ACM Awards snubs and surprises: Where are Tanya Tucker, Garth Brooks, Jason Aldean?
The nominees for the 55th Academy of Country Music Awards were revealed Thursday, with Maren Morris and Thomas Rhett leading the pack of nominated stars.
Still, there were a few glaring absences in our book — and several names we were pleasantly surprised to spot.
The 55th Academy of Country Music Awards will be held Sunday, April 5 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The show will air live on CBS, starting at 8 p.m. ET.
More: ACM Awards: Here's the full list of 2020 nominees
ACM Awards Snubs
Tanya Tucker
She’s in the midst of a triumphant resurgence, with a Grammy-winning album made far, far west of Nashville. And she's been winning ACM Awards since she was a teenager (1972's "Most Promising Female Vocalist"). It's truly a shame Tanya Tucker's banner year goes completely unrecognized.
Jason Aldean
Not a year removed from being honored with the prestigious Dick Clark Artist of the Decade award at the 2019 ACMs and Aldean receives zero nominations for the upcoming show. His absence from 2020 pool happens just a few months after releasing his November 2019 studio album, "9," which debuted a No. 2 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart (it topped the Country Albums chart). The album added another top 10 single to Aldean's extensive radio canon, "We Back."
Garth Brooks
The defending CMA Entertainer of the Year doesn't earn a nomination the ACM top category. Brooks' absence from Entertainer of the Year follows a 2019 that saw the superstar perform to sold out stadiums throughout North America — earning a spot atop the highest-grossing country tours of the year. It's not all bad news for Brooks, though. He received a pair of nominations for his Blake Shelton collaboration, "Dive Bar."
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Tyler Childers
It's not surprising Tyler Childers didn't receive an ACMs nod, but it's unfortunate. A torchbearer for traditional country with a sharp pen and magnetic live show, Childers topped the Billboard Country Albums chat in 2019 with his major label debut, "Country Squire" (released by RCA via his own Hickman Holler Records). "Country Squire" helped propel Childers to a Grammy Award nomination, a four-night run of sold out Ryman Auditorium shows and a main support slot on a 2020 arena tour with Sturgill Simpson.
Tyler Childers: Tall tales and personal truths from the beating heart of Appalachia
Plus, it's not unprecedented for an artist outside commercial radio to earn a nomination from country music institutions. Standout songwriter Jason Isbell and his band the 400 Unit earned a CMA nomination in 2017, despite no major label ties.
ACM Awards Surprises
Justin Bieber
You better Beliebe that one of pop music's biggest stars is having a Nashville moment. Justin Bieber earned four nominations Thursday, all for his tender-hearted Dan + Shay collaboration "10,000 Hours." Given the song's continued success on all-genre and country charts — it's spent a whopping 20 weeks atop Billboard's Hot Country Songs and peaked at No. 4 on the all-genre Hot 100 — Bieber could be greeted with a busy night in Las Vegas this April.
More: Justin Bieber is now a four-time ACM Awards nominee
Kacey Musgraves
There's no denying "Rainbow's" brilliance, nor its status as one of the most universally admired songs Nashville's produced in years. But it wasn't much of a country hit, so we're slightly perplexed that it landed a nomination for Single of the Year, rather than Song.
"Fooled Around And Fell in Love"
It was already an unexpected treat when Miranda Lambert tapped her tourmates Maren Morris, Ashley McBryde, Elle King, Tenille Townes, and Caylee Hammack for an epic cover of — of all things — Elvin Bishop's 1976 hit "Fooled Around And Fell In Love." Seeing it get the nod for Music Event of the Year alongside some massive modern country hits is pure icing.
Losers Bar & Grill
Hats off to this popular bar that sits a stone's throw from Nashville's Music Row — it's nominated for Club of the Year alongside some esteemed music rooms.
This article originally appeared on The Tennessean: ACM Awards: Snubs and surprises, including Garth Brooks, Jason Aldean
