Chris Stapleton is hoping to repeat his Album of the Year win in 2017 with another trophy this year. Last year, Stapleton took home the award for his record From a Room: Volume 1. This year, that album’s predecessor is nominated.
From a Room: Volume 2 debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard charts. The album gets its name from the studio it was recorded in, RCA Studio A.
Kacey Musgraves, the lone woman nominated in the category, hopes to bring home the award for Golden Hour. The record debuted at No. 4 on the Billboard charts. Musgraves either wrote or co-wrote all 13 songs on the album, which was nothing new for her.
The mood of the album, however, was different. Most of her past albums have been more melancholy, but this one has several love songs on it. It’s probably because she was recent;y married when she was writing the songs.
The album was Musgraves’ third album to debut at the No. 1 on the Country Albums chart.
Keith Urban is nominated for his album Graffiti U, his 11th studio album.
Urban released the album’s first single, “Female,” during the CMA Awards last year. The song didn’t make it into the top 10 in the charts, but it received a lot of positive reviews. However, when his album was released, some critics called Urban out because other tracks on the album contradicted the empowering message of “Female.”
Despite the criticisms, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Country Album charts, the musician’s sixth album to do so.
Thomas, who was newcomer just a few years ago, is nominated for his album Life Changes.
And boy, did his life change a lot recently. The singer and his wife have welcomed a baby girl and adopted a little girl from Uganda since his last album was released.
The album was a huge success, too. It was the first country album to reach the top of the Billboard charts and the Country Album charts. The album’s first single, “Craving You,” which he performed with Maren Morris, also topped the Country Charts. Two more songs on the album went to No.1, and another song finished in the top five. Rhett was also nominated for Album of the Year at the Grammy’s and the ACMs.
Dierks Bentley, an artist that’s no stranger to this list, is nominated for his record The Mountain.
The Mountain was inspired by the state of Colorado, and the song’s first single, “Woman Amen,” was written for Bentley’s wife.
From a sale’s perspective, it has been Bentley’s most successful album. It also debuted in the top five of the Billboard charts and at No. 1 on the Country Albums chart. It’s Bentley’s ninth top 10 record.