Lainey Wilson Is Runaway CMA Awards Leader With Nine Nominations; Jelly Roll Follows With Five
variety.comChris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic CMA Awards voters love Lainey Wilson. The singer ran far ahead of the pack as nominations for the 57th annual Country Music Association Awards were announced Thursday, picking up nine nods, nearly twice as many as the nearest finisher, Jelly Roll, who got five.
Luke Combs and Hardy followed with four apiece. Part of the hat trick Wilson pulled off was landing a nomination for the top prize, entertainer of the year.
The CMA tends to make up-and-coming artists wait until they have been headlining arenas for a while before they are admitted into that august category, even if they lead the field of nominees otherwise.
But Wilson picked up her entertainer of the year nod while she is only on her second major-label album and has still mostly been an opener on the biggest bills, indicating just how quickly Nashville has embraced her as a mascot for the future of country music.
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