2023 ACM Awards

As the final nominees for the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards were announced Thursday (April 13), there were the usual number of expected names, as well as a handful of surprises and snubs.
The eligibility period for nominations ran Nov. 16, 2021-Dec. 31, 2022. The ceremony will stream live on Amazon’s Prime Video from Frisco, Texas, on May 11.

Here is a look at some of the year’s notable surprises and snubs.

Snub: Jelly Roll swept the CMT Music Awards earlier this month, and given how ascendent his star seems to be, it was shocking that he didn’t nab a single nomination — not even for new male artist of the year, which is overstuffed with six acts. Jelly Roll, who broke Billboard’s record for number of weeks at No. 1 on the Emerging Artists chart in February when he hit 25 weeks, also seemed like a contender for a song of the year nod after his confessional “Son of a Sinner” hit No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart.

Surprise: Jason Aldean is no stranger to the winner’s circle, having taken home 15 ACM Awards, including artist of the decade in 2018. He’s even won entertainer of the year before three consecutive years, 2015-17. However, he had fallen out of the category after 2018 and makes a return for the first time in five years this year for his only nomination.

Snub: Maren Morris had a solid six-year run of female artist of the year nominations — including winning at the 2020 ceremony — but her streak is broken this year, perhaps because she is off album cycle. The ACMs have shown her plenty of love in the past, as she’s taken home six trophies over the last several years in a number of categories.

Surprise: Prolific songwriter Ashley Gorley has more than 50 No. 1s to his credit, so his inclusion for penning a song of the year entry is no surprise. However, he pulls off a  hat trick, capturing three nominations in the category for co-writing Chris Stapleton’s “You Should Probably Leave,” Cole Swindell’s “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” and Morgan Wallen’s “Sand in My Boots.” He is the only non-performing songwriter to ever land a trio of songs in the category in one year. Songwriter/artists Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson achieved the feat in 1968 and 1971, respectively.

Surprise: Cole Swindell has received only two ACM nominations in his career, including for new artist in 2015, which he won. He’s making up for lost time this year with five nominations, including song and single of the year for “She Had Me at Heads Carolina.” 

Snub: Similar to Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett has been a contender for six years running — in this case for male artist of the year — but he drops off the list this year. He’s not completely shut out, however, as he earns a nomination for song of the year as a co-writer on “She Had Me at Heads Carolina.”

Surprise: Not only is Kane Brown one of the leading nominees with five nods, but a very pleasant surprise is that he scores two nominations for the first time — including the prestigious entertainer of the year. It marks the first time in 50 years that a biracial or Black artist has been nominated in the category since Charley Pride in 1972. Brown, who previously won video of the year for “Worldwide Beautiful,” also snags his first male artist of the year nomination.