NEWS
Gabby Barrett
Robby KleinCountry 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.
He didn't even let Kendrick Lamar have a day. K. Dot dropped the diss "6:16 In L.A." the morning of May 3, and Drake stole his thunder by dropping his response the same exact day. Not only that, the Toronto superstar dropped a music video too. He uploaded the track "Family Matters" to YouTube with a seven minute video that sees him pick up right where he left off with "Push Ups." Literally. The beat switch at the end of Drake's first diss serves as the intro beat on "Family Matters," and he has a lot to say on it.
The writing was on the wall when Drake started posting messages on his Instagram Story. The rapper posted a clip from The Equalizer 2 in which the main character threatens to kill every one of his enemies. He also posted an image of yellow caution tape. Then DJ Akademiks began hyping up the release of the new song on X (formerly Twitter) and via stream calls with Kai Cenat. Well, Drake made good on the hype and gave fans a song that's even longer than Lamar's "Euphoria."
Drake throws shots at The Weeknd, claiming that his music plays in all the spots where "boys got a little more pride," but Dot is the main target. The title "Family Matters" riffs on the criticisms that Lamar made about his parenting skills. The music video also goes out of its way to upend this claim, with footage of Drake holding his son and walking around his mansion. The rapper ALSO dismisses the fact that K. Dot got a number one with "Like That," claiming that he only did so because he was talking the 6 God. He even goes as far as to suggest that Lamar should give him the money he got from the song.
Like with every diss that's been released thus far, the lyrics on "Family Matters" are dense. Drake has a lot to address, both in terms of enemies and the things Lamar said about him in the last week. It's part of the fun. What we didn't expect was the music video treatment. Drake has clearly been planning out this rollout for a while. We're excited to see what this diss spawns next in the battle. Well, we were. We didn't expect Dot to drop AGAIN less than an hour later...
