Eric Church, Chris Stapleton lead 2021 CMA Awards nominees

Sept. 9 (UPI) -- The Country Music Association has announced the nominees for its 2021 CMA Awards.

Eric Church and Chris Stapleton lead the field with five nominations each: Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year, Album of the Year and Song of the Year.

Gabby Barrett follows with four nominations: Female Vocalist of the Year, New Artist of the Year, Single of the Year and Song of the Year. Mixing engineer Jason Hall and producer Jay Joyce also received four nominations each.

Other nominees include Kane Brown, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Ashley McBryde, Brothers Osborne, Luke Combs and Chris Young.

"This year, we have the opportunity to honor the superstars, new artists and emerging creators who are paving the way for Country Music," CMA CEO Sarah Trahern said in a statement. "These nominees exemplify the creativity, passion and heart that make our Country Music community unlike any other genre. The breadth of voices is evident in this year's nominations, and we could not be more thrilled to celebrate our deserving nominees in November!"

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The #CMAawards ENTERTAINER of the Year nominees are... ✨ @EricChurch ✨ @LukeCombs ✨ @MirandaLambert ✨ @ChrisStapleton ✨ @CarrieUnderwood pic.twitter.com/I5FvRyJQ9j— CMA Country Music (@CountryMusic) September 9, 2021