WME Nashville Co-Heads Celebrate Dominance in the Country Sphere, as Seen in ACM Awards Nods
variety.comChris Willman Music WriterWhen the entertainer of the year prize is handed out at tonight’s Academy of Country Music Awards in Las Vegas, the odds strongly favor a WME Nashville client picking up the climactic trophy.
That’s because the agency has four of the five nominees, between Eric Church, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert and Chris Stapleton.
Historically, the odds are in WME’s favor: the agency has claimed the ACM entertainer winner seven out of the last 10 years.Other WME clients will figure strongly in the night, too, as the company’s roster includes three out of five female artist nominees (Lambert, Ashley McBryde and Gabby Barrett), three out of five male artist contenders (Stapletion, Combs and Thomas Rhett — and it would have been four if the agency hadn’t parted ways with Morgan Wallen last year), three of five duo nominees (Brothers Osborne, LoCash and Brooks & Dunn), four out of five female new artist nominees (Lainey Wilson, Caityn Smith, Lily Rose, Tenille Arts) and two male new artist contenders (Walker Hayes and Parker McCollom).
And then, if you look at the single of the year category, there are eight nominees, because of three duets being nominated. Seven of the eight are WME clients — including Luke Bryan, Jordan Davis, Jason Aldean and Kane Brown, along with the night’s leading nominee, Chris Young, in addition to Stapleton and Hayes. (Not nominated, but quickly on the upswing and featured on the ACMs show tonight, is Breland, collaborating with Rhett.)So, suffice it to say, Nashville office co-heads Jay Williams, Becky Gardenhire and Joey Lee have a rooting interest and will not be taking the night off to see “The Batman.” Variety spoke exclusively with the trio of toppers last week for their first.
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