Nominees for the People’s Choice Country Music Country People’s Music Choice Awards
What a joke.
We need another country music awards show like we need another natural disaster. In fact, I’m half certain it’s because humanity is so busied by meaningless baubles like redundant country music awards shows that God has forsaken us. In some respects, we deserve this bullshit.
They aren’t much better, but at least the CMAs and ACMs have been around for over 50 years, giving them some semblance of history and meaning. The CMT have turned into an everloving shit show. Now the powers that be think we need a FOURTH country music awards show? Even the film industry that gives Susan Sarandon a trophy every time she passes gas is like, “Yeesh!”
What makes the People’s Choice Country Awards (yes, that word salad is the actual name) different is that they’re fan voted. It’s not that fans shouldn’t have the ultimate say so in who the most popular or deserving artists in country music should be. But in these instances, it’s not actually fans deciding who is “best” from a true canvasing of the country music public. It all has to do with which artists are most motivated to mobilize their fan bases to vote for this crap.
So should more discerning country music fans all mobilize to vote for Zach Bryan and other more independent artists like Tyler Childers who are up for these awards? Honestly, I don’t give a shit if you do or you don’t. Sure, it is kind of cool to see Zach Bryan up for top awards, even if they’ve been stretched to eight nominees per category to rope-a-dope more fan bases into paying attention to this stuff. This is no different than when some outlets do these fan-voted competitions as an underhanded way to rack up pageviews.
But the simple truth is these awards are about as meaningless as the now defunct American Country Awards that they tried to ram down our throats a few years ago. The People’s Choice Country Awards is all about trying to “maximize synergies” in the deal the Grand Ole Opry’s parent company did with NBC Universal a while back.
Nobody’s clamoring for yet another damn country music awards show. What we are clamoring for is for full Grand Ole Opry presentations to make their way back on television as opposed to an hour every once in a while on the hard-to-find Circle Network. Whatever happened to new Hee-Haw episodes? This is the stuff country music fans actually want, not some obvious excuse to try to make Blake Shelton relevant again by shoehorning him in as a nominee in some of these categories.
Anyways, here are the nominees. You can hunt down where to vote for these things if you want to on your own.
THE PEOPLE’S ARTIST OF 2023
- Blake Shelton
- Kane Brown
- Kelsea Ballerini
- Lainey Wilson
- Luke Combs
- Morgan Wallen
- Old Dominion
- Zach Bryan
THE MALE ARTIST OF 2023
- Bailey Zimmerman
- Blake Shelton
- HARDY
- Jelly Roll
- Kane Brown
- Luke Combs
- Morgan Wallen
- Zach Bryan
THE FEMALE ARTIST OF 2023
- Ashley McBryde
- Carly Pearce
- Carrie Underwood
- Elle King
- Kelsea Ballerini
- Lainey Wilson
- Megan Moroney
- Miranda Lambert
THE GROUP/DUO OF 2023
- Brothers Osborne
- Dan + Shay
- Lady A
- Little Big Town
- Maddie & Tae
- Old Dominion
- Parmalee
8. The War and Treaty
THE NEW ARTIST OF 2023
- Bailey Zimmerman
- Corey Kent
- ERNEST
- Megan Moroney
- Ingrid Andress
- Jelly Roll
- Priscilla Block
- Zach Bryan
THE SOCIAL COUNTRY STAR OF 2023
- Bailey Zimmerman
- Blake Shelton
- Carrie Underwood
- Dolly Parton
- Kelsea Ballerini
- Luke Combs
- Morgan Wallen
- Shania Twain
THE SONG OF 2023
- “Fast Car” – Luke Combs (Songwriter: Tracy Chapman)
- “Last Night” – Morgan Wallen (Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin, John Byron, Ryan Vojtesak)
- “Love You Anyway” – Luke Combs (Songwriters: Dan Isbell, Luke Combs, Ray Fulcher)
- “Need A Favor” – Jelly Roll (Songwriters: Austin Nivarel, Jason DeFord/Jelly Roll, Joe Ragosta, Rob Ragosta)
- “Tennessee Orange” – Megan Moroney (Songwriters: Ben Williams, David Fanning, Megan Moroney, Paul Jenkins)
- “Thank God” – Kane Brown, Katelyn Brown (Songwriters: Christian Stalnecker, Jared Mullins, Jaxson Free, Josh Hoge, Kyle Fishman)
- “Thinkin’ Bout Me” – Morgan Wallen (Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, John Byron, Ryan Vojtesak, Taylor Phillips)
- “wait in the truck” – HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson (Songwriters: Hunter Phelps, Jordan Schmidt, Michael Hardy, Renee Blair)
THE COLLABORATION SONG OF 2023
1. “Beer With My Friends” – Kenny Chesney & Old Dominion (Songwriters: Bryan Simpson, David Lee Murphy, Shy Carter)
2. “Cowgirls” – Morgan Wallen feat. ERNEST (Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Ernest Keith Smith, James Maddocks, Milan Modi, Rocky Block, Ryan Vojtesak)
3. “red” – HARDY feat. Morgan Wallen (Songwriters: Michael Hardy, Rhett Akins, Ben Hayslip, Jacob Rice)
4. “Save Me” – Jelly Roll with Lainey Wilson (Songwriters: David Ray Stevens, Jason DeFord/Jelly Roll)
5. “Thank God” – Kane Brown, Katelyn Brown (Songwriters: Christian Stalnecker, Jared Mullins, Jaxson Free, Josh Hoge, Kyle Fishman)
6. “wait in the truck” – HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson (Songwriters: Hunter Phelps, Jordan Schmidt, Michael Hardy, Renee Blair)
7. “We Don’t Fight Anymore” – Carly Pearce, Chris Stapleton (Songwriters: Shane McAnally, Carly Pearce, Pete Good)
8. “You, Me, And Whiskey” – Justin Moore, Priscilla Block (Songwriters: Brock Berryhill, Jessi Alexander, Cole Taylor)
THE CROSSOVER SONG OF 2023
- “Dawns” – Zach Bryan feat. Maggie Rogers (Songwriters: Maggie Rogers, Zachary Lane Bryan)
- “Just Say I’m Sorry” – P!nk, Chris Stapleton (Songwriters: Alecia Moore, Chris Stapleton)
- “Life Goes On” – Ed Sheeran feat. Luke Combs (Songwriter: Ed Sheeran)
- “Seasons” – Bebe Rexha, Dolly Parton (Songwriters: Bebe Rexha, Ido Zmishlany, Sarah Solovay)
- “Texas” – Jessie Murph feat. Maren Morris (Songwriters: Alex Niceforo, Amy Allen, Jessie Murph, Warren “Oak” Felder)
- “That’s Not How This Works” – Charlie Puth feat. Dan + Shay (Songwriters: Jordan Reynolds, Charlie Puth, Dan Smyers)
- “UNHEALTHY” – Anne-Marie feat. Shania Twain (Anne-Marie Nicholson, CASTLE, Connor McDonough, Riley McDonough)
- “Wasted” – Diplo feat. Kodak Black & Koe Wetzel (Songwriters: Bill K. Kapri, Richard Cook Mears IV, Ropyr Wetzel, Thomas Wesley Pentz)
THE ALBUM OF 2023
- Bell Bottom Country – Lainey Wilson
- Different Man – Kane Brown
- Gettin’ Old – Luke Combs
- One Thing At A Time – Morgan Wallen
- Religiously. The Album. – Bailey Zimmerman
- Rolling Up The Welcome Mat – Kelsea Ballerini
- the mockingbird & THE CROW – HARDY
- Whitsitt Chapel – Jelly Roll
THE MUSIC VIDEO OF 2023
- “In Your Love” – Tyler Childers
- “Need a Favor” – Jelly Roll
- “Tennessee Orange” – Megan Moroney
- “Thank God” – Kane Brown, Katelyn Brown
- “Thought You Should Know” – Morgan Wallen
- “wait in the truck” – HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson
- “Where We Started” – Thomas Rhett, Katy Perry
- “You Proof” – Morgan Wallen
THE CONCERT TOUR OF 2023
- Blake Shelton: Back to the Honky Tonk Tour
- Carrie Underwood: Denim & Rhinestones Tour
- Chris Stapleton’s All-American Road Show Tour
- Kenny Chesney: I Go Back 2023 Tour
- Luke Combs World Tour
- Morgan Wallen: One Night At A Time World Tour
- Shania Twain: Queen of Me Tour
- Zach Bryan: The Burn, Burn, Burn Tour
August 17, 2023 @ 11:42 am
Ameripolitan Awards is all i need…
August 17, 2023 @ 11:58 am
The Americana Honors & Awards show isn’t too bad.
August 17, 2023 @ 3:01 pm
What a coinkydink I just voted
August 17, 2023 @ 12:31 pm
Yeah, can we start educating people about Ameripolitan again? Nominations are open right now. Please don’t just nominate your friends. Go look into who is actually current in the Ameripolitan honkytonk/western swing/rockabilly/ outlaw space, and who’s touring, has released recent records, etc- and nominate them.
http://www.Ameripolitan.org
August 17, 2023 @ 12:46 pm
I have a couple of Ameripolitan honkytonk/western swing/outlaw country resources (but not on the rockabilly side of the scene, since I don’t know those people as wel):
here’s a list of current Ameripolitan artists, that is current only as of 2022. The requirement for nominations is that people are touring and have new releases in the previous 3 years. It’s outdated and does not include anything from 2023 yet, but I’l work on updating it:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XMKVqBz3bkoQK1c70VvgsnjHORjfv1PDyw0Jrf-8TOI/edit?usp=sharing
Here’s a playlist I made LAST YEAR , again not including the 2023 releases and new artists. It’s a good starting point for the country side of Ameripolitan:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5FmxmDNyLWWrQjs9fzNPhTee0mtTce7V
Ameripolitan Awards Productions has a Facebook page with more info about the event, or you can visit http://www.ameripolitan.org.
Me and a few others also run an unofficial Reddit group for Ameripolitan stuff. Link to that is in my username.
August 17, 2023 @ 12:02 pm
Zach will win them all and then proceed to not even show up for the event. If anyone will mobilize to vote, it will be his fan base. I doubt the typical mainstream listener would be inclined to vote for Old Dominion, whoever that is.
August 17, 2023 @ 12:03 pm
Sure doesn’t seem to be fan supported as far as I’m concerned. I don’t see Caitlin Butts or Colter Wall mentioned, etc.
Hard pass.
August 17, 2023 @ 12:11 pm
I’d call them The Stans.
August 17, 2023 @ 12:18 pm
Fast Car…..The song of 2023 that has 35 years staying power….one writer.
The rest of the list no one will remember next year.
August 17, 2023 @ 12:24 pm
I give them credit for one thing… no Jason Aldean nominations… not in one single category.
At least they have one small modicum of sanity.
August 17, 2023 @ 2:32 pm
Aldean was totally played out and on his way to obscurity before white liberals discovered his months old crap song and forced country fans to make it a hit to spite them.
August 17, 2023 @ 12:48 pm
Is it truly voted on by the fans if fans get no say over who is nominated? Why have nominees at all? Announce the categories and let the fans fill in the blank. Whoever gets the most support wins. Seems simple. The problem, of course, is that the owners of the major record labels also own a lot of other things and they spend millions advertising on the stations that broadcast this type of bullshit. They wouldn’t want to risk promoting any artist whose sales their advertisers can’t profit from.
August 17, 2023 @ 12:49 pm
I think my favorite nomination is Shania Twain in the Tour category. I have heard nothing but negative things from folks that have attended. That’s the Money’s Choice category (really they all are, but this one more than the rest) of this contrived dog and pony show
August 17, 2023 @ 12:52 pm
I could make fart noises in my hands and it would sound better than half of these jokers listed. It’s good to see Zach and Tyler get recognized to an extent, it’s also laughable that ERNEST is somehow listed as a new artist for like the 3rd year in a row for an awards show. Maybe we’ll get lucky and they’ll broadcast this at Kane Brown’s property and get lost
August 17, 2023 @ 12:56 pm
Well, at least they made duo/group ONE category.
It will be those with the most hard core social media fans that win these. I predict a sweep by Underwood, Shelton, and possibly Bryan.
Meaningless and irrelevant.
August 17, 2023 @ 2:22 pm
Well at least one good thing came from these awards – another Trigger rant. I feel like you held back just a touch though so I’m not putting this in the “epic rant” category. Probably didn’t want to waste any humdingers on this rinky-dink stuff. Save ‘em for the next Kane Brown record or something.
August 17, 2023 @ 2:26 pm
Wow looks like a real snoozefest . Nothing but a bunch of no talent posers . What the heck is the reason for the social country star category . Sounds like something a liberal thought up .
August 17, 2023 @ 2:44 pm
These song categories sound like they were made up by AI buy AI for which english is their third or fourth (human) language.
Country awards have always been garbage. I mean, look at the CMAs in the 70s and there is hardly any George Jones.
But country music is still a genre with walls and whatnot (just look at Lil Nas X) so it makes sense they would make award shows for it…also country fans are probably more likely to watch tv, I’m guessing.
August 18, 2023 @ 6:59 am
…weren’t the 70s actually the period george got his moniker “no show”?
August 17, 2023 @ 3:58 pm
It took *5* people to write that annoying Thank God song? How? It’s just Kane Brown and his wife saying Thank God over and over.
August 17, 2023 @ 4:16 pm
The “Send the Hounds” tour not being nominated is insane but to be expected v
August 17, 2023 @ 4:22 pm
I’d rather watch any movie with Susan Sarandon than listen to Zach Bryan or Tyler Childers.
Thelma and Louise and Bull Durham are more enjoyable.
August 17, 2023 @ 4:23 pm
When I was a kid, I filled out the ballots that were in The Tennessean for the TNN Music City News Country Awards. It’s now hard to imagine someone on the other end opening the envelope and actually tallying my vote.
I agree. I thought we learned during the pandemic there was a demand for more Grand Ole Opry and less artificial grandstanding.
August 17, 2023 @ 4:23 pm
Great to see Dr. Ken Chesney nominated. He rocks!
August 17, 2023 @ 5:46 pm
However one feels about country music or its politics and social attitudes–folks, let’s be honest, does the genre need yet another awards show? The egotism and pandering must be running rampant, even among artists who really ought to know better. But in the end, it is the country music genre that’s going to suffer under these ridiculous and unnecessary awards shows that are really just glorified cage matches.
To quote Linda Ronstadt: “If you’re working for prizes, you’re in big trouble.”
August 17, 2023 @ 6:49 pm
Holy F&$# Trigger, is it really that slow of a news day today? Though I do love your rants.
August 17, 2023 @ 7:25 pm
Someone thought this was a good idea.
August 17, 2023 @ 7:57 pm
This awards show is obviously a ratings grab for mainstream country, but I am pretty amazed at how many more traditional and/or independent minded artists are nominated. That’s more good news for REAL MUSIC.
August 18, 2023 @ 12:20 am
Not to be picky, but 2023 isn’t over yet. Maybe there’ll be a better “best of” no one has heard yet. LOL; just kidding. Nobody cares about this stuff.
August 18, 2023 @ 1:19 am
where’s “rich men north of Richmond”?
August 18, 2023 @ 6:51 am
…that question makes you sound a little desperate, dear.
August 19, 2023 @ 7:29 am
i was joking since that song is everywhere
August 19, 2023 @ 8:15 am
…of course, i realised that ms. daniele. two jokes in one – nice one/two..
August 18, 2023 @ 3:23 am
No voting in Australia 🙁
August 18, 2023 @ 3:30 am
…how on earth could those people pass over gurf morlix?
August 18, 2023 @ 5:08 am
Category names are….interesting. Not even just “Male Artist 2023”. The have to emphasize “The”. Like the winner is the definitive artist for this year. This “THE” male artist for the year, no one else’s opinion matters. I just feel like using the word “THE” makes this award show feel shallow.
August 18, 2023 @ 5:18 am
Another vanity exercise.
August 18, 2023 @ 6:42 am
I did some reading about this shitstorm. No joke, if you vote on “Turbo Tuesday” (8/22), your votes count twice. Nothing screams legitimate award show like letting votes have double power for a random 24-hour stretch.
August 18, 2023 @ 11:24 am
The Blake Shelton Awards Show featuring Emo Grunge Tiktok wannabe country acts.
Cool
August 18, 2023 @ 11:50 am
So 80% of these nominees will have their “Opry Debut” on this award show night?
August 18, 2023 @ 11:55 am
Blake is up for “Social Media star” nomination?
Didnt realize he was so active on the app
August 18, 2023 @ 11:57 am
Has Maren Morris been banished from all country award shows?
August 22, 2023 @ 9:05 am
Hopefully
August 18, 2023 @ 12:45 pm
it is time for a saving country music award show. everyone else is doing the cash grab. minus well juxtaprose the sacred and the propane.
as long as there is a category “stupidest thing Margo Price has said” i agree to be a corporate sponsor
August 19, 2023 @ 10:36 am
Tuhe only country artist
Today n my estimation is Hank Williams Jr