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The CMA's open-armed welcome for Musgraves wasn't the only nontraditional entry among nominations. Bob Dylan earns a nod with Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show as the songwriters of "Wagon Wheel," the Dylan song sketch that Secor updated and Darius Rucker turned into a country hit. The song also is up for single of the year. Folk duo The Civil Wars, officially on hiatus, earned a nomination for vocal duo of the year again. Pop star and recent Nashville transplant Kelly Clarkson returns as female vocalist nominee. And rapper Nelly is up for musical event and single of the year on his "Cruise" mashup with Florida Georgia Line, the song that keeps on giving for Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley. They're also up for vocal duo and new artist. "You dream about just being there, and to be nominated four times is definitely a dream come true, so we're just very honored, very humbled," Kelley said. "Win or lose, we're going to celebrate. It's just going to be a great night." It should also be noted Swift and Urban wouldn't be among lead nominees without a little help from Tim McGraw. Each got three nominations apiece for their collaboration on McGraw's "Highway Don't Care"
-- single, musical event and video of the year. Carrie Underwood, McGraw, Aldean, Bryan and Little Big Town are up for three awards apiece. In another sign he's arrived, Bryan was nominated for entertainer of the year for the first time, five months after winning the same award from the rival Academy of Country Music. Underwood's "Blown Away," Shelton's "Based on a True Story" and Little Big Town's "Tornado" are up for album of the year with Swift's "Red" and Musgraves' "Same Trailer." Should Little Big Town win, it would give producer Jay Joyce a win in that category two years in a row. He took home a trophy when Eric Church's "Chief" won album of the year in 2012, and his work couldn't have been more different on LBT's harmony-laden "Tornado." "As I producer I've always considered myself pretty versatile, but I've never worked toward that or thought about it," Joyce said. "... People always want to pigeon hole you and put you in the box, and as a producer I think that can work against me having fun and having free reign with creativity." ___ Online:
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