Walker Hayes, Gabby Barrett Among 2022 CRS New Faces of Country Music Nominees
The 11 nominees for the 2022 CRS New Faces of Country Music concert have nearly a dozen No. 1 hits between them. Walker Hayes, Gabby Barrett and Jameson Rodgers are among the hitmakers seeking country music industry votes for next February's show.
Voting for full-time music industry personnel begins at the Country Radio Seminar website on Nov. 15 and lasts through Nov. 19. The top five vote-getters will be selected to play the New Faces of Country Music show on Feb. 25, during CRS 2022. This is the second year of voting after changes aimed at widening representation went into effect. Seven men and four women make up the 11 nominees for the 2022 CRS New Faces of Country Music honor. All 11 are solo artists.
Additional nominees include Priscilla Block ("Just About Over You"), Blanco Brown ("Just the Way"), Callista Clark ("It's Cause I Am"), Ryan Hurd ("Chasing After You"), Parker McCollum ("Pretty Heart"), Niko Moon ("Good Time"), Elvie Shane ("My Boy") and Lainey Wilson ("Things a Man Oughta Know"). Of that group, only Clark and Block are promoting their very first single to country radio. The remainder have all reached the top of the charts as a singer or songwriter.
To qualify as a 2022 New Face of Country Music, an artist must have never been selected as a New Faces artists and have at least one song — but not more than five songs— that charted within the Top 25 of radio airplay charts. The eligibility period was Nov. 1, 2020 through Oct. 31, 2021. Last year's New Faces artists were Tenille Arts, Travis Denning, Hardy, Ashley McBryde and Matt Stell.
CRS 2022 will take place Feb. 23-25 at the Omni Nashville Hotel.