Idol Chatter & Voice Views

I hate to start with the negative, but Carrie Underwood’s quest for a third straight Entertainer of the Year award from the Academy of Country Music has ended before it began.

That’s because she isn’t nominated this year.

ACM nominations were announced Tuesday.

And while Carrie is nominated for top female vocalist, she isn’t among the six artists up for the evening’s top award.

Those include Jason Aldean, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban.

Miranda, suddenly (and deservingly) a star at these awards shows, leads the field with seven nominations. The Zac Brown Band and Kenny Chesney got seven nominations each.

Carrie, now more than a year removed from the release of her latest album, got just one nomination, for top female vocalist.

Her competition: Miranda, Taylor, Reba McEntire and Lee Ann Womack.

At last year’s ceremony, Carrie was shut out until the final award of the evening, Entertainer of the Year, was presented.

Then she was at the podium accepting the honor for a second straight year, becoming the first female to win the honor twice.

This year’s ACM show is set for 8 p.m., Sunday, April 3, on CBS