The Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards nominees were released Thursday, and they appear to break with the mainstream trend in recent awards shows.
The ACM Awards clearly have more stones than the Grammys and the CMT Awards, as top-selling, record-breaking country music artist Morgan Wallen received nominations in a bunch of categories! Wallen has been all but blacklisted from the mainstream music industry after he was caught using a racial slur in 2021, something he has more than apologized for in the years since.
Still, that hasn’t stopped him from becoming the most popular country music artist in the U.S. And the ACM Awards clearly understand Wallen’s importance to the genre.
The Music Industry Will Hate How Much Sway Morgan Wallen Has Over Young Americans | @DailyCaller
@MorganWallenThere is hope for the next generation after all. https://t.co/B6Fs0TGPw5
— KAY SMYTHE (@KaySmythe) April 12, 2023
Wallen is up for “Entertainer of the Year,” “Male Artist of the Year,” as well as being nominated for “Song of the Year” for his hit, “Sand in my Boots,” according to Billboard. He also earned himself an “Artist-Songwriter of The Year” nomination, but neither of his best-selling albums got the recognition they deserve.
So, while I give props to the ACM Awards for speaking for actual Americans (instead of industry fun-police slugs who won’t give Wallen the credit he deserves), snubbing his albums still feels really cheap. (RELATED: Rising Country Music Star Reveals One Major Change That Revolutionized His Career)
Oh, and remember when I said Bailey Zimmerman was going to be the next big thing in country music? Well, I was right! He got himself a nomination for “New Male Artist of the Year.”