Country female artists earned top nominations during Friday morning’s Grammy nominations announcement.
Kacey Musgraves and Maren Morris earned nominations in top categories, with Musgraves’ Golden Hour earning a nod in the overall Album of the Year category, and Morris’ collaboration on “The Middle” with Zedd and Grey earning nods in the Record of the Year and Song of the Year categories. “The Middle” was also nominated for Best Pop Group/Duo Performance.
Female country artists took three of the five Best Country Album nominations, with Kelsea Ballerini’s Unapologetically, Ashley McBryde‘s Girl Going Nowhere, and Musgraves’ Golden Hour nominated alongside Chris Stapleton‘s From A Room: Vol. 2 and Brothers Osborne‘s Port Saint Joe.
Female artists also took three of the five Best Country Solo Performance slots, with Loretta Lynn‘s “Wouldn’t It Be Great?”, Morris’ “Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters,” and Musgraves’ “Butterflies” soaring alongside Stapleton’s “Millionaire” and Keith Urban‘s “Parallel Line.”
Margo Price was nominated for the overall Best New Artist category, as was sales juggernaut Luke Combs.
In The Best Country Duo/Group Performance category, Brothers Osborne’s “Shoot Me Straight,” Dan+Shay’s “Tequila,” the Maren Morris/Vince Gill collab “Dear Hate,” Little Big Town‘s “When Someone Stops Loving You” and the Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line collaboration “Meant To Be” earned honors.
The Best Country Song honor, which is awarded to the songwriters, includes nominations for Cole Swindell‘s “Break Up In The End,” Maren Morris’ “Dear Hate,” Blake Shelton‘s “I Lived It,” Musgraves’ “Space Cowboy,” Dan+Shay’s “Tequila,” and Little Big Town’s “When Someone Stops Loving You.”
There were 21,000 submitted recordings for this year’s honors.
A full list of nominees is below:
Record Of The Year
Award to the Artist and to the Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s) and/or Mixer(s) and mastering engineer(s), if other than the artist.
I LIKE IT
Cardi B, Bad Bunny & J Balvin
Invincible, JWhiteDidIt, Craig Kallman & Tainy, producers; Leslie Brathwaite & Evan LaRay, engineers/mixers; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer
THE JOKE
Brandi Carlile
Dave Cobb & Shooter Jennings, producers; Tom Elmhirst & Eddie Spear, engineers/mixers; Pete Lyman, mastering engineer
THIS IS AMERICA
Childish Gambino
Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, producers; Derek “MixedByAli” Ali & Riley Mackin, engineers/mixers; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
GOD’S PLAN
Drake
Boi-1Da, Cardo & Young Exclusive, producers; Noel Cadastre, Noel “Gadget” Campbell & Noah Shebib, engineers/mixers; Chris Athens, mastering engineer
SHALLOW
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
Lady Gaga & Benjamin Rice, producers; Tom Elmhirst, engineer/mixer; Randy Merrill, mastering engineer
ALL THE STARS
Kendrick Lamar & SZA
Al Shux & Sounwave, producers; Sam Ricci & Matt Schaeffer, engineers/mixers; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
ROCKSTAR
Post Malone Featuring 21 Savage
Louis Bell & Tank God, producers; Louis Bell & Manny Marroquin, engineers/mixers; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
THE MIDDLE
Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey
Grey, Monsters & Strangerz & Zedd, producers; Grey, Tom Morris, Ryan Shanahan & Zedd, engineers/mixers; Mike Marsh, mastering engineer
Album Of The Year
Award to Artist(s) and to Featured Artist(s), Songwriter(s) of new material, Producer(s), Recording Engineer(s), Mixer(s) and Mastering Engineer(s) credited with at least 33% playing time of the album, if other than Artist.
INVASION OF PRIVACY
Cardi B
Leslie Brathwaite & Evan LaRay, engineers/mixers; Belcalis Almanzar & Jorden Thorpe, songwriters; Colin Leonard, mastering engineer
BY THE WAY, I FORGIVE YOU
Brandi Carlile
Dave Cobb & Shooter Jennings, producers; Dave Cobb & Eddie Spear, engineers/mixers; Brandi Carlile, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters; Pete Lyman, mastering engineer
SCORPION
Drake
Noel Cadastre, Noel “Gadget” Campbell & Noah Shebib, engineers/mixers; Aubrey Graham & Noah Shebib, songwriters; Chris Athens, mastering engineer
H.E.R.
H.E.R.
Darhyl “Hey DJ” Camper Jr, H.E.R. & Jeff Robinson, producers; Miki Tsutsumi, engineer/mixer; Darhyl Camper Jr & H.E.R., songwriters; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer
BEERBONGS & BENTLEYS
Post Malone
Louis Bell & Post Malone, producers; Louis Bell & Manny Marroquin, engineers/mixers; Louis Bell & Austin Post, songwriters; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
DIRTY COMPUTER
Janelle Monáe
Chuck Lightning & Janelle Monáe Robinson & Nate “Rocket” Wonder, producers; Mick Guzauski, Janelle Monáe Robinson & Nate “Rocket” Wonder, engineers/mixers; Nathaniel Irvin III, Charles Joseph II, Taylor Parks & Janelle Monáe Robinson, songwriters; Dave Kutch, mastering engineer
GOLDEN HOUR
Kacey Musgraves
Ian Fitchuk, Kacey Musgraves & Daniel Tashian, producers; Craig Alvin & Shawn Everett, engineers/mixers; Ian Fitchuk, Kacey Musgraves & Daniel Tashian, songwriters; Greg Calbi & Steve Fallone, mastering engineers
BLACK PANTHER: THE ALBUM, MUSIC FROM AND INSPIRED BY
(Various Artists)
Kendrick Lamar, featured artist; Kendrick Duckworth & Sounwave, producers; Matt Schaeffer, engineer/mixer; Kendrick Duckworth & Mark Spears, songwriters; Mike Bozzi, mastering engineer
Song Of The Year
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
ALL THE STARS
Kendrick Duckworth, Solána Rowe, Al Shuckburgh, Mark Spears & Anthony Tiffith, songwriters (Kendrick Lamar & SZA)
BOO’D UP
Larrance Dopson, Joelle James, Ella Mai & Dijon McFarlane, songwriters (Ella Mai)
GOD’S PLAN
Aubrey Graham, Daveon Jackson, Brock Korsan, Ron LaTour, Matthew Samuels & Noah Shebib, songwriters (Drake)
IN MY BLOOD
Teddy Geiger, Scott Harris, Shawn Mendes & Geoffrey Warburton, songwriters (Shawn Mendes)
THE JOKE
Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters (Brandi Carlile)
THE MIDDLE
Sarah Aarons, Jordan K. Johnson, Stefan Johnson, Marcus Lomax, Kyle Trewartha, Michael Trewartha & Anton Zaslavski, songwriters (Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey)
SHALLOW
Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson, Anthony Rossomando & Andrew Wyatt, songwriters (Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper)
THIS IS AMERICA
Donald Glover & Ludwig Goransson, songwriters (Childish Gambino)
Best New Artist
An artist will be considered for Best New Artist if their eligibility year release/s achieved a breakthrough into the public consciousness and notably impacted the musical landscape.
CHLOE X HALLE
LUKE COMBS
GRETA VAN FLEET
H.E.R.
DUA LIPA
MARGO PRICE
BEBE REXHA
JORJA SMITH
Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative pop recordings. Singles or Tracks only.
FALL IN LINE
Christina Aguilera Featuring Demi Lovato
DON’T GO BREAKING MY HEART
Backstreet Boys
‘S WONDERFUL
Tony Bennett & Diana Krall
SHALLOW
Lady Gaga & Bradley Cooper
GIRLS LIKE YOU
Maroon 5 Featuring Cardi B
SAY SOMETHING
Justin Timberlake Featuring Chris Stapleton
THE MIDDLE
Zedd, Maren Morris & Grey
Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new traditional pop recordings.
LOVE IS HERE TO STAY
Tony Bennett & Diana Krall
MY WAY
Willie Nelson
NAT “KING” COLE & ME
Gregory Porter
STANDARDS (DELUXE)
Seal
THE MUSIC…THE MEM’RIES…THE MAGIC!
Barbra Streisand
Best Pop Vocal Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new vocal pop recordings.
CAMILA
Camila Cabello
MEANING OF LIFE
Kelly Clarkson
SWEETENER
Ariana Grande
SHAWN MENDES
Shawn Mendes
BEAUTIFUL TRAUMA
P!nk
REPUTATION
Taylor Swift
Best Country Solo Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo country recordings.
WOULDN’T IT BE GREAT?
Loretta Lynn
MONA LISAS AND MAD HATTERS
Maren Morris
BUTTERFLIES
Kacey Musgraves
MILLIONAIRE
Chris Stapleton
PARALLEL LINE
Keith Urban
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative country recordings.
SHOOT ME STRAIGHT
Brothers Osborne
TEQUILA
Dan + Shay
WHEN SOMEONE STOPS LOVING YOU
Little Big Town
DEAR HATE
Maren Morris Featuring Vince Gill
MEANT TO BE
Bebe Rexha & Florida Georgia Line
Best Country Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
BREAK UP IN THE END
Jessie Jo Dillon, Chase McGill & Jon Nite, songwriters (Cole Swindell)
DEAR HATE
Tom Douglas, David Hodges & Maren Morris, songwriters (Maren Morris Featuring Vince Gill)
I LIVED IT
Rhett Akins, Ross Copperman, Ashley Gorley & Ben Hayslip, songwriters (Blake Shelton)
SPACE COWBOY
Luke Laird, Shane McAnally & Kacey Musgraves, songwriters (Kacey Musgraves)
TEQUILA
Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Reynolds & Dan Smyers, songwriters (Dan + Shay)
WHEN SOMEONE STOPS LOVING YOU
Hillary Lindsey, Chase McGill & Lori McKenna, songwriters (Little Big Town)
Best Country Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new country recordings.
UNAPOLOGETICALLY
Kelsea Ballerini
PORT SAINT JOE
Brothers Osborne
GIRL GOING NOWHERE
Ashley McBryde
GOLDEN HOUR
Kacey Musgraves
FROM A ROOM: VOLUME 2
Chris Stapleton
Best Contemporary Christian Music Performance/Song
This award is given to the artist(s) and songwriter(s) (for new compositions) for the best contemporary Christian pop, Christian rap/hip-hop, or Christian rock single or track.
RECKLESS LOVE
Cory Asbury; Cory Asbury, Caleb Culver & Ran Jackson, songwriters
YOU SAY
Lauren Daigle; Lauren Daigle, Jason Ingram & Paul Mabury, songwriters
JOY.
for KING & COUNTRY; Ben Glover, Matt Hales, Stephen Blake Kanicka, Seth Moslely, Joel Smallbone, Luke Smallbone & Tedd Tjornhom, songwriters
GRACE GOT YOU
MercyMe Featuring John Reuben; David Garcia, Ben Glover, MercyMe, Solomon Olds & John Reuben, songwriters
KNOWN
Tauren Wells; Ethan Hulse, Jordan Sapp & Tauren Wells, songwriters
38. Best Gospel Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional or contemporary/R&B gospel music recordings.
ONE NATION UNDER GOD
Jekalyn Carr
HIDING PLACE
Tori Kelly
MAKE ROOM
Jonathan McReynolds
THE OTHER SIDE
The Walls Group
A GREAT WORK
Brian Courtney Wilson
Best Contemporary Christian Music Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, contemporary Christian music, including pop, rap/hip hop, or rock recordings.
LOOK UP CHILD
Lauren Daigle
HALLELUJAH HERE BELOW
Elevation Worship
LIVING WITH A FIRE
Jesus Culture
SURROUNDED
Michael W. Smith
SURVIVOR: LIVE FROM HARDING PRISON
Zach Williams
Best Roots Gospel Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of newly recorded, vocal, traditional/roots gospel music, including country, Southern gospel, bluegrass, and Americana recordings.
UNEXPECTED
Jason Crabb
CLEAR SKIES
Ernie Haase & Signature Sound
FAVORITES: REVISITED BY REQUEST
The Isaacs
STILL STANDING
The Martins
LOVE LOVE LOVE
Gordon Mote
Best American Roots Performance
For new vocal or instrumental American Roots recordings. This is for performances in the style of any of the subgenres encompassed in the American Roots Music field including Americana, bluegrass, blues, folk or regional roots. Award to the artist(s).
KICK ROCKS
Sean Ardoin
SAINT JAMES INFIRMARY BLUES
Jon Batiste
THE JOKE
Brandi Carlile
ALL ON MY MIND
Anderson East
LAST MAN STANDING
Willie Nelson
Best American Roots Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. Includes Americana, bluegrass, traditional blues, contemporary blues, folk or regional roots songs. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
ALL THE TROUBLE
Waylon Payne, Lee Ann Womack & Adam Wright, songwriters (Lee Ann Womack)
BUILD A BRIDGE
Jeff Tweedy, songwriter (Mavis Staples)
THE JOKE
Brandi Carlile, Dave Cobb, Phil Hanseroth & Tim Hanseroth, songwriters (Brandi Carlile)
KNOCKIN’ ON YOUR SCREEN DOOR
Pat McLaughlin & John Prine, songwriters (John Prine)
SUMMER’S END
Pat McLaughlin & John Prine, songwriters (John Prine)
Best Americana Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new vocal or instrumental Americana recordings.
BY THE WAY, I FORGIVE YOU
Brandi Carlile
THINGS HAVE CHANGED
Bettye LaVette
THE TREE OF FORGIVENESS
John Prine
THE LONELY, THE LONESOME & THE GONE
Lee Ann Womack
ONE DROP OF TRUTH
The Wood Brothers
Best Bluegrass Album
For albums containing at least 51% playing time of new vocal or instrumental bluegrass recordings.
PORTRAITS IN FIDDLES
Mike Barnett
SISTER SADIE II
Sister Sadie
RIVERS AND ROADS
Special Consensus
THE TRAVELIN’ MCCOURYS
The Travelin’ McCourys
NORTH OF DESPAIR
Wood & Wire
About the Author
Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.View Author Profile