At the 2019 ACM Awards, Chris Stapleton received a nominees-leading six nods -- but so did Dan + Shay. The country duo's nominations haul is just one reason we're excited about this year's list of nominees.

It's also a good year to be Ashley McBryde, Russell Dickerson, Cole Swindell and Jake Owen: They each received well-deserved, if unexpected, ACM Awards nominations.

What else did we notice when nominees were revealed at the end of February? Read on for seven reasons we were surprised (and not always pleasantly) at the 2019 ACM Awards nominations list.

The 2019 ACM Awards are set to take place in Las Vegas, Nev., on April 7, and air live on CBS beginning at 8PM ET. The ceremony will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena.

The Boot will be staying up late covering the most buzzed-about winners, fashion and moments at the 2019 ACM Awards. Readers can watch along with us by checking back to TheBoot.com for the latest ACMs headlines, liking The Boot on Facebook and following The Boot on Twitter.

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