Brothers Osborne Admit Surprise at Multiple CMA Awards Nominations (Exclusive)

Sibling duo Brothers Osborne, made up of John and TJ Osborne, is heading into the CMA Awards with the second most nominations of the night, with four nods. The pair, which has won a total of four CMA trophies so far, was blown away to receive so many nominations.

“We certainly didn’t expect that,” TJ told PopCulture.com. “We kind of thought we would be nominated in the duo category, considering we just won it last year. But there will be a time that we won’t be, so we try to never take it for granted, because there will absolutely be a morning I wake up and we got zero nominations. That we even have one, it was a huge morning in the Osborne house, and waking up with four of them was certainly a huge surprise.”

Brothers Osborne is also nominated for Music Video of the Year and Single of the Year, both for “Burning Man” with Dierks Bentley, as well as Musical Event of the Year, for “All My Favorite People” with Maren Morris. But having to give multiple acceptance speeches doesn’t make either of them nearly as nervous as the events leading up to the CMA Awards do.

“I get more anxious about the red carpet than anything else,” John admitted while on the red carpet at the ASCAP Awards. “If you win an award, you just have to go on stage, 30 seconds to talk is kind of nerve-racking. This is what gives me anxiety.”

Brothers Osborne might not have anticipated so many CMA Awards nominations, but they do acknowledge that they put plenty of hard work into 2019, which makes the accolades that much sweeter.

“I think you can’t anticipate anything,” John noted. “You can try, but what’s the fun in that? If you’re wrong, then you’re let down. If you’re right, then you’re not surprised. Don’t even have expectations. Work hard, enjoy yourself, be good to people, and then when things happen, it should be an added bonus. We’re obviously very grateful.

“I would say we’ve earned everything we have,” he added. “I feel like we deserved the success, just by the man hours we put into it, but you don’t try to expect these things. You just do the best you can and try to enjoy it.”

Still, both TJ and John acknowledge that there is nothing quite like knowing you could hear your name as a CMA Awards winner.

“You’ll have your cool about you,” said John. “You’re like, ‘Okay, our award is coming.’ And then as soon as they say, ‘Brothers Osborne,’ you’re like, ‘Oh God.’ Even if we lose or win, it’s still like, ‘What’s about to happen?’ It’s like you’re about to go down a roller coaster in either direction.”

The 2019 CMA Awards will air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, Nov. 13, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo Credit: Getty / Jeffrey Mayer