America may or may not have needed another country music awards show, but one more is on the way. The inaugural People’s Choice Country Awards is set for Thursday, Sept. 28, on NBC and Peacock. Nominations were announced on Wednesday (Aug. 16).
As with every awards show, there are snubs and surprises in the nominations – as well as things that went predictably. No one will be surprised that Morgan Wallen led the nominations list with 11 nods, or that Lainey Wilson is the top female nominee with seven nods.
But few expected to see Ingrid Andress nominated for The New Artist of 2023. She was nominated in similar categories at both the ACM Awards and CMA Awards, as well as the Grammy Awards, in 2021.
The eligibility period for the People’s Choice Country Awards was Aug. 12, 2022, to Aug. 11, 2023. Thus, the show provides an early test of popular 2023 artists and releases. Wallen’s “Last Night,” Luke Combs’ “Fast Car” and Jelly Roll’s “Need a Favor,” which have, between them, locked up the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart for more than three months, are all nominated here, as they will likely be at other awards shows in coming months.
In a bid to distinguish themselves from other country awards shows, the People’s Choice Country Awards have a few unique categories – The Crossover Song of 2023, The Concert Tour of 2023 and The Social Star of 2023.
Little Big Town (who are nominated for The Group/Duo of 2023) will host the show, which is billed as “an award show for the people and by the people.”
Here are snubs and surprises in the very first People’s Choice Country Awards nominations.
Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town” exploded in the closing weeks of the eligibility year, but Aldean was shut out here. He wasn’t nominated for The Male Artist of 2023 or The Song of 2023. “Try That in a Small Town” was released on May 22 and zoomed to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on Aug. 5.
Andress is a surprise nominee for New Artist of 2023. She was nominated for the ACM Awards’ new female artist of the year award in February 2021 and the CMA Awards’ new artist of the year prize that September. Maybe the People’s Choice Country Awards means “new-ish.”
These two country queens are both nominated for The Female Artist of 2023 but were passed over for nods for The People’s Artist of 2023. The only women to be nominated in that top category are Kelsea Ballerini and Lainey Wilson.
The Crossover Song of 2023 category consists of pop/country collabs, which brought in numerous pop, alternative, dance and hip-hop stars, some of whom probably never expected to be nominated at a country music awards show. The nominees are “Dawns” – Zach Bryan feat. Maggie Rogers; “Just Say I’m Sorry” – P!nk, Chris Stapleton; “Life Goes On” – Ed Sheeran feat. Luke Combs; “Seasons” – Bebe Rexha, Dolly Parton; “Texas” – Jessie Murph feat. Maren Morris; “That’s Not How This Works”; “UNHEALTHY” – Anne-Marie feat. Shania Twain; and “Wasted” – Diplo feat. Kodak Black & Koe Wetzel.
The 25-year-old rising star received five nominations, a total matched by only seven other artists, all far better known than she is. This means that this show could be a major boost for her. Moroney is nominated for The Female Artist of 2023, The New Artist of 2023, The Song of 2023 (for “Tennessee Orange,” as both artist and co-writer); and The Music Video of 2023 (for “Tennessee Orange”).
In the highly competitive new artist category, Moroney is competing with Jelly Roll (who got eight total nods), Zach Bryan (six), Bailey Zimmerman (four), ERNEST (three), Priscilla Block (two). Andress (one) and Corey Kent (one).
Moroney was nominated for an ACM Award last year for new female artist of the year, but has yet to be nominated for a CMA Award.
The four-man group received an ACM Awards nomination in 2015 for new vocal duo or group of the year, but it has yet to be nominated for vocal group of the year at either the ACM Awards or the CMA Awards. So it represents a breakthrough that Parmalee was nominated for The Group/Duo of 2023 here.
The husband-wife duo was also nominated for The Group/Duo of 2023. They were nominated for vocal duo of the year at the ACM Awards earlier this year, but are still looking for their first nod at the CMA Awards.
Both stars were among the top four artists in overall nominations. HARDY got nine; Jelly Roll received eight. So how can we say they were snubbed? They missed out on the top category, The People’s Artist of 2023. By contrast, Old Dominion, with just three total nominations, was nominated in the top category, as were Blake Shelton and Kelsa Ballerini, with four overall nods.
Part of the reason HARDY and Jelly Roll did so well in the nominations count is that the People’s Choice Country Awards gives credit to both artist and songwriter in three categories – The Song of 2023, The Collaboration Song of 2023 and The Crossover Song of 2023. That gave HARDY three “bonus” nominations; Jelly Roll, two.
Old Dominion has won vocal group of the year at the CMA Awards the last five years in a row, so their nomination here for The Group/Duo of 2023 was completely expected. But the fact that they are also nominated for The People’s Artist of 2023, where they are the only group or duo in the running, is a bit of a surprise.
Four of the eight nominees for The Social Country Star of 2023 are 40 or older – Carrie Underwood, 40; Blake Shelton, 47; Shania Twain, 57; and Dolly Parton, 77.
Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen each have two songs competing for The Song of 2023. Combs is nominated with both “Fast Car” and “Love You Anyway”; Wallen is nominated with both “Last Night” and “Thinkin’ Bout Me.” Wallen is also competing with himself for The Music Video of 2023 (with “Thought You Should Know” and “You Proof”) and The Collaboration Song of 2023. HARDY and Lainey Wilson also have multiple nominations in the latter category. These double nominations are great for an artist’s nominations count, but may make it harder to win, as the artists may split their votes.