Dustin Lynch Responds to Not Receiving an ACM Nomination

When the ACM nominees were announced last week, country singer Dustin Lynch didn’t find himself on the list, something he was understandably disappointed to hear.

In a clip shared with fans on Instagram, the singer filmed himself watching the nominations roll in.

“Here we go! I’m live,” he said from a hotel room in Arizona. When the nominees were announced for Single Record of the Year, however, Lynch’s excitement slowly ebbed as he failed to hear his name.

“Well, we successfully didn’t get nominated again,” the singer told a friend on the phone. “Career-changing song. I don’t get it. What am I missing?”

The 32-year-old was referencing his latest single, “Small Town Boy,” which spent four weeks at No. 1. Due to the success, it’s certainly surprising that the singer didn’t receive any recognition for the track, which was his third platinum single and fifth consecutive No. 1 song.

“It just sucks. It’s like we’re playing with one, maybe two hands tied behind our back,” Lynch continued. “I don’t get it.”

He concluded, “It changes nothing about today or how we go about it. Bummer, man. Worked freaking hard for this. Sucks.”

While many artists don’t receive well-deserved nominations for their work, it’s rare to see a singer speak so candidly about that disappointment, as Lynch did. During his career, Lynch has been nominated just once for an ACM — for New Artist of the Year in 2014 — so it’s clear he’s been hoping to score another.

The post is the latest in a series of videos Lynch began after wiping his Instagram clean in an effort to better connect with fans.

“[I want to] make a little bit more of a personal connection … you’re going to hear a lot of insecurities,” he said in the first episode. “I’m just going to talk about how I’m feeling. I hope you enjoy the real me.”

The 2018 ACM Awards will air live from Las Vegas on April 15 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

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