Male First-Time CMA Nominees in 2024
Source: Ernest performs at Little Caesars Arena on November 06, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Scott Legato/Getty Images)
Male First-Time CMA Nominees in 2024
This year’s CMA Awards features a host of heavy-hitters making a name for themselves in country music. In recognition of these emerging country artists, they were nominated for their first CMA nominations. Here’s a closer look at some of the first-time CMA nominees.
Riley Green – Musical Event of the Year: You Look Like You Love Me
Riley Green came together with Ella Langley to duet on You Look Like You Love Me, a romantic song with an old-school western country feel, netting the pair their first CMA award nomination. Green has been active in the industry for over a decade now, but has emerged as one of the best voices among today’s top country stars. The pair also collaborated on Don’t Mind if I Do.
Post Malone – Single of the Year, Song of the Year, Musical Event of the Year, Music Video of the Year: I Had Some Help
Post Malone is one of the biggest names in music, as the Grapevine, Texas native has made himself one of the most versatile musicians in the industry. While primarily know as a rapper, Malone has shown he can sing some grunge while jamming on a guitar, or infuse his music with some elements of R&B and now can put out a massive hit of a country single on the airwaves. Coming together with Morgan Wallen to make I Had Some Help netted the new-to-country star four nominations at the CMAs. We can only hope I Had Some Help and the rest of F-1 Trillion are only the beginning of Malone’s country career.
Shaboozey – Single of the Year: A Bar Song (Tipsy), New Artist of the Year
Shaboozey broke out in 2024, first appearing on a pair of tracks off of Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter, and followed his features up with a Billboard Hot 100 chart topper in A Bar Song (Tipsy). The song earned him a nomination for the “Single of the Year” award, while also picking up a nomination for the “New Artist of the Year” award. Shaboozey’s blends country and hip-hop together perfectly to give us a genre-bending country hit that’s hard to forget. The country star previously has a background in producing, song writing and rapping.
ERNEST – Song of the Year: I Had Some Help (songwriter)
While Ernest Keith Smith is a talented country artist in his own right, his first CMA nomination comes as a songwriter on Malone’s and Wallen’s I Had Some Help. Known mononymously as “ERNEST,” he also appeared on Malone’s F-1 Trillion, featuring on the track Devil I’ve Been. The country singer-songwriter continues to collaborate will several other big names in country, and put out his own music. Catch him live at 93Q Star Party Driven by Best in Texas Ford on Dec. 4 at 713 Music Hall.
Nate Smith – New Artist of the Year
Nate Smith’s nomination for “New Artist of the Year” was a long time coming. The country singer first moved to Nashville in the late 2000s to pursue a career in country music, where he opened up for larger acts at the time. He eventually left Nashville and returned home to Paradise, California, where his home would burn down in the Butte County Camp Fire in 2018. The event inspired him to write “One of These Days,” which gained enough local and national attention to convince Smith to give Nashville another shot. With his song “Wildfire” going viral on TikTok in 2020, he made his major-label debut in 2021 and released his first studio record in 2023.
Mitchell Tenpenny – New Artist of the Year
Hailing from Nashville, Mitchell Tenpenny has been active in the music scene there for a decade, starting as an independant artist and releasing his first album in 2015. He eventually signed on with Riser Records in 2016, and then entered a joint venture with Riser House and Columbia Nashville in 2018. He’s since released four studio albums, most recently The 3rd on Sept. 20.
The Red Clay Strays – Vocal Group of the Year
Originally formed as a cover band in Mobile, Alabama, the Red Clay Strays grew a strong local following at the end of the 2010s when they started performing more original material. They self released their debut album in 2022 behind crowd funding raised by their manager, and experienced a commercial breakthrough in 2023 due to their 2022 song Wondering Why going viral on TikTok. Their song Caddo Country made it on the soundtrack of the movie Twisters.
Zach Top – New Artist of the Year
Hailed by many as the man “bringing back ’90s country,” Zach Top burst into the country mainstream in 2024. Originally from Sunnyside, Washington, Top started out playing bluegrass music for various small bands, including one with his siblings called Top String. He moved to Nashville in 2021 and released his self-titled EP in 2022. He began recording country music in 2023, drawing on influences such as George Strait and Randy Travis, which led to his hit country debut single Sounds Like the Radio. Top released his first country studio album Cold Beer & Country music on April 5, and has been touring the country with several big acts since. Catch him at 93Q Star Party on Dec. 4!
Bailey Zimmerman – New Artist of the Year
From Louisville, Illinois, Bailey Zimmerman grew up influenced mainly by rock and metal acts such as Kid Rock, Nickelback and Tesla. He’d go on to work in West Virginia on a gas pipeline, before returning home to work with his stepbrother’s welding business. In late 2020 he began posting videos on TikTok of him singing, which went viral for millions of views. He released “Never Coming Home,” his debut single, in 2021, fully committing to pursuing country music full time. His hit single Rock in a Hard Place broke a Billboard Hot 100 chart record for the longest climb to the top 10 by a solo artist. His song Hell or High Water appeared on the soundtrack for Twisters.
Other first-time male nominees include:
- Andrew Baylis – Album of the Year: Whitsitt Chapel (producer)
- Louis Bell – Single of the Year, Song of the Year, Musical Event of the Year: I Had Some Help (producer)
- Brock Berryhill – Album of the Year: Whitsitt Chapel (producer)
- Tom Bukovac – Musician of the Year (guitar)
- Will Bundy – Musical Event of the Year: You Look Like You Love Me (producer)
- Sean Cook – Single of the Year: A Bar Song (Tipsy) [producer]
- Benjy Davis – Song of the Year: The Painter (songwriter)
- Shawn Everett – Album of the Year: Deeper Well (mix engineer)
- Kevin “Thrasher” Gruft – Album of the Year: Whitsitt Chapel (producer)
- Hoskins – Single of the Year, Song of the Year, Musical Event of the Year: I Had Some Help (producer)
- Jeff Johnson – Music Video of the Year: I’m Not Pretty (director)
- Noah Kahan – Musical Event of the Year: Cowboys Cry Too
- Ryan Larkins – Song of the Year: The Painter (songwriter)
- Raul Lopez – Single of the Year: A Bar Song (Tipsy) [mix engineer]
- Josh Phillips – Song of the Year: Dirt Cheap (songwriter)
- Nevin Sastry – Single of the Year: A Bar Song (Tipsy) [producer]
- Konrad Snyder – Album of the Year: Deeper Well (mix engineer)
- Chris Villa – Music Video of the Year: I Had Some Help (director)
- Chandler Paul Walters – Song of the Year: I Had Some Help (songwriter)
