Vince Gill received eight nominations Thursday for Country Music Association awards and Alan Jackson was nominated for seven.
Garth Brooks was voted a finalist for his third straight entertainer of the year award among his four nominations.Billy Ray Cyrus, who shot to fame a year ago for his "Achy Breaky Heart," didn't receive a single nomination.
Gill, who turned to music after flirting with a pro golf career, was nominated for entertainer of the year, top male vocalist, best single and music video for "Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away," No. 1 album for "I Still Believe in You" and song of the year for "I Still Believe in You."
He also was nominated twice for vocal event of the year: his collaboration with friend Reba McEntire in "The Heart Won't Lie" and the other with George Jones and an ensemble of country kings in "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair."
Gill's eight nominations are the most since Merle Haggard received nine in 1970.
Jackson was boosted by his feel-good summer hit, "Chattahoochee," which is about frolicking on a Georgia river. The song earned him nominations for single, video and song of the year.
Jackson also is a finalist for entertainer of the year, best male vocalist, No. 1 album for "A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'Bout Love) and vocal event for "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair."
Finalists were chosen in 12 categories by 7,000 professionals in the country music industry. Winners will be announced during the nationally televised CMA awards show Sept. 29.
Finalists for the awards are:
Entertainer of the Year: Brooks & Dunn; Garth Brooks; Vince Gill; Alan Jackson; Reba McEntire.
Male Vocalist of the Year: John Anderson; Garth Brooks; Vince Gill; Alan Jackson; George Strait.
Female Vocalist of the Year: Mary-Chapin Carpenter; Wynonna Judd; Reba McEntire; Pam Tillis; Tanya Tucker.
Single of the Year: "Ain't That Lonely Yet," Dwight Yoakam; "Chattahoochee," Alan Jackson; "Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away," Vince Gill; "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair," George Jones; "Two Sparrows in a Hurricane," Tanya Tucker.
Album of the Year: "A Lot About Livin' (And a Little 'Bout Love)," Alan Jackson; "The Chase," Garth Brooks; "Come On Come On," Mary-Chapin Carpenter; "Hard Workin' Man," Brooks & Dunn; "I Still Believe in You," Vince Gill.
Vocal Group of the Year: Alabama; Confederate Railroad; Diamond Rio; Restless Heart; Sawyer Brown.
Vocal Duo of the Year: Bellamy Brothers; Brooks & Dunn; Darryl and Don Ellis; Sweethearts of the Rodeo.
Music Video of the Year: "Chattahoochee," Alan Jackson; "Cleopatra Queen of Denial," Pam Tillis; "Don't Let Our Love Start Slippin' Away," Vince Gill; "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair," George Jones; "Seminole Wind," John Anderson.
Horizon Award: Mark Chesnutt; Sammy Kershaw; Tracy Lawrence; John Michael Montgomery; Trisha Yearwood.
Song of the Year (award to songwriter): "Ain't That Lonely Yet," Kostas, James House; "Boot Scootin' Boogie," Ronnie Dunn; "Chattahoochee," Alan Jackson and Jim McBride; "I Still Believe in You," Vince Gill and John Barlow Jarvis; "Seminole Wind," John Anderson.
Vocal Event of the Year: Clint Black with Wynonna Judd, "A Bad Goodbye;" George Jones with Vince Gill, Mark Chesnutt, Garth Brooks, Travis Tritt, Joe Diffie, Alan Jackson, Pam Tillis, T. Graham Brown, Patty Loveless and Clint Black, "I Don't Need Your Rockin' Chair;" Reba McEntire and Vince Gill, "The Heart Won't Lie;" Tanya Tucker with Delbert McClinton, "Tell Me About It;" Trisha Yearwood with Don Henley, "Walkaway Joe."
Musician of the Year: Paul Franklin; John Barlow Jarvis; Brent Mason; Mark O'Connor; Matt Rollings.