Most of the awards handed out go to the artists that record the music. However, one award goes to the songwriters that wrote the hit. The nominees are listed below.

Sam Hunt’s, “Body Like a Back Road” was written by Hunt, Zach Crowell, Shane McAnally, and Josh Osborne. If you recognize some of those names it’s because they’re all prolific hitmakers in Nashville. McAnally himself has written 37 No. 1 songs. 

“Body Like a Back Road” stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard Country charts for 34 weeks. At the time, it was a record-breaking hit. Across all genres, the song was the third best-selling song in the country. Despite the song’s success, critics took several swings at the song calling it “non-traditional” country.

Chris Stapleton, who is nominated for five awards, could potentially make “Broken Halos” one of the biggest award winners of 2018. The song is written by Stapleton and Mike Henderson.

The song won Best Country Song at the 2018 Grammy’s earlier this year. Stapleton has said the song is about “people that the world lost at too young of an age.” You may think Stapleton has had a slew of No. 1 songs in his career, but this was his first to top the Country Airplay charts. 

“Drowns the Whiskey” is the only song nominated that was recorded by two solo artists. Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert teamed up to perform the song written by Josh Thompson, Brandon Kinney, and Jeff Middleton. 

The song tells the tale of how the lasting memory of a partner can be more potent than any drink of whiskey. It made it to No. 1 on the Country Airplay charts in both Canada and the U.S. It’s a good thing this song worked out because it apparently was the second one pitched to Lambert from Aldean. 

Chirs Janson ‘s “Drunk Girl” is the lone song of the nominees yet to reach No. 1 on the charts. Written by Tom Douglas, Janson himself, and Scooter Carusoe, the song is about urging men to respect women, especially when women find themselves in a vulnerable state. 

Janson told Rolling Stone he wanted to send a message to the younger generation that there are better ways to treat women. While it appears the song is written from a young man’s point of view, he says it could also be seen from a father’s perspective, too.  “If my daughters were in that position, I hope someone would treat them with respect,” he said. 

Janson also said he originally wrote the song for Tim McGraw, but his wife, Kelly, convinced him to keep it for himself. 

Song of the Year

“Body Like A Back Road,” Sam Hunt
“Broken Halos,” Chris Stapleton
“Drowns the Whiskey,” Jason Aldean feat. Miranda Lambert
“Drunk Girl,” Chris Janson
“Tequila,” Dan + Shay