The official nominations for the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards were announced on Tuesday (April 9), and while Luke Combs, Megan Moroney, Morgan Wallen and more are among the top nominees at “Country Music’s Party of the Year,” which will take place at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas on May 16th. The annual nominations for this show are often a very telling snapshot of who ranked as a truly significant name in country music that year. Even so, it came as a surprise that one much-discussed name didn’t appear on this year’s ACM Awards ballot.
In 2023, the then-23-year-old Bailey Zimmerman was nominated for New Male Artist of the Year at the Academy of Country Music Awards, ultimately falling short to Zach Bryan. The ACM Awards allow an artist to be nominated twice during three years, meaning that he was eligible for the New Male Artist of the Year category yet again; however, the nominees consisted of Conner Smith, Kameron Marlowe, Dylan Scott, ERNEST, and Nate Smith instead, with the latter three being nominated for the second year in a row. On the strength of his first full-length LP, Bailey enjoyed a commercially significant 2023, which arguably gave him an even better case for this award than last year; as such, fans were left wondering why he was completely shut out in the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards nominations.
By any metric, Zimmerman had a pretty, bombastic year, with some fans, myself included, making the case that he saw more commercial growth than any other act in the format. Months after the single “Religiously” earned Bailey his third consecutive #1 single at country radio, the Illinois native broke the record for the most-streamed debut country album of all time in 2023. Telling tales of love, loss, and heartbreak (so much heartbreak), Religiously makes you believe he’s more than the goofy dude-bro he usually presents as. With a gravelly rock tinge to his voice, Zimmerman is easy to recognize in a crowd of similar country stars, and in 2023, he made every release count. As 2023 drew close, “Rock and a Hard Place was the most-played single of the year on country radio.
Zimmerman’s stage presence and singing ability in his live performances have also improved drastically since his debut, leading the budding star to sell out his entire spring headlining tour. In a short period, he’s gained a charm and charisma on stage akin to his current tour-mate Morgan Wallen. With a compelling stage presence and a small bevy of hit songs to lean on, it’s easy to see Zimmerman as the whole package.
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Ultimately, this comes down to the fact that Zimmerman deserves the Best New Male Artist award more than much of the field. A fair case can be made for ERNEST and Dylan Scott’s names on this ballot; however, stacking up the “Fall In Love” singer’s momentum against Conner Smith, Kameron Marlowe, or Nate Smith, there’s hardly a comparison. These three country newcomers have also seen some success, but put together; they have two career platinum singles and two #1s on country radio. In 2023 alone, Bailey Zimmerman accrued three multi-platinum singles, a #1 album, and two #1 singles on country radio.
All in all, getting snubbed in the New Male Artist of the Year category and failing to receive a nomination in any other category feels like an obvious oversight.
While Zimmerman might not be nominated, country music fans can stream the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards via Prime Video on May 16th to see who will ultimately take home the New Male Artist of the Year trophy and other ACM Awards. If I had to guess, Ernest would be crowned the champion, but we would just have to wait and see what the award show has in store.
