Chris Stapleton, Thomas Rhett Lead 2018 ACM Awards Nominations

Chris Stapleton leads his peers in nominations for the 53rd annual Academy of Country Music Awards, which were revealed Thursday morning. Among his eight total nods, he picked up his first nomination for Entertainer of the Year as well as one for Male Vocalist of the Year, then scored double nominations (as artist and producer) in Album of the Year for From A Room: Volume 1 and Single Record of the Year for “Broken Halos.”

Trailing closely behind is Thomas Rhett with six total nominations, including Male Vocalist of the Year – a category he won in 2017. His album Life Changes found its way into the Album of the Year category, for which he gets a second producer nomination, and he also received a Vocal Event of the Year nod for the hit Maren Morris collaboration “Craving You.”

Songwriter-producer Shane McAnally scored big this year, collecting five total nominations. That’s enough to tie him with Keith Urban, who makes a return visit to the Entertainer of the Year category and earns a Song of the Year nomination for “Female.” Maren Morris and Miranda Lambert are also tied, collecting four nods each.

Rising trio Midland scored three nominations ­– their first-ever – following a breakout year. Those include Single Record of the Year for “Drinkin’ Problem” and Vocal Group of the Year, along with a New Vocal Duo or Group of the Year nod. The Vocal Duo of the Year category also features a new entry in Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, who receive their first nomination together after releasing their duets album The Rest of Our Life.

Reba McEntire, who received her 16th nomination for Female Vocalist of the Year, made the announcements and was named as the show’s host, reprising a role she handled from 2001 to 2010. She replaces the departing duo of Dierks Bentley and Luke Bryan.

The 53rd ACM Awards, held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, will air live Sunday, April 15th, at 8:00 pm ET on CBS. 

Here’s the complete list of ACM Awards nominees:

Entertainer of the Year
Jason Aldean
Garth Brooks
Luke Bryan
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban

Female Vocalist of the Year
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Reba McEntire
Maren Morris
Carrie Underwood

Male Vocalist of the Year
Jason Aldean
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban
Chris Young

Vocal Duo of the Year
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
LoCash
Tim McGraw and Faith Hill

Vocal Group of the Year
Lady Antebellum
Lanco
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion

New Male Vocalist of the Year
Kane Brown
Luke Combs
Devin Dawson
Russell Dickerson
Brett Young

New Female Vocalist of the Year
Lauren Alaina
Danielle Bradbery
Carly Pearce
RaeLynn

New Vocal Duo or Group of the Year
High Valley
Lanco
LoCash
Midland
Runaway June

Songwriter of the Year
Rhett Akins
Ashley Gorley
Hillary Lindsey
Shane McAnally
Josh Osborne

Album of the Year
The Breaker – Little Big Town
California Sunrise – Jon Pardi
From A Room: Volume 1 – Chris Stapleton
Happy Endings – Old Dominion
Life Changes – Thomas Rhett

Single Record of the Year
“Better Man” – Little Big Town
“Body Like a Back Road” – Sam Hunt
“Broken Halos” – Chris Stapleton
“Drinkin’ Problem” – Midland
“I’ll Name the Dogs” – Blake Shelton

Song of the Year
“Body Like a Back Road” – Sam Hunt (songwriters: Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne)
“Female” – Keith Urban (songwriters: Ross Copperman, Nicolle Galyon, Shane McAnally)
“Tin Man” – Miranda Lambert (songwriters: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall)
“Whiskey and You” – Chris Stapleton (songwriters: Lee Thomas Miller, Chris Stapleton)

Video of the Year
“Black” – Dierks Bentley
“It Ain’t My Fault” – Brothers Osborne
“Legends” – Kelsea Ballerini
“Marry Me” – Thomas Rhett
“We Should Be Friends” – Miranda Lambert

Vocal Event of the Year
“Craving You” – Thomas Rhett featuring Maren Morris
“Dear Hate” – Maren Morris featuring Vince Gill
“Funny (How Time Slips Away) – Glen Campbell and Willie Nelson
“The Fighter” – Keith Urban featuring Carrie Underwood
“What Ifs” – Kane Brown featuring Lauren Alaina