2020 ACM Awards Surprises and Snubs

The 2020 ACM Awards nominations were announced on Thursday, Feb. 27, with Maren Morris and Thomas Rhett leading this year’s nominees with five nods each.

While many of the expected names were on the ballot, there were a few who stood out, both for their inclusion and exclusion. From first-time nominees to major names who didn’t make the ballot this year, keep reading for some of this year’s snubs and surprises.

Surprise: The Highwomen

A pleasant surprise was the inclusion of The Highwomen in the Vocal Group of the Year category, giving the supergroup, comprised of Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby, Maren Morris and Amanda Shires, their first major award nomination. The group released their debut album in September 2019 and will support Chris Stapleton for one show on his tour this year.

Snub: Jason Aldean

Aldean, who was crowned the ACM Artist of the Decade during last year’s ceremony, was absent from every category this year despite the fact the he released his ninth studio album, 9, in November 2019 and headlined his Ride All Night Tour throughout the year as well.

Surprise: Lindsay Ell and Jordan Davis

Both Ell and Davis scored nominations in the New Female Artist of the Year and New Male Artist of the Year categories, categories both of them were nominated in last year, which should essentially render them new artists no longer.

Snub: Carly Pearce

A few years out from the new artist categories, Pearce is now a contender for Female Artist of the Year and could have made it on the 2020 ballot due to several singles released in the lead-up to her sophomore album and her co-headlining Way Back Tour, which she shared with Russell Dickerson.

Surprise: ‘Old Town Road’

While Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus’ “Old Town Road” is fully within the eligibility window for this year’s ACMs, it seems like a surprise only due to the fact that the song was so big for so long that it seems like it has been a part of our collective consciousness for so much longer than just over one year. After arriving on the charts to some controversy in December 2018, it has since become the longest running Billboard No. 1 and earned itself two Grammys at this year’s awards.

Snub: Blake Shelton

Shelton’s single “God’s Country” earned three nominations this year and the singer earned another for his duet with Garth Brooks, “Dive Bar,” but it can be argued that he also deserved a spot in the Male Artist of the Year category as well. Last year, the Oklahoma native headlined his Friends & Heroes 2019 Tour and released the compilation album Fully Loaded: God’s Country, which contains the hit single.

Photo Credit: Getty / David Becker