ACM nominees - no surprise - are happy

Thursday, September 9, 2021 – Academy of Country Music awards nominees were predictably happy with the news they received on Thursday.

It was a great morning for Gaby Barrett, who scored four nominations - Female and New Artist of the Year and Single and Song of the Year for "The Good Ones."

"On cloud nine, Barrett said "Oh my goodness, two seconds after I woke up, I found out that I had four nominations at the CMA Awards. Most nominated female, Are you kidding me. Thank you so much to the country music industry for voting and being so kind to me and my songs, both 'I Hope' and 'The Good Ones.' I'm so excited and truly blown away."

Brothers Osborne earned three nominations: Album of The Year for "Skeletons," Vocal Duo of the Year and Music Video of The Year for "Younger Me." TJ and John Osborne said in a joint statement that they were "Beyond honored. And a nom for Album of the Year. A big one. We put every ounce of ourselves into our current album, 'Skeletons'. The recording process was interrupted by psychological and physical struggles, a tornado, and a pandemic. Considered quitting in the middle of making this album due to exhaustion and mental health struggles. Genuinely felt like the last album we were ever going to make so we decided to put it all on the table, leaving nothing in the coffers. This industry is so rewarding yet incredibly difficult all at the same time. To any new artists out there...Stick with it. Stay patient and in the moment. Success comes to those who earn it, but happiness comes to those who enjoy it. If it's hard now, it won't be forever."

Ashley McBryde, who earned three nominations, said, ""Hot damn. I'm so excited for 'One Night Standards' to be nominated for both Song and Single of the Year, and I'm so glad to have my friends and cowriters Nicolette Hayford and Shane McAnally along for the rewarding ride this track has given us.

"Female vocalist category is stacked," she said. "I'm honored and stoked to be in this category with these women who all work so hard and entertain their asses off."

"Getting ready for the first night of the Dan + Shay tour and just found out that I'm nominated for CMA Awards's Best New Artist," said Ingrid Andress. "Today is gonna be a great day. Thank you."

Singer/songwriter Drew Parker received his first-ever CMA nomination for Song of the Year with Luke Combs' multi-week number one "Forever After All." Written by Parker alongside Combs and Robert Williford, the song is among many of Parker's major publishing credits such as Combs' fan favorite "1, 2 Many" and Jake Owen's No.1 single "Homemade." "I moved to Nashville just hoping for something as big as this," said Parker. "To be nominated for an award that has been won by many of my heroes is pretty surreal. To be nominated with two of my best friends just makes it that much better."