Lainey Wilson Leads 2022 CMA Awards Nominations as Blake Lively Scores First Nod for Taylor Swift Music Video

The 2022 CMA Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, air live from Nashville on Nov. 9 from 8-11 p.m. EST on ABC

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA - MARCH 07: Lainey Wilson performs onstage during the 57th Academy of Country Music Awards at Allegiant Stadium on March 07, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Rich Fury/Getty Images for ACM)
Lainey Wilson. Photo: Rich Fury/Getty

Nominations are in for the biggest night in country music!

The Country Music Association announced on Wednesday the nominees for the 56th Annual CMA Awards, which will be hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning and air live from Nashville on Nov. 9.

Leading the pack this year is first-time nominee Lainey Wilson, whose February 2021 album Sayin' What I'm Thinkin' earned her a total of six nominations, including album of the year, female vocalist of the year, new artist of the year, music video of the year, musical event of the year and song of the year.

Wilson is only the fourth artist in history to debut on the CMA ballot with six nominations as a first-time nominee, following in the footsteps steps of Glen Campbell, Brad Paisley and Kacey Musgraves.

Behind Wilson is Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, Chris Stapleton and songwriter and producer Shane McAnally with five nominations each. Cody Johnson and songwriter/producer Josh Osborne scored four nominations each, while Luke Combs, HARDY, Miranda Lambert, Midland and Carrie Underwood secured three nominations apiece.

For the night's highest honor, Entertainer of the Year, reigning winner Combs will go up against Lambert, Stapleton, Underwood and Morgan Wallen. This year marks Wallen's first time being nominated since he was banned from the non-collaborative categories at last year's show after he was caught on camera using a racial slur.

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With this year's nominations, Lambert continues her reign as the most nominated female artist in CMA Awards history, with 61 career nominations. She is also now the third most-nominated artist ever, behind George Strait with 83 nods and Alan Jackson with 81.

Along with Wilson, first-time CMA Awards nominees this year include BRELAND, Alexa Campbell, Jack Clarke, Dan Grech-Marguerat, Jacob Davis, Dustin Haney, Walker Hayes, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins, Jason Lehning, Chip Matthews, Parker McCollum, Michael Monaco, Jason Nix, Mikey Reaves, Harper Smith and Trent Willmon.

Blake Lively is also among the list of first-time nominees. She was nominated in the music video of the year category for directing the visual for Taylor Swift's collaboration with Stapleton, "I Bet You Think About Me" (Taylor's Version) (From the Vault).

taylor swift blake lively
Taylor Swift; Blake Lively. getty (2)

"It's thrilling to celebrate these deserving nominees while our industry is returning to live music," CMA Chief Executive Officer Sarah Trahern said in a statement. "This year's slate is impressive, with some nominees logging historic milestones while others are just getting started. No matter what stage in their career, they each bring a unique voice and unforgettable story to life, showing that Country Music is stronger than ever! We look forward to honoring them this November."

Here's the full list of nominees:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

Luke Combs

Miranda Lambert

Chris Stapleton

Carrie Underwood

Morgan Wallen

SINGLE OF THE YEAR

"Buy Dirt" — Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan; Producer: Paul DiGiovanni; Mix Engineer: Jim Cooley

"half of my hometown" — Kelsea Ballerini (feat. Kenny Chesney); Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins; Mix Engineer: Dan Grech-Marguerat

"Never Wanted to Be That Girl" — Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde; Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne; Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore

"'Til You Can't" — Cody Johnson; Producer: Trent Willmon; Mix Engineer: Jack Clarke

"You Should Probably Leave" — Chris Stapleton; Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton; Mix Engineer: Vance Powell

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Growin' Up — Luke Combs; Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton; Mix Engineers: Jim Cooley, Chip Matthews

Humble QuestMaren Morris; Producer: Greg Kurstin; Mix Engineer: Serban Ghenea

PalominoMiranda Lambert; Producers: Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall, Mikey Reaves; Mix Engineer: Jason Lehning

Sayin' What I'm Thinkin' — Lainey Wilson; Producer: Jay Joyce; Mix Engineer: F. Reid Shippen

Time, Tequila & Therapy — Old Dominion; Producers: Shane McAnally, Old Dominion; Mix Engineer: Justin Niebank

SONG OF THE YEAR

"Buy Dirt" — Songwriters: Jacob Davis, Jordan Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins

"Never Wanted to Be That Girl" — Songwriters: Shane McAnally, Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce

"Sand In My Boots" — Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Michael Hardy, Josh Osborne

"Things a Man Oughta Know" — Songwriters: Jason Nix, Jonathan Singleton, Lainey Wilson

"You Should Probably Leave" — Songwriters: Chris DuBois, Ashley Gorley, Chris Stapleton

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Miranda Lambert

Ashley McBryde

Carly Pearce

Carrie Underwood

Lainey Wilson

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Eric Church

Luke Combs

Cody Johnson

Chris Stapleton

Morgan Wallen

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

Lady A

Little Big Town

Midland

Old Dominion

Zac Brown Band

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR

Brooks & Dunn

Brothers Osborne

Dan + Shay

LOCASH

Maddie & Tae

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR

"Beers On Me" — Dierks Bentley with BRELAND & HARDY; Producers: Dierks Bentley, Ross Copperman

"If I Didn't Love You" — Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood; Producer: Michael Knox

"Longneck Way to Go" — Midland (featuring Jon Pardi); Producers: Dann Huff, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne

"Never Say Never" — Cole Swindell (with Lainey Wilson); Producer: Zach Crowell

"Never Wanted to Be That Girl" — Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde; Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne

MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR

Jenee Fleenor, Fiddle

Paul Franklin, Steel guitar

Brent Mason, Guitar

Ilya Toshinskiy, Banjo

Derek Wells, Guitar

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR

"I Bet You Think About Me" (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault) — Taylor Swift (featuring Chris Stapleton); Director: Blake Lively

"Longneck Way to Go" — Midland (featuring Jon Pardi); Director: Harper Smith

"Never Say Never" — Cole Swindell (with Lainey Wilson); Director: Michael Monaco

"Never Wanted to Be That Girl" — Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde; Director: Alexa Campbell

"'Til You Can't" — Cody Johnson; Director: Dustin Haney

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR

HARDY

Walker Hayes

Cody Johnson

Parker McCollum

Lainey Wilson

The 2022 CMA Awards air live from Nashville Nov. 9 from 8-11 p.m. EST on ABC.

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