A Prestigious Country Award
In the music industry, nothing says “You’ve made it!” quite like receiving a Grammy Award. Short of being inducted into a Hall of Fame, there is no greater honor.
Browse the full list of the 61st #GRAMMYs nominees!https://t.co/3D63kAGFkb
— Recording Academy / GRAMMYs (@RecordingAcad) December 7, 2018
The Grammys recognize the best artists, albums, songs, and performances that have graced the music world over the past year. In addition to its prestigious all-genre categories (such as Album of the Year), the Grammys acknowledge individual genres within their own genre-specific categories.
Country music had four categories devoted to it at the 2019 ceremony, including the much-desired Best Country Song award.
The Best Country Song award has been a Grammys staple since it was introduced in 1965. Over the years, the award has gone to some of country music’s greatest works, including Charley Pride‘s “Kiss An Angel Good Mornin’,” Kenny Rogers‘ “The Gambler,” and Lee Ann Womack‘s “I Hope You Dance.”
Meet The 2019 Nominees
When it came time to pick nominees for the 2019 ceremony, The Recording Academy had no shortage of worthy songs to choose. When the nominees were finally unveiled, they included some of the most impactful songs to hit country music in the past year, both in terms of chart performance and just pure emotional impact.
The nominees were as follows:
- “BREAK UP IN THE END”
Jessie Jo Dillon, Chase McGill & Jon Nite, songwriters (Cole Swindell) - “DEAR HATE”
Tom Douglas, David Hodges & Maren Morris, songwriters (Maren Morris Featuring Vince Gill) - “I LIVED IT”
Rhett Akins, Ross Copperman, Ashley Gorley & Ben Hayslip, songwriters (Blake Shelton) - “SPACE COWBOY”
Luke Laird, Shane McAnally & Kacey Musgraves, songwriters (Kacey Musgraves) - “TEQUILA”
Nicolle Galyon, Jordan Reynolds & Dan Smyers, songwriters (Dan + Shay) - “WHEN SOMEONE STOPS LOVING YOU”
Hillary Lindsey, Chase McGill & Lori McKenna, songwriters (Little Big Town)
A Bit Of Clarification
The trophy for Best Country Song is awarded to the track’s songwriters, not the artist. That is, unless the artist had a hand in writing the track as well.
Take the 2018 and 2017 winners of the award as examples. The winning song in 2018 was Chris Stapleton‘s “Broken Halos,” which he co-wrote with Mike Henderson.
Since he was a co-writer and the performer, Stapleton went home with the award.
Then there was the 2017 winning song, Tim McGraw‘s “Humble and Kind.” Even though he recorded the song, McGraw did not take home the award, as Lori McKenna was the sole author behind it.
So happy that 'Humble and Kind,' with lyrics like THIS, won Best Country Song ❤ #GRAMMYs pic.twitter.com/oRxzKMdptQ
— Erin (@erinruberry) February 13, 2017
And The 2019 Winner Is…
So in 2019, some of the artists who recorded the nominated songs also wrote them, making them eligible to win.
Those winners were finally revealed when the Grammys went live on Sunday, February 10. At last, the Academy was pleased to announce that “Space Cowboy” was awarded the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Country Song!
It’s no surprise why the writers behind “Space Cowboy” ended up walking away with the Best Country Song Grammy!
Kacey Musgraves, who released the song as the first single off of her also Grammy-nominated album Golden Hour, served as a co-writer on the track.
It reached the 30th spot on the Country Airplay chart, making it the most successful release off of Golden Hour to date.
Congratulations to the talented team of writers behind this song!
You can enjoy their Grammy-winning work of art by tuning in to the song’s official music video below.