Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris & More Celebrate GRAMMY Nominations

Nashville’s Loews Vanderbilt Hotel was the place to be Thursday evening (Jan. 26) as dozens of Nashville-area GRAMMY nominees gathered to celebrate their nominations for the upcoming 59th Annual GRAMMY Awards at the Nashville Chapter GRAMMY Nominee Party.

We caught up with a handful of the nominees, including Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris, and Lori McKenna, prior to the star-studded soiree.

Morris, who is up for Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for “My Church” as well as Best Country Album for her critically acclaimed debut release, Hero, is thrilled over all of her nominations, especially the fact that her name is also included in the all-genre Best New Artist category alongside Ballerini.

“It’s a historic moment because they’ve never had two country artists in the Best New Artist category at the GRAMMYs before, so the fact that it’s two girls? It’s a huge deal,” she explained.

Ballerini couldn’t agree more. She says she’s especially proud to be recognized by her peers.

“People that vote for the GRAMMYs are the people that play music and write music and fight for music and judge music for their living. To know that they had, I think, 500 people that were eligible for New Artist and thought I was one of the best five, and thought me and Maren, as two country women, were two of the best five? I think that says a lot about Nashville and that’s a really cool thing,” she told us, beaming.

Lori McKenna, who is nominated for Best Country Song for “Humble and Kind,” admits the thought of being nominated still hasn’t really sunk in yet.

“When you say the word GRAMMYs to someone like me, it’s almost hard to understand, ya know? It’s almost hard to digest because it’s such a big deal,” she shared.

Watch the clip above for more with the Nashville-area GRAMMY nominees. Fans can tune in to “Music’s Biggest Night”, hosted by award-winning television personality and performer James Corden, live on the CBS Television Network, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017,at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.