2016 MusicRow Awards: Breakthrough Artist Of The Year

The five nominees for MusicRow’s Breakthrough Artist of the Year all achieved significant career progress for the first time within the eligibility period (May 1, 2015 to April 30, 2016).

Finalists for the 2016 MusicRow Awards, Nashville’s longest-running music industry trade publication honors, were revealed earlier this month.

BREAKTHROUGH ARTIST OF THE YEAR NOMINEES:

A Thousand Horses
Republic Nashville band A Thousand Horses made an impression on country listeners last year with their singles, including the No. 1 hit “Smoke,” as well as “(This Ain’t No) Drunk Dial.” Produced by Dave Cobb, the Nashville band’s album Southernality earned a Top 5 debut, while the video for “Smoke” earned a Group Video of the Year nomination at the 2015 CMT Music Awards. The group is on tour with Jason Aldean and climbing the charts with a new single, “Southernality.”

Brothers Osborne
John and TJ Osborne, known professionally as Brothers Osborne, have upped the ante in country music over the past year with their infectious singles “Stay A Little Longer” and current release “21 Summer,” both from their 2016 EMI Records Nashville project Pawn Shop. “Stay A Little Longer” earned a gold certification and was the duo’s first No. 1 song. Raised in Deale, Maryland, the brothers made their Grand Ole Opry debut in April. They are now on the road opening shows for Miranda Lambert.

Cam
The singer-songwriter’s “Burning House” caused a stir in 2015, earning Grammy and ACM nominations. The critically-acclaimed single went on to achieve platinum status. In December, she launched her debut album for Arista Nashville/RCA Records, Untamed, with producers Jeff Bhasker and Tyler Johnson. One of CMT’s Next Women of Country, the California native performed her current single, “Mayday,” on the American Country Countdown Awards this month.

Chris Janson
The past year has been a wild ride for Janson after signing to Warner Bros. Records/Warner Music Nashville in March 2015. After years of false starts on other labels, his breakthrough single “Buy Me a Boat” earned platinum sales and picked up Country Song of the Year honors at the iHeartRadio Awards. He’s appeared on Conan, toured with Blake Shelton, and earned three ACM Award nominations. The Missouri native’s new single is the intensely personal ballad, “Holdin’ Her.”

Old Dominion
While some of Old Dominion’s members have penned hits for artists, the band’s singles “Break Up With Him” and “Snapback” have brought this group into a spotlight of their own. While building a foundation as a touring band, they worked with producer Shane McAnally on their RCA Nashville debut album, Meat and Candy. Named for the band’s ties to Virginia, Old Dominion won an ACM Award for Best New Vocal Duo or Group.

The 2016 MusicRow Awards will be presented at a private ceremony at BMI on Wednesday, June 29. Winners are determined solely by MusicRow subscribers. See the final nominees.

Voting closes on Tuesday, May 24 at 5 p.m. If you do not have a subscription, you may subscribe to receive your ballot.