The CMA New Artist of the Year award is a tricky one. According to the criteria, it’s awarded to an individual or a group that has for the first time demonstrated the most significant creative growth and development in overall chart and sales activity, live performance professionalism and critical media recognition.
Here’s where it gets tricky: Any artist is ineligible for nomination who has previously won a CMA Award (except Song of the Year, Vocal Event of the Year and Video of the Year) or who has twice been a final nominee for New Artist of the Year.
In addition to winner Maren Morris, this year’s ballot included Cole Swindell, Kelsea Ballerini, Brothers Osborne and Old Dominion. Two of the five nominees on this year’s ballot were previously nominated: Cole in 2014 and Kelsea in 2015.
Based on the award’s criteria, Cole or Kelsea should have won this year’s trophy. With five consecutive No. 1 singles to his name (and another on the way), Cole’s claim is rock solid. If there’s a crack in it, it’s Kelsea, who has scored three consecutive No. 1 singles from her debut album, all of which she co-penned.
Anyway, I said all of that so I could say this: CMA voters got this one right in the sense that the winner should have been picked from Maren, Old Dominion or Brothers Osborne. New Artist of the Year should be awarded to a new artist, and the three aforementioned nominees were new to the category this year. You can only be “new” once.
Check out the video of Maren talking about her victory after the show.
