The list of nominees for the 2020 ACM Awards includes some serious surprises. Congratulations are in order to Maren MorrisThomas Rhett and Old Dominion, who lead the pack of nominees with five mentions apiece, as well as Blake Shelton and Dan + Shay, who have four nods each.

The 2020 ACM Awards nominees announcement also featured some surprising newcomers, including reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year Keith Urban as show host for the first time ever. This year's new artist categories bring plenty of country acts their first-ever nominations at the awards show, with the likes of Caylee Hammack, Riley Green and Ingrid Andress in the running for the first time in their careers.

Meanwhile, other aspects of the nominees list shocked us -- but not in a good way. Read on for six things about the 2020 ACM Awards nominees that had us doing a double-take:

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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