Country Radio Broadcasters has revealed the nominees for its annual New Faces of Country Music show, which is slated as part of the 2022 Country Radio Seminar, set for Feb. 23-25, 2022, at Omni Hotel Nashville. The New Faces of Country Music Show serves as the closing event for the annual Country Radio Seminar, and will be held next year on Feb. 25.
This year’s nominees include Gabby Barrett, Priscilla Block, Blanco Brown, Callista Clark, Walker Hayes, Ryan Hurd, Parker McCollum, Niko Moon, Jameson Rodgers, Elvie Shane and Lainey Wilson.
Voting to determine the five artists who will ultimately perform as part of the New Faces of Country Music Show begins Monday, Nov. 15, at 10 a.m. CT and will run through Friday, Nov. 19.
This year, Barrett earned her second No. 1 hit with a three-week run at the pinnacle of Billboard’s Country Airplay chart with “The Good Ones.” Also among those earning No. 1 hits on Billboard’s Country Airplay over the past year were Brown (“Just The Way,” with Parmalee), Moon (“Good Time“), Shane (“My Boy“), Wilson (“Things a Man Oughta Know“), McCollum (“Pretty Heart”), and Rodgers (who earned his second No. 1 hit with “Cold Beer Calling My Name” featuring Luke Combs). Hayes, who released his debut single in 2010, has earned one of the biggest all-genre hits of the year with “Fancy Like,” which has reached No. 1 on several Billboard charts, including Hot Country Songs and Country Streaming Songs, and sits in the Top 5 on both Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. Hurd’s duet with Maren Morris, “Chasing After You” is in the top 25 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and in the Top 5 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
Last year brought changes to the voter criteria for the New Faces of Country Music show, to allow for a wider representation of voters in the country music industry. Eligible voters must be full-time employees primarily involved in the programming, promotion and distribution of country music, from the following types of companies: broadcast radio, satellite radio, television outlets, and digital service providers, while expressly excluding those with vested interests in individual artists or musical works such as labels, managers, agents and publishers.
The annual New Faces of Country Music Show was formed in 1970 to highlight rising artists who achieved significant success at country radio during the qualification period, which is currently Nov. 1 through Oct. 31, preceding the New Faces Show.
Among the artists who have previously performed at the New Faces of Country Music Show are Crystal Gayle, Lefty Frizzell, Ruby Falls, Vern Gosdin, Gene Watson, Alabama, Reba McEntire, George Strait, Ricky Skaggs, Vince Gill, Marty Stuart, Randy Travis, Brooks & Dunn, Martina McBride, Faith Hill, Toby Keith, Tim McGraw, The Chicks, Keith Urban, Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan, Taylor Swift, Thomas Rhett and more.
