Rare Country Reveals Nominees For Fan Voted Inaugural Awards

Cox Media Group’s Rare Country outlet has revealed nominees for its newly announced Rare Country Awards. Carrie Underwood leads the nominations with four nods, followed by Miranda Lambert and Sam Hunt with three nominations each.

The online awards will honor the year’s best in country music, as determined solely by fans. Voting will be open for four weeks at rarecountryawards.com, with winners to be announced on Thursday, Dec. 15.

The award consist of eight categories of five nominees in each. Additionally, Rare Country’s Humanitarian of the Year will be announced in the coming weeks.

Rare Country leader Laurissa Phillips announced the inaugural awards during an interview with MusicRow. A 2016 ceremony is not planned.

2016 Rare Country Award Nominees:

Rare Country Female Artist of the Year
Carrie Underwood
Kellie Pickler
Kelly Clarkson
Miranda Lambert
Reba McEntire

Rare Country Male Artist of the Year
Blake Shelton
Tim McGraw
George Strait
Kid Rock
Luke Bryan

Rare Country Duo/Group of the Year
Florida Georgia Line
Joey + Rory
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts

Rare Country Grand Ole Opry Moment of the Year
Carrie Underwood performs “Heartbeat” with a brand new look
Cole Swindell sings “You Should Be Here” as a tribute to his father
RaeLynn sings “Love Triangle,” an ode to children of divorce
Scotty McCreery sings “Five More Minutes” as a tribute to his grandfather
Toby Keith performs a rousing medley of Merle Haggard’s greatest hits

Rare Country New Artist of the Year
Cam
Kane Brown
Kelsea Ballerini
Maren Morris
Sam Hunt

Rare Country Tour of the Year
Carrie Underwood – “The Storyteller Tour – Stories in the Round” – Special Guests: Easton Corbin, The Swon Brothers
Garth Brooks – “The Garth Brooks World Tour with Trisha Yearwood” – Special Guest: Trisha Yearwood
Jason Aldean – “Six String Circus” Tour – Special Guests: Thomas Rhett, A Thousand Horses
Kenny Chesney – “Spread the Love 2016 Tour” – Special Guests: Miranda Lambert, Sam Hunt, Old Dominion
Luke Bryan – “Kill the Lights” Tour – Special Guests: Little Big Town, Dustin Lynch

Rare Country Story of the Year
The love story of Joey + Rory
The hot GRAMMY duet featuring Carrie Underwood and Sam Hunt
CMA’s 50th Anniversary’s “Forever Country” video and song
Blake Shelton’s post-divorce comeback song “Came Here to Forget”
The irreplaceable loss of country music legend Merle Haggard

Rare Country Fan Moment of the Year
Garth Brooks sings Happy Birthday for a grieving mother (Ottawa, Canada)
Keith Urban plays guitar onstage alongside one of his most talented fans (Gilford, NH)
Miranda Lambert gets emotional over soldier’s sign (Hartford, CT)
Rascal Flatts gives a young fan the chance of a lifetime (Dallas, TX)
Kenny Chesney tracks down one special fan (Virginia Beach, VA)