McGraw and Lambert each received seven nominations, while Urban received six. Other top nominees include Lee Brice, Kacey Musgraves, Blake Shelton, and Taylor Swift, who each received five nominations; the groups Florida Georgia Line and Lady Antebellum, which each received four; and Luke Bryan and Darius Rucker, who each received three.

Nominees this year for Entertainer of the Year, the ACM's highest honor, are Lambert, Shelton, Swift, Bryan (the ACM's currently reigning Entertainer of the Year) and George Strait. This is a fan-voted category; voting begins Monday, March 24 at 3pm ET at VoteACM.com, and it closes during the live ACM Awards broadcast, which takes place Sunday, April 6 on CBS. Voting is also currently open on that same site for the previously announced list of New Artist of the Year semi-finalists.

Strait was nominated in just one category (Entertainer of the Year), as was Jason Aldean, who has been an Entertainer of the Year nominee in years past. Aldean earned a Male Vocalist of the Year nomination, a category he won last year.

Brice set a new personal record for nominations this year, earning a total of five, including Male Vocalist of the Year, his first time in that prestigious category. Musgraves earned her second Female Vocalist of the Year nomination, as well as Album of the Year honors for her GRAMMY-winning Same Trailer, Different Park.