And The 49th Annual CMA Award Nominees Are...

CMA Awards Host Brad Paisley, Carrie Underwood

Little Big Town and Eric Church are the leading nominees for the Country Music Association’s “49th annual CMA Awards.”

The Tennessean reports the harmony-driven quartet and the articulate rule-breaker are tied with five nominations each.  Little Big Town was recognized in categories including Vocal Group of the Year, Album of the Year and Single of the Year for “Girl Crush” while Church picked up nods for Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year and Single of the Year for “Talladega.”

Other multiple nominees include Kenny Chesney and last year’s leading nominee Miranda Lambert who each received four mentions. Relative newcomers Sam Hunt, Maddie & Tae and Chris Stapleton along with Grammy-winner Kacey Musgraves each received three nominations.

Click Here For The Entire List of Nominees

The 2015 list of CMA Awards nominations showcases the genre’s diversity ranging from Hunt’s popular meld of country and hip-hop to Country Music Hall of Famers Garth Brooks (Entertainer of the Year) and Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson (Musical Event of the Year.)