Country Song of the Year | 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards Highlight

Over the last year, there has been a ton of great and amazing music to grace our ears, and for the 2017 iHeartRadio Music Awards, five songs have been singled out as nominees for the Country Song of the Year category. This year's nominees include Carrie Underwood's "Church Bells," Old Dominion's "Snapback," Dierks Bentley's "Somewhere on a Beach," Thomas Rhett's "T-Shirt," and Cole Swindell's "You Should Be Here."

The iHeartRadio Music Awards returns to the historic Forum in Los Angeles on Sunday, March 5th. The superstar affair will be televised live on TBS, TNT and truTV at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and simulcast on iHeartMedia stations nationwide, as well as on iHeartRadio, the all-in-one digital music and live streaming radio service.

Carrie Underwood - "Church Bells"

"Church Bells" was Carrie's 24th #1 song, and one that she felt like related to a Reba McEntire hit. “‘Church Bells’ is…it’s like ‘Fancy”s little sister (laughs). Reba and ‘Fancy’ and she gets out and makes a name for herself by you no finding, she’s got her her dancing dress and all that stuff. This one’s kind of…she starts out, you know, she’s young, she’s pretty, she’s poor. Doing what she can to survive. Meets a man that has a lot of wealth, and it is supposed to take care of her, and get her out of this, and she ends up with him and he ends up not being a good guy and all and it forces her to be strong, and it forces her to do something that she never thought she’d be able to do.”

Old Dominion - "Snapback"

One of the things fans love about the song is the energetic video. Part of the video features the guys in Old Dominion performing the song at the bottom of an empty pool with skateboarders flying and flipping all around the band.

Geoff from Old Dominion talks about his ill-fated ride on a skateboard during the filming of the video. “I watched Matthew hop on the skateboard and drop into the end of the pool for a minute and jump off. Then I watched Brad do it, and jump off, and I thought, ‘I got this, no big deal.’ Hopped on the thing, started going down that ramp, and it took about, probably 3 seconds in the video, but it felt like about two minutes where I went ‘if I just ride it out I can make it through this turn without crashing,’ and then obviously that didn’t work out. I ended up slamming into my shoulder and it hurt for probably about a month, for the first couple of days I couldn’t even get my arm above my head to make a ponytail.  I’m glad they caught it on video, otherwise it would have been a complete waste.”

Dierks Bentley - "Somewhere on a Beach"

"Somewhere on a Beach" was the first single off Dierks Bentley's album Black, and was one of the hardest decisions he had to make.

“Picking first singles is always one of the hardest things you do when it comes to a record. I’ve cut a bunch of songs, and I feel like we’ve got a really great record going, a great theme throughout the album. But I just wanted to come with a song first that I felt like would really get things going, something that everyone could relate to and everyone can have a few drinks to and just something that’s gonna be great for our tour this summer. And it came down to this song, man, ‘Somewhere on a Beach.’ It just feels like the perfect first single for this project.”

Thomas Rhett - "T-Shirt"

Thomas Rhett didn't write "T-Shirt," but he says it's a song that hung on for a long time. 

“I’m gonna call this one “The Song That Hung On,”” Rhett says. “Tim McGraw actually had it on hold for a long time, so I couldn’t put it on hold for my first record, because Tim had it on hold. Once he let it go, I latched that thing down and couldn’t wait to cut it and put it on my second album.”

Cole Swindell - "You Should Be Here"

"You Should Be Here" is not only inspired by Cole's late father, but all of the similar stories shared by fans. And he even wears a bracelet from a fan who lost his son, and is a fan of Cole and his touching song.

"It's inspired by my dad, but also the stories I've heard from y'all. Thank you for coming up no matter where we are and saying, 'I hated to bother you, but I had to share my story. And the other night at the iHeart Festival, Amy shared a story with me of a veteran, he had lost his son in combat and had a bracelet made, and loved 'You Should Be Here.' And I still have this on from Austin and I'll still have it on whenever we play."

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