Dustin Lynch’s Billboard Music Award Nomination ‘Speaks Loudly’

Dustin Lynch's "Small Town Boy" may have been snubbed at the ACM Awards, but the song earned a nomination from the Billboard Music Awards.

Written by Lauren Laffer
Dustin Lynch’s Billboard Music Award Nomination ‘Speaks Loudly’
Dustin Lynch performs at Nissan Stadium on Friday, June 9 during the 2017 CMA Music Festival in downtown Nashville; Donn Jones/CMA

When Dustin Lynch woke up on the morning of April 17, he had no idea why his friends and family were blowing up his phone. It wasn’t until he started going through the messages that he realized what had happened… he’d been nominated for a 2018 Billboard Music Award.

“I had no idea what was going on,” Lynch explained to Taste of Country. “I woke up to a ton of texts. It’s a rare occasion that they are congratulatory texts. I wasn’t expecting it, so I think that added to the excitement. I think the nomination speaks loudly. I think it speaks loudly for this song and the role it has now played in my career. It’s truly an honor to be recognized this way.”

Lynch’s hit, “Small Town Boy,” had been one of the five songs nominated for Top Country Song at the Billboard Music Awards. The song was one, Lynch felt, was one that should have also been nominated for an Academy of Country Music Award.

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A post shared by Dustin Lynch (@dustinlynchmusic) on

Fans watched the Tennessee native react to his snub on the morning of the ACM nominations announcement with a video posted to Instagram. Lynch was disappointed in the news, but feels validated after seeing the BBMA news come through.

“On that particular morning, that was my real life and what I was feeling,” he recalled. “It was just a moment of me showing the real raw stuff. And I wasn’t the only artist on that day to feel disappointed and let down. There were other artists on that day that were expecting a little recognition for having some of the biggest songs of the year and they didn’t get it.”

“I don’t take it lightly,” he said of his nomination. “I remember hearing the song for the first time, and I think now about the journey that the song has been on. It makes me want to do it again. It makes me want to think about what made this one different and what I was feeling when I was making it. I want to have all of those feelings all over again.”

The 2018 Billboard Music Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 20 on NBC.