Country music is well represented in the major categories – numerically, at least – and the overall nominee list proves once again that NARAS voters have the widest, most diverse, and yes, best taste of all industry award voters.
Here are this year’s nominees in the big four and all country and country-related categories. It’s worth noting that because Miranda Lambert won Best Country Album last year for Platinum, nothing from that set was eligible in any of the Country categories.
Album of the Year
- Alabama Shakes, Sound & Color
- Kendrick Lamar, To Pimp a Butterfly
- Chris Stapleton, Traveller
- Taylor Swift, 1989
- The Weeknd, Beauty Behind the Madness
Record of the Year
- D’Angelo and the Vanguard, “Really Love”
- Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars, “Uptown Funk”
- Ed Sheeran, “Thinking Out Loud”
- Taylor Swift, “Blank Space”
- The Weeknd, “Can’t Feel My Face”
Song of the Year
- “Alright” – Kendrick Duckworth, Mark Anthony Spears, and Pharrell Williams
- “Blank Space” – Max Martin, Shellback, and Taylor Swift
- “Girl Crush” – Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, and Liz Rose
- “See You Again” – Andrew Cedar, Justin Franks, Charles Puth, and Cameron Thomaz
- “Thinking Out Loud” – Ed Sheeran and Amy Wadge
Best New Artist
- Courtney Barnett
- James Bay
- Sam Hunt
- Tori Kelly
- Meghan Trainor
Best Country Solo Performance
- Cam, “Burning House”
- Chris Stapleton, “Traveller”
- Carrie Underwood, “Little Toy Guns”
- Keith Urban, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16”
- Lee Ann Womack, “Chances Are”
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
- Brothers Osborne, “Stay a Little Longer”
- Joey + Rory, “If I Needed You”
- Charles Kelley, Dierks Bentley, and Eric Paslay, “The Driver”
- Little Big Town, “Girl Crush”
- Blake Shelton featuring Ashley Monroe, “Lonely Tonight”
Best Country Song
- “Chances Are” – Hayes Carll
- “Diamond Rings and Old Barstools” – Barry Dean, Luke Laird, and Jonathan Singleton
- “Girl Crush” – Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna, and Liz Rose
- “Hold My Hand” – Brandy Clark and Mark Stephen Jones
- “Traveller” – Chris Stapleton
Best Country Album
- Sam Hunt, Montevallo
- Little Big Town, Pain Killer
- Ashley Monroe, The Blade
- Kacey Musgraves, Pageant Material
- Chris Stapleton, Traveller
Best American Roots Performance
- Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, “And am I Born to Die”
- Buddy Guy, “Born to Play Guitar”
- The Milk Carton Kids, “City of Our Lady”
- Punch Brothers, “Julep”
- Mavis Staples, “See That My Grave is Kept Clean”
Best American Roots Song
- “All Night Long” – Raul Malo
- “The Cost of Living” – Don Henley and Stan Lynch
- “Julep” – Chris Eldridge, Paul Kowert, Noam Pikelny, Chris Thile, and Gabe Witcher
- “The Traveling Kind” – Cory Chisel, Rodney Crowell, and Emmylou Harris
- “24 Frames” – Jason Isbell
Best Americana Album
- Brandi Carlile, The Firewatcher’s Daughter
- Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell, The Traveling Kind
- Jason Isbell, Something More Than Free
- The Mavericks, Mono
- Punch Brothers, The Phosphorescent Blues
Best Bluegrass Album
- Dale Ann Bradley, Pocket Full of Keys
- Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, Before the Sun Goes Down
- Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver, In Session
- Ralph Stanley and Friends, Man of Constant Sorrow
- The Steeldrivers, The Muscle Shoal Recordings
Best Folk Album
- Norman Blake, Wood, Wire & Words
- Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn, Béla Fleck and Abigail Washburn
- Rhiannon Giddens, Tomorrow is My Turn
- Patty Griffin, Servant of Love
- Glen Hansard, Didn’t He Ramble
Best Americana Album continues to be one of the best categories at the Grammys.
The Country noms are all over the place. It’s cool Lee Ann Womack, Ashley Monroe, and Chris Stapleton are in there, but then they have Sam Hunt in Album and give Keith Urban his obligatory nod.
Outside of the country nods, I find D’Angelo’s nom in Record really random. I love that album and would have liked to see it in Album of the Year, but “Really Love” didn’t even get in R&B Performance yet got in Record. Random.
I think Sam Hunt might actually win New Artist. Yikes. The females couple easily split the vote, and I don’t know if James Bay is known enough to win.
I’ll root for CS to win album of the year but only because Cass County was not nominated. There are other albums I also like better than Traveller but they had no realistic chance of getting nominated.
Others I hope to see win:
Cam’s “Burning House” for Best Country Solo Performance
“Hold My Hand” – Brandy Clark and Mark Stephen Jones for Best Country Song
“The Cost of Living” (Don Henry & Stan Lynch) for Best American Roots Song
Don’t understand your comment about Keith Urban’s nomination!! He deserves it and earned it. The song is awesome.