CMA Awards 2014: Miranda Lambert leads nominations with 9 nods

Miranda Lambert leads this year’s CMA Awards nominations with nine nods in seven categories.

Miranda Lambert, 30, is up for evening’s most prestigious honor, entertainer of the year, with husband Blake Shelton.

The singer is also vying for her fifth consecutive female vocalist of the year trophy.

Miranda Lambert also has nominations in major categories including album of the year, for Platinum, as well as song and single of the year for Automatic.

Only Alan Jackson previously had more nominations in a single year, with 10 nods in 2002.

“I woke up in NYC this morning to such great news!” Miranda Lambert told the Associated Press.

“Not only am I so happy to be nominated, but I’m happy to celebrate my husband’s and friends’ nominations.”

Miranda Lambert’s nine nominations puts her definitively ahead of the rest of this year’s contenders. Dierks Bentley earned five nominations and Eric Church and Keith Urban have four apiece.

Dierks Bentley’s five nominations mark a career best for the singer, whose latest album marks the death of his father and birth of his son.

“It was totally unexpected,” said Dierks Bentley.

“Dude, I’m not the guy who gets nominated. I’m the guy who knows the guy who gets nominated.”

Keith Urban, George Strait and Luke Bryan join Miranda Lambert in the high-profile entertainer of the year category.

“The criteria for entertainer is a mix of things, but I guess for me I’ve always considered it to be hopefully, primarily, about the kind of show that we put on and entertaining people at the live concerts,” Keith Urban told the Associated Press.

“I know it’s about more than that, but for me it’s really been about that, about putting on a tour,” said Urban, a judge of TV talent show American Idol.

Keith Urban and Luke Bryan also go to head-to-head for album of the year with Fuse and Crash My Party respectively. Dierks Bentley’s Riser and Church’s The Outsiders complete the nominees.

Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley will host the awards ceremony on November 5 in Nashville, Tennessee.