The Recording Academy is creating a new social media initiative, Behind the Record, aimed to spotlight the numerous producers, engineers, songwriters, mixers, instrumentalists, and other creators who contribute to the recording process.

With Behind the Record’s Oct. 25 launch, the Recording Academy will give credit where credit is due, igniting a cultural conversation by inviting artists across all genres to recognize their collaborators’ incredible behind-the-scenes work on the tracks, records, and albums loved by music fans across the globe.

“It’s our responsibility, as a service organization, to serve our membership community of creative professionals and to ensure we celebrate and recognize all the incredibly talented musicians and creators who are making the music we love,” said Deborah Dugan, President/CEO of the Recording Academy. “Credits have been a casualty of the digital age, for all that we gained with streaming we lost in the opportunity for recognition and even discovery. Behind the Record champions all professional music creators and aims to connect with artist fan bases in order to give recognition to those who work tirelessly on these recordings.”

Artists can participate in Behind the Record by:

• Joining the Recording Academy and Behind the Record to help promote and share recognition for all creators.
• Creating a custom Behind the Record Credit Cover on the Recording Academy’s campaign webpage
• Posting your Credit Cover across social media channels and tagging those who worked on your project using hashtags #GiveCredit #WeAreMusic #BehindTheRecord

Artists can create Credit Covers for a single or album, and all covers will live in a gallery on the site for music fans to view and discover the roles of creatives behind some of their favorite records. In addition to supporting the initiative on social media, artists may also create a custom vinyl sleeve for “extra credit.”

The American Music Awards nominations were announced Thursday morning (Oct. 24), and Luke Combs, Dan+Shay, Carrie Underwood and Kane Brown are among the leading country nominees.

Combs earned a nomination in the all-genre Best New Artist category, alongside Lizzo, Lil Nas X, Billie Eilish, and Ella Mai. Combs is also nominated for Favorite Male Artist-Country and Favorite Song-Country for “Beautiful Crazy.”

Dan+Shay also earned three nominations, including Favorite Duo or Group-Country, as well as Favorite Album-Country (Dan+Shay), and Favorite Song-Country (“Speechless”).

Underwood has two nominations, for Favorite Female Artist-Country, as well as Favorite Album-Country for Cry Pretty. Maren Morris and Kelsea Ballerini are also nominated in the Favorite Female Artist-Country category.

Brown has two nominations, for Favorite Male Artist-Country and for Favorite Album-Country (Experiment).

2019’s runaway hit, “Old Town Road” from Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus, is nominated for Collaboration of the Year; the song’s video earned a nod for Favorite Music Video. The track is also nominated for Favorite Song-Pop/Rock and Favorite Song-Rap/Hip-Hop.

Lauren Daigle, for King & Country, and MercyMe are nominated for Favorite Artist-Contemporary Inspirational.

Post Malone leads this year’s overall nominees with seven nods, while Ariana Grande and Billie Eilish follow with six nominations apiece.

The 2019 AMAs will air live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Nov. 24 at at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Nominations in select categories are included below:

FAVORITE MALE ARTIST – COUNTRY 
Kane Brown
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett

FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST – COUNTRY
Kelsea Ballerini
Maren Morris
Carrie Underwood

FAVORITE DUO or GROUP – COUNTRY 
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Old Dominion

FAVORITE ALBUM – COUNTRY 
Kane Brown, Experiment
Dan + Shay, Dan + Shay
Carrie Underwood, Cry Pretty

FAVORITE SONG – COUNTRY 
Luke Combs, “Beautiful Crazy”
Dan + Shay, “Speechless”
Blake Shelton, “God’s Country”

FAVORITE ARTIST – CONTEMPORARY INSPIRATIONAL
Lauren Daigle
For King & Country
MercyMe

TobyMac

Truett Foster McKeehan, the eldest son of Christian rapper and entertainer TobyMac, has died. Truett was 21.

Truett passed away at his Nashville home sometime Tuesday night or early Wednesday morning, a PR rep for TobyMac confirmed. The cause of death has not been determined.

“Toby was traveling back from Canada and did not get home to be with his family until after midnight last night so there is no statement, we just ask that everyone please be respectful of their privacy during this time and allow them to grieve their loss,” a spokesperson for TobyMac said.

Truett, the eldest of McKeehan’s five children, was also an aspiring rapper, who released music under the names Truett Foster, TRU, Shiloah, and truDog.

TobyMac included a song, “Scars,” on his most recent album, The Elements, which discussed his struggle with seeing Truett leave home.

John King. Photo: LB Rogers

Georgia native John King recently visited the MusicRow offices to perform some of his latest music. King is currently signed with Starstruck Management and inked a publishing deal last year with Sony/ATV Music Publishing.

King offered an acoustic rendition of “We Went,” a song he wrote that went No. 1 for Randy Houser in 2015. The song’s success was a full-circle moment for King, who shared how Houser had encouraged him as an aspiring artist and songwriter some years earlier.

“I was playing every writers’ round and just living off a tip bucket. I got a residency playing Puckett’s downtown, playing every week. I would play a mix of covers and originals. One night, there was this one guy at the back by the bar and I could tell he really seemed focused on my songs and paying attention,” King said. “Toward the end of my set he came up and put $100 in my tip jar. It was Randy Houser. I felt like that told me I was on the right track.”

King also contributed a song on Hootie & the Blowfish’s upcoming album Imperfect Circle. He co-wrote “Rollin’,” which was ultimately released as the first song from the album.

“I was riding into town and got a call from my publisher. It was 30 minutes before the writing session, and they were like, ‘Would you like to write with Hootie & the Blowfish?’ I was like, ‘Yes!’ Talk about a band you grew up idolizing, that was one of the first concerts I saw in Greenville, South Carolina when I was six.”

King also performed his current single, “Try Saying Goodbye.”

“We wrote it just over two years ago. I told [Starstruck’s] Narvel [Blackstock] when I signed, ‘This is a song that has stuck with me.’ I think it’s because it rings true in my personal life. I wrote it about my wife. We were high school sweethearts and started dating when we were 15 years old. She’s the only girlfriend I ever had. Now we have a baby girl. You change a lot between 15 until now, a lot of progression happens. You get in those spots in a relationship where it’s real easy for pride to get in the way and for it all to just end. People listen to this and think it’s a breakup song, but to me, it’s a stay together song. But that’s what I love about this, that people can put their on stamp on it.”

John King and MusicRow Magazine owner/publisher Sherod Robertson. Photo: LB Rogers

Pictured (L-R): David Ross, MusicRow Magazine Founder, Alex Kobrick, Sales Manager & Chart Director, Artist John King, MusicRow Magazine Sherod Robertson, Publisher/Owner, Jessica Nicholson, Managing Editor, LB Rogers, Project Manager. Photo: MusicRow.