Thomas Rhett Shares What CMA Nominations Mean to Him

Thomas Rhett is nominated for three awards at this year's CMA Awards, earning nods for Male Vocalist of the Year, Music Video of the Year and Album of the Year for his 2017 record Life Changes.

Speaking to PopCulture.com and other media recently, Rhett shared that being nominated for Album of the Year is a special honor for him due to the caliber of that specific award.

"I think besides being nominated for Entertainer of the Year, I feel like the album is the pinnacle, because it's not just being nominated for a song, or a performance, or a video, it's being nominated for an entire project," he said.

The Georgia native added that he was happy to see the work he and his team put into making the record recognized by the Country Music Association.

"So much work that no one ever knows about goes into making an album; whether it's picking the songs, writing the songs, recording them, doing 12 photo shoots to find the right smile for an album cover, and album art, all that kind of stuff, for the CMA to recognize that amongst those other records that I have listened to over and over again, it really is a special thing for that album to be nominated," he explained.

The father of two previously nabbed a CMA Awards win for Song of the Year in 2016 for "Die a Happy Man," and this year marks his first nomination in the Album of the Year category.

Rhett was recently announced as a performer on the broadcast, and the singer will likely hit the stage with his new single, "Sixteen," which details the 28-year-old's life from age 16 until now and tackles topics like drinking and marriage.

"'Sixteen' is just one of those songs about growing up, whether you're 15 or whether you're 92, I think you can relate to this song in a few different ways," Rhett shared. "Whether it's wanting to rush through life when you're 15, or really wanting to go back to being 16 when you're 92, I think that everybody can relate to this song in some form or fashion."

Other CMA Awards performers include Brothers Osborne, Florida Georgia Line with Bebe Rexha, Kacey Musgraves, Pistol Annies, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Dan + Shay, Old Dominion, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood.

The CMA Awards will air live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo Credit: Getty / Taylor Hill