2024 CMA Awards Nominations: Snubs & Surprises

Everyone was waiting to see how the CMA Awards voters would deal with Beyoncé Cowboy Carter album and single, “Texas Hold 'Em,” which both spent time at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums and Hot Country Songs, making Bey the first black woman to top the album chart since it began in 1964 .That wasn't enough to sway voters into finding a spot for her in the final contenders, perhaps because she posted on Instagram: “This is not a country album… this is a Beyoncé album.” And they listened.

He went 0 for 3 last year, but this year Morgan Wallen is the top prospect with seven nods. He had some help from Post Malone and Eric Church. In addition to his third consecutive nomination for both Artist of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year, Wallen's other five nominations have come from duets. “I Had Some Help,” his chart-topping duet with Post Malone, received four nominations, while his duet with Church, “Man Made a Bar,” which also reached No. 1, earned one . Wallen's only previous CMA win came for 2020 New Artist of the Year.

It's certainly no surprise that Jelly Roll has racked up multiple nominations, it's that he's already won his first Entertainer of the Year nom after just one year (though reigning EOTY Lainey Wilson was still new to headlining when she won last year). . If he wins, like Wilson, he'll have gone from winning New Artist of the Year one year to Entertainer of the Year the next. It is also little surprise that the worthy Whitsitt Chapel was nominated for album of the year only because it was released on June 2, 2023 (eligibility period is July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2023). However, two years ago, the CMAs changed the rules so that albums released before the eligibility period were still considered if the majority of consumption came during the eligibility period, which is certainly the case with Whitsitt Chapel. It's a bit of a bummer that “Halfway to Hell” wasn't nominated for Song of the Year, considering it was the fourth straight Country Airplay No. 1.

Scotty McCreery scored his first top 15 on Billboard Country Airplay in 2011 and over the past 13 years, has earned five No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hits, his last being in 2022 with the three-week No. 1 “Damn” Narrow.” This year, his song “Cab in a Solo” missed out on the sixth spot at the top of the chart, reaching No. 2 on the Country Airplay chart.In May, McCreery released one of the most cohesive collections of country songs of his career, with Rise & Fall. In April, he was also officially accepted as a member of the Grand Ole Opry and was introduced by Josh Turner and Randy Travis. And yet, McCreery, who has clearly made a leap, scoring a No. 1 Country Airplay nearly every year since 2018, has yet to receive a single CMA Award nomination.

Welcome to the CMA Awards, Posty! After making his performance debut last year during a Joe Diffie salute with Morgan Wallen and HARDY, Post Malone earns four nominations for “I Had Some Help,” his chart-topping duet with Wallen. Post Malone's album, F-1 Triscame out after June 30th^u eligibility cut, but CMA voters loaded “I Had Some Help” with every possible category it could be entered in: single, song, music event and music video. While it's not really a windfall, voters could also have chosen Post Malone's duet with Blake Shelton, “Pour Me a Drink,” which debuted at CMA Fest and was released days before the deadline , but they put it all in. Post their eggs in the Wallen basket. All this bodes very well F-1 Tris and subsequent singles for next year's CMA Awards.

Carrie Underwood has been nominated for Entertainer of the Year for the past five consecutive years and has received six in total. She is the most nominated female artist besides Reba McEntire, who has 10. Unlike McEntire, who won in 1986, Underwood has never won. The rest of the nominees are the same as last year, with Jelly Roll replacing Underwood, who last released an album in 2022 but has been very busy on the road between her Las Vegas residency, tours with Guns N' Roses and various other dates.

Midland broke a streak of nominations for six consecutive years in the vocal group of the year category. This year, the remaining nominees are the same as last year, with Red Clay Strays replacing Midland, whose most recent work, The Last Resort: Greetings Fromreleased in 2022. However, Midland are set to release their new album, Just Blueon September 20th, so look for them to potentially return to the division next year.

In late 2023, Red Clay Strays saw their 2022 song “Wondering Why” go viral. This year, the Alabama-formed group – made up of Brandon Coleman, Andrew Bishop, Drew Nix, John Hall and Zach Rishel – earned their first CMA Award nomination, in the Vocal Group of the Year category, up against Lady A, Little Big. Town, Old Dominion and Zac Brown Band. The band recently released their album produced by Dave Cobb Made of these moments and just played three headlining nights at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium.

Zach Bryan has become one of the top artists not only in country, but in music in general, in recent years, but the CMA Awards only honored Bryan for his duet with Kacey Musgraves, “I Remember Everything,” in the musical . event of the year category. Last year, he was nominated for Best New Artist. Bryan straddles the line between country, Americana, and rock, and he hasn't courted Nashville, which could play a role in him not getting more nominations.

Lambert broke a streak of 17 consecutive years of nods in the female vocalist of the year category (she has previously won in this category seven times). However, 2024 also marked a year of transition for the singer-songwriter. Earlier this year, she signed to Republic Records, with Big Loud providing country radio promotion as well as other support for her projects. Lambert's latest album, Palominowhich was released in 2022. Her new album (and first for Republic) is about to be released, Postcard from Texason Sept. 13, so look for her to likely return to the CMA nominations next year.