced to conclude that other CMA voters have a different definition of good songwriting than I do.

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Kacey Musgraves
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Is there seriously anyone who doubts that Miranda Lambert will take this award home again? The complete lack of support for female talent is depressingly obvious in this category, year on year. And if they can remember Brandy Clark’s name enough to nominate her for New Artist, why is she not in this list also? Martina McBride seems to have been added just to complete the list, while Taylor Swift pops up in the one category she really should never be nominated in…

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Dierks Bentley
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban

A two-horse race between Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton, it seems. I would prefer to see Dierks Bentley get recognized for his performance on Riser, and his successful live run this year, but I doubt the voters will go for it.

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Eli Young Band
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
The Band Perry
Zac Brown Band

This may run close between The Band Perry and Little Big Town. With two labels each having two acts here, it will likely be decided by whomever the label chooses to push for the most.

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Love and Theft
The Swon Brothers
Thompson Square

I can just imagine CMA voters taking to Google to find out who some of these nominees are. While Thompson Square has excellent radio promo and therefor a few hits to their name, there is no way they have enough support to deny Florida Georgia Line this victory.

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR (Award goes to each artist)
Bakersfield
Vince Gill and Paul Franklin
Mercury Nashville

“Meanwhile Back At Mama’s”
Tim McGraw featuring Faith Hill
Big Machine

“Somethin’ Bad”
Miranda Lambert duet with Carrie Underwood
RCA Nashville

“We Were Us”
Keith Urban featuring Miranda Lambert
Capitol Records Nashville

“You Can’t Make Old Friends”
Kenny Rogers duet with Dolly Parton
Warner Bros./Warner Music Nashville

How I wish I lived in a world where Bakersfield would simply run away with this. As it stands, star power will likely win out, so the front runners are ‘Meanwhile Back at Mama’s’ and ‘Somethin’ Bad.’

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Sam Bush (Mandolin)
Jerry Douglas (Dobro)
Paul Franklin (Steel Guitar)
Dann Huff (Guitar)
Mac McAnally (Guitar)

Are they finally going to give this to Paul Franklin, now that he has two nominations to his name? If you’re placing bets, you may want to go safe and stick to Mac McAnally though.

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
“Automatic”
Miranda Lambert
Directed by Trey Fanjoy

“Bartender”
Lady Antebellum
Directed by Shane Drake

“Drunk On A Plane”
Dierks Bentley
Directed by Wes Edwards

“Follow Your Arrow”
Kacey Musgraves
Directed by Kacey Musgraves and Honey

“Somethin’ Bad”
Miranda Lambert duet with Carrie Underwood
Directed by Trey Fanjoy

I simply don’t care about music videos, so this category always kind of passes me by.

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Brandy Clark
Brett Eldredge
Kip Moore
Thomas Rhett
Cole Swindell

As wonderful as it is to see Brandy Clark listed here, I don’t think there is a reasonable chance to expect her to have enough support, especially not given the total neglect of female talent. Thomas Rhett should be considered the front runner here. Kip Moore is struggling right now, so a surprise might come from Brett Eldredge or Cole Swindell.

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Liv Carter

Liv is a career coach for creatives, and the people who work with them.
She holds several certificates from Berklee College of Music, and a certificate in Positive Psychology from UC Berkeley.
Her main influences are coffee, cats, and Alexander Hamilton.

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