A “new” artist is the night’s top nominee. Country music’s most controversial star is up for Entertainer of the Year. And CMA voters still “Think About” Taylor Swift.
The just-revealed nominations for the 2022 CMA Awards come with a fair share of pleasant surprises, bewildering snubs and disappointments – along with some expected developments we could have bet the farm on.
Here’s what caught our eye as we gear up for the show’s return on November 9.
Surprise: Morgan Wallen returns as a solo male nominee — in a big way
For a certain percentage of the full country music fanbase, the idea that Morgan Wallen is nominated for an Entertainer of the Year trophy in 2022 represents dog-whistle-level antagonism. For others, it deservedly spotlights unprecedented country music crossover appeal.
In-depth:CMA Award nominations highlight a subtle nod to country music ‘s future
The “Sand In My Boots” vocalist’s February 2021 use of a racial slur resulted in the Country Music Association stating that he was not eligible for any solo awards. The ruling was met with a mixed bag of responses, many positively highlighting a “within but decided without” sense of how the organization to handle the situation.
2022 is a different year.
Wallen’s an Entertainer of the Year nominee because he sold roughly one million concert tickets in a time near the CMA Awards voting cycle. He’s also nominated because even if he isn’t the one singing the songs, the people around him who write the songs he sings and sing songs themselves — namely Ben Burgess, ERNEST, and HARDY — are immediately buoyed, by association, to having a massive boost in popularity. When that is coupled with already well-crafted music, it spells massive success.
Wallen may never release an album that mirrors the success of “Dangerous: The Double Album.” Even wilder, he may never need to. Even though the album was released in January 2021, almost two full years later, the album is still on the all-genre Hot 200 Albums charts — this week, at No. 5, between Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé’s latest.
Regardless of how it honors or perturbs your civic compass, Wallen’s honor proves that the numbers never lie.
Surprise: Lainey Wilson surges to the forefront as a ‘new artist’
By the time Lainey Wilson reaches the red carpet at Bridgestone Arena on November 9, she could have three Billboard Country Airplay chart No. 1 singles (“Things A Man Oughta Know,” Cole Swindell duet “Never Say Never,” and HARDY collaboration “Wait In The Truck”). As well, she’ll also have logged as many or more touring miles as any of the nominees for the CMA Awards’ 2022 Entertainer of the Year trophy.
It’s no surprise why Lainey Wilson is a six-time, first-time CMA Award nominee. When the time came to show up — “Things A Man Oughta Know” took 64 weeks to reach No. 1 on country radio in August 2021 — and outwork everyone, her body of work proves she did.
The same artist being nominated for Album of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Musical Event of the Year, and Song of the Year — while also being a “New Artist of the Year” feels like something of a misnomer Wilson’s been in Music City for over a decade now.
More than ever (with fellow overripe “new artist” Jimmie Allen winning in 2021), the award now feels more of a “least anticipated to most wanted artist” nod than anything else. Even by that standard, Wilson’s success may seem surprising if only because it’s so sudden.
Snub: Where are Nashville’s new artists?
Maybe it’s time to reconsider what makes a “New Artist of the Year” in Music City. While deserving candidates for country music award season, some could argue it feels out-of-place to nominate Walker Hayes or Cody Johnson — who each headline big-ticket tours this year after hustling songs and stages for a decade-plus, respectively — in a category designated for tomorrow’s top talent.
Where’s Morgan Wade, the twang-tinged Virginia native who barnstormed virtually ever year-end top albums list with “Reckless,” her melding modern take country-rock? Or the aforementioned BRELAND? And if voters want to consider artists who’ve put in the hours, why not Hailey Whitters, who’s logged her decade in Nashville but remains overlooked despite wielding one of the sharpest pens in town?
Surprise: Taylor Swift’s return
Ten years ago, Swift’s “Red” album marked the beginning of Swift’s pivot away from country music. Today, it’s the project bringing her back to the CMAs.
“I Bet You Think About Me” – a newly recorded song from the “Red”-era vault, included on her “Red (Taylor’s Version)” release – is up for Music Video of the Year.
The clip was directed by Blake Lively, and between its elaborate sets, cinematography and inclusion of human CMA trophy magnet Chris Stapleton, we’d say Swift’s fellow nominees have their work cut out for them.
Snub: Breland represents sole artist nominee of color in 2022 CMA Awards field
2021 saw unprecedented attempts at reparation equity pushed to the forefront in one notable place more than most — country music award show nominations. At last year’s CMA Awards, Jimmie Allen, Kane Brown, and Mickey Guyton received five total nominations. In 2022, they received zero.
BRELAND’s participation in Dierks Bentley’s collaboration with HARDY for “Beers On Me” is the only representation of Black country artists on the ballot. It’s worthwhile to highlight why, for a myriad of reasons, 2021’s energy was not maintained.
Foremost, July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2022 represents the nomination eligibility cycle. Allen, Brown, and Guyton — combined — only released three impacting singles and one album during that time. Allen’s “Down Home,” Brown’s “Like I Love Country Music” and “One Mississippi,” plus Guyton’s “Remember Her Name.”
Of the singles, the former is nearing the top 20 of Mediabase’s charts, while the two latter are both No. 1 singles. Guyton’s long-awaited debut album peaked just inside the Top 50 of Billboard’s Country Albums chart.
Also, for as much as Kane Brown sold out 29 National Basketball Association arenas, that’s approximately one-quarter the size of Denver’s Empower Field at Mile High, the National Football League stadium Entertainer of the Year nominee Luke Combs sold out on May 22, 2022 As well, streaming numbers are now a wholly outsized conversation with Morgan Wallen’s 3.5 billion-stream 2020 now more deeply ingrained in the conversation.
In short, equity has opened a door, but an inability to compete at what is suddenly a vastly larger and more competitive table — for everyone — has specifically changed the rules for artists of color almost immediately upon (metaphorically) entering the game.
Snub: Zach Bryan’s ‘American Heartbreak’
OK, OK. No one expected format outsider Zach Bryan to take the CMA Awards by storm this year. But a case should be made for his major label debut “American Heartbreak” to earn an Album of the Year nod. “American Heartbreak” anchors Bryan’s rocket-launched rise from posting heart-on-his-sleeve YouTube videos to becoming one of country music’s foremost young storytellers. The release landed this Navy veteran and Oklahoma native at the top of Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, the first artist to reach that pinnacle this year who isn’t named Taylor Swift, Morgan Wallen or Luke Combs.
And there’s precedent for CMA voters to occasionally recognize Album of the Year candidates who exist outside of major Music Row radio attention. Jason Isbell earned a nod in 2017 for his release “The Nashville Sound” and, in 2015, Chris Stapleton — then a singer-songwriter known mostly in Nashville circles and by country music purists — won for his major label debut “Traveller.”
Surprise: Country boys can’t always survive
As Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Cody Johnson stake their claim for the top prizes, several longtime nominees have hopped off to make room. Both Dierks Bentley and Thomas Rhett are suddenly out of the Male Vocalist of the year race. Two years after his long-awaited Entertainer of the Year win, Eric Church is not nominated in the category. Longtime CMA ballot staple Keith Urban is completely absent for the second year in a row.
Snub: Maren Morris out of the Female Vocalist race
Morris took home her first Female Vocalist of the Year prize in 2020. Two years later, she’s out of the running entirely. It’s a precipitous fall, but this long-static category has seen some shakeups in recent years.
Like Morris, Kacey Musgraves won in 2019 and vanished two years later. In 2021, a shocked Carly Pearce accepted the award while Carrie Underwood was suddenly out of the category for the first time in 15 years. Underwood is back in the race in 2022 alongside Pearce, fellow mainstay Miranda Lambert, newcomer Lainey Wilson and Ashley McBryde (in every third consecutive year as a nominee).
Snub: Kacey Musgraves … again
Despite her return last September with “Star-Crossed,” CMA voters have seemingly moved on from Kacey Musgraves. While the new album found this Texas native diving deep into modern pop influence, she remains one of the foremost ambassadors for country music’s creative expansion, often taking her live show from the Lone Star State to Japan and back again. Safe to say , she’s a creative force in pop culture beyond the CMA Awards, where it appears she’ll stay for at least another year.