NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED FOR THE "51ST ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS(R)," TO BE BROADCAST LIVE, SUNDAY, APRIL 3, FROM LAS VEGAS ON CBS

Eric Church and Chris Stapleton Lead with Five Nominations, Cam, Chris Young and Little Big Town Each Receive Four Nominations, And Karen Fairchild Receives an Additional Nod

Chris Janson, Miranda Lambert and Thomas Rhett Each Receive Three Nominations

Nominations were announced today for the 51ST ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS(R), Country Music's Party of the Year(R), honoring country music's superstars and hottest emerging talent. The 51ST ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS, which will be hosted by Dierks Bentley and reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan, will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Sunday, April 3 (8:00-11:00 PM, ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network.

Dierks Bentley announced the nominees for six categories: Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Vocal Duo of the Year, Vocal Group of the Year and Album of the Year, live today on "CBS This Morning." Additionally, "Entertainment Tonight" co-host Nancy O'Dell revealed nominees for the Newcomer categories, Single Record of the Year, Video of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year on ETOnline.com.

Eric Church is nominated in five categories, including his first for Entertainer of the Year and third for Male Vocalist of the Year. Also, Church is nominated for Album of the Year for Mr. Misunderstood, Video of the Year for "Mr. Misunderstood," and Vocal Event of the Year for "Raise 'Em Up" with Keith Urban.

Chris Stapleton earned five nominations, including his first-ever nods for Male Vocalist of the Year, New Male Vocalist of the Year, Vocal Event of the Year for "Hangover Tonight" with Gary Allan, and is twice nominated as both artist and producer in the Album of the Year category for Traveller.

Cam, a first-time ACM Awards nominee, received four nominations, including New Female Vocalist of the Year, Video of the Year for "Burning House, and is twice nominated as both artist and producer in the Single Record of the Year category for "Burning House."

Chris Young received four nominations, including his first Album of the Year nomination for I'm Comin' Over as both the artist and producer. He also received two nods as artist and producer in the Single Record of the Year category for "I'm Comin' Over."

Little Big Town, the reigning Vocal Group of the Year, leads group nominations with four, including their 10th nomination for Vocal Group of the Year. The group earned nominations in the Single Record of the Year and Video of the Year categories for the song "Girl Crush." Little Big Town also received a Vocal Event of the Year nomination for "Smokin' And Drinkin'" with Miranda Lambert. Additionally, Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild received an individual nomination for Vocal Event of the Year for "Home Alone Tonight" with Luke Bryan.

First-time ACM Awards nominee Chris Janson earned three nods. He is nominated for New Male Vocalist of the Year and is twice nominated as both artist and producer in the Single Record of the Year category for "Buy Me A Boat."

Reigning Female Vocalist of the Year Miranda Lambert earned three nominations, including her fifth for Entertainer of the Year and 10th consecutive nod for Female Vocalist of the Year. Additionally, she is nominated for Vocal Event of the Year for "Smokin' And Drinkin'" featuring Little Big Town.

Thomas Rhett earned three nominations, including his first in the Album of the Year category for Tangled Up and Single Record of the Year category for "Die a Happy Man." Also, he received a nomination for New Male Vocalist of the Year.

New this year, the previously fan-voted Entertainer of the Year and Newcomer categories, New Male Vocalist of the Year, New Female Vocalist of the Year and New Vocal/Duo of the Year, are now all incorporated into the professional membership voting process.

Following is the list of nominees. Please note: nominees for Song of the Year, Songwriter of the Year, Studio Recording Awards and Industry Awards will be announced at a later date. The Academy of Country Music's professional membership selects the nominees and winners of the Academy of Country Music Awards. Winners in each of the categories, except where noted, will be presented with an Academy of Country Music Award during the live television broadcast:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

· Jason Aldean

· Garth Brooks

· Luke Bryan

· Eric Church

· Miranda Lambert

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

· Jason Aldean

· Dierks Bentley

· Eric Church

· Brett Eldredge

· Chris Stapleton

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

· Kelsea Ballerini

· Jana Kramer

· Miranda Lambert

· Kacey Musgraves

· Carrie Underwood

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR

· Brothers Osborne

· Dan + Shay

· Florida Georgia Line

· Joey + Rory

· Maddie & Tae

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR

· Eli Young Band

· Little Big Town

· Old Dominion

· Rascal Flatts

· Zac Brown Band

NEW MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

· Brett Eldredge

· Chris Janson

· Thomas Rhett

· Chase Rice

· Chris Stapleton

NEW FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

· Kelsea Ballerini

· Cam

· Mickey Guyton

· RaeLynn NEW VOCAL DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR

· A Thousand Horses

· Brothers Osborne

· Maddie & Tae

· Old Dominion

· Parmalee

ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company-Label(s)]

· I'm Comin' Over - Chris Young Producers: Chris Young, Corey Crowder Record Label: RCA Nashville

· Montevallo - Sam Hunt Producer: Zach Crowell, Shane McAnally Record Label: MCA Nashville

· Mr. Misunderstood - Eric Church Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: EMI Records Nashville

· Tangled Up - Thomas Rhett Producers: Chris DeStefano, Dann Huff, Jesse Frasure, Joe London Record Label: Valory Music Group

· Traveller - Chris Stapleton Producer: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton Record Label: Mercury Records

SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company-Label(s)]

· Burning House - Cam Producers: Jeff Bhasker, Tyler Johnson, Camaron Ochs Record Labels: Arista Nashville, RCA Records, Kravenworks

· Buy Me A Boat - Chris Janson Producers: Brent Anderson, Chris DuBois, Chris Janson Record Label: Warner Bros. Nashville

· Die A Happy Man - Thomas Rhett Producer: Dann Huff, Jesse Frasure Record Label: The Valory Music Co.

· Girl Crush - Little Big Town Producer: Jay Joyce Record Label: Capitol Nashville

· I'm Comin' Over - Chris Young Producer: Corey Crowder, Chris Young Record Label: RCA Nashville

· Take Your Time - Sam Hunt Producer: Zach Crowell, Shane McAnally Record Label: MCA Nashville

VIDEO OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)] *(Off-Camera Award)

· Biscuits - Kacey Musgraves Director: Mark Klasfeld Producer: Nicole Acacio

· Burning House - Cam Director: Trey Fanjoy Producer: Trent Hardville

· Girl Crush - Little Big Town Director: Karla Welch & Matthew Welch Producer: Amanda Prunesti

· Mr. Misunderstood - Eric Church Director: Reid Long & John Peets Producer: Megan Smith

· Riser - Dierks Bentley Director: Wes Edwards Producer: Jennifer Rothlein

VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company-Label(s)]*(Off-Camera Award)

· Hangover Tonight - Gary Allan Featuring Chris Stapleton Producer: Gary Allan, Greg Droman Record Label: MCA Nashville

· Home Alone Tonight - Luke Bryan Featuring Karen Fairchild Producers: Jeff Stevens, Jody Stevens Record Label: Capitol Nashville

· Raise 'Em Up - Keith Urban Featuring Eric Church Producers: Nathan Chapman, Keith Urban Record Label: Hit Red Records, Capitol Nashville

· Smokin' And Drinkin' - Miranda Lambert Featuring Little Big Town Producers: Chuck Ainlay, Frank Liddell, Glenn Worf Record Label: RCA Nashville

· Wild Child - Kenny Chesney With Grace Potter Producer: Buddy Cannon, Kenny Chesney Record Label: Blue Chair Records, Columbia Nashville

IMPORTANT NOTE: Awards counts for artists reflect categories in which they have been recognized as individuals or as part of their duo or group. In some cases, an artist may receive more than one nomination which factors into their official count. For example, Chris Young received two nominations in the Album of the Year category, one each as artist and producer, because that category recognizes both.

Award recipients in each category are noted above parenthetically in the Album of the Year, Single Record of the Year, Video of the Year and Vocal Event of the Year.

About the Academy of Country Music Awards

The 51ST ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS is dedicated to honoring and showcasing the biggest names and emerging talent in the country music industry. The show is produced for television by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, R.A. Clark, Barry Adelman and Mark Bracco are executive producers. Bob Romeo is executive producer for the Academy of Country Music.

RATING: To Be Announced

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