Each year, the ACM Awards nominees list offers exciting new possibilities for artists to set records, win big and further establish their careers. The list of nods in 2020, however, proves especially exciting.

This year will bring quite a few firsts to the annual awards show, including a first-ever hosting gig for Keith Urban. The new role comes one year after he won ACM Entertainer of the Year for the first time, and two decades after he took home his first ACM trophy, for Top New Male Vocalist, in 2001.

Additionally, a total of 25 artists and industry creatives received their first-ever ACM Awards nominations this year. Luke Combs and Thomas Rhett are both first-time nominees in the Entertainer of the Year category, and pop superstar Justin Bieber is starting off his ACMs career with a bang, having earned four nominations.

The 2020 ACM Awards nominees list also includes producer and songwriter Busbee, who worked closely with artists including Urban, Maren Morris, Carly Pearce and Lady Antebellum. He died unexpectedly in September, after a short battle with brain cancer, and has been posthumously nominated for two awards: Producer of the Year and Album of the Year (for his work on Morris' Girl).

Read on for more surprising facts and interesting tidbits about the nominees for the 2020 ACM Awards:

The 2020 ACM Awards are set to take place in Nashville (for the first time ever) and air live on CBS beginning at 8PM ET. Originally scheduled for April but pushed back due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the show is now set for Sept. 16 and will feature audience-less performances from the Bluebird Cafe, the Ryman Auditorium and the Grand Ole Opry House.

The Boot will be staying up late covering the most buzzed-about winners, fashion and moments at the 2020 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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