Meet CMA’s 2022 Nominees For New Artist Of The Year!
IT'S CMA WEEK Y'ALL!! Who's excited? This is the best time of year! This Wednesday, country music's biggest stars will celebrate the some of greatest accomplishments of their genre in 2022, live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena.
The New Artist category is one of our favorites as it lets us know who to look out for as the future of country music. With that, let us introduce you to this year's nominees!
Parker McCollum
McCollum's first ever CMA nomination comes fresh off of two triumphant wins - ACM New Male Artist Of The Tear and CMT Breakthrough Video Of The Year (for "To Be Loved By You." This past summer, he opened for superstar Thomas Rhett during his Bring The Bar To You tour, alongside fellow riser Conner Smith. The booming success of his 2021 album Gold Chain Cowboy puts him on the map and makes him a strong contender for the coveted CMA trophy.
HARDY
The breakout star exponentially grew his fanbase during his stint opening for Morgan Wallen, on the sold-out Dangerous tour. His highly-anticipated new record, The Mockingbird & The Crow, is likely to spawn one of his most successful album cycles yet - but will it include a CMA win? Previously, ACM has recognized HARDY with the Songwriter Of The Year award. His phenomenal talents in this area, and long history of penning hits for country's biggest stars, could win him his first CMA award.
Walker Hayes
Hayes built on the viral success of his chart-topping "Fancy Like" with more hits - including "AA," "U Gurl," and "Y'all Life." The star has cinched accolades in both country and mainstream award shows - most notably, a Grammy nomination for Best Country Song ("Fancy Like"), a Billboard Music Awards win for Top Country Song ("Fancy Like"), and a 2022 CMT Artist Of The Year win. The beloved and iconic singer leans into the simple pleasures of life to inspire his songs, giving fans great material to connect to. This truly sets Hayes apart from the other nominees.
Cody Johnson
After independently releasing six albums, Johnson finally finds burgeoning mainstream success this year. He has increased his outreach with the phenomenal double album Human, a masterpiece with truly contains something for everyone. His recent accolades include CMT Artist Of The Year, CMT Male Video Of The Year ("Til You Can't"), and CMT Digital-First Performance of the Year ("Dear Rodeo"). He also holds pending CMA nominations for Male Vocalist Of The Year, Music Video Of The Year ("Til You Can't"), and Single Of The Year ("Til You Can't").
Lainey Wilson
The 2022 CMAs have established a frontrunner in star Lainey Wilson, leading the pack with six nods at her first ever awards. This past year has marked several breakthroughs for the bell bottom queen - including #1 singles with "Things A Man Oughta Know" and "Never Say Never," an ACM Female New Artist Of The Year win, a CMT Breakthrough Artist Of The Year win, and most recently, the triumphant release of her iconic sophomore record Bell Bottom Country.
And that's the full list of your 2022 CMA New Artist Of The Year nominees! We're so proud of each and every one of them for their breakthrough accomplishments this past year, and can't wait to see who'll take home the prestigious trophy on Wednesday. Make sure to tune in on ABC at 8 p.m. EST to watch country music's biggest night live!