2019 MusicRow Awards Category Profile: Artist of the Year

Following last week’s announcement of this year’s nominees for the 31st annual MusicRow Awards, we take a look at a newly-added category for this year’s awards, the Artist of the Year category. The MusicRow Awards will be presented at a private ceremony on June 26.

See the full list of MusicRow Awards nominees.

Winners are determined solely by MusicRow Magazine subscribers. Voting closes on May 21 at 5 p.m. If you do not have a subscription, you may subscribe to receive a ballot.

2019 Artist of the Year nominees:

Dierks Bentley recently celebrated his 18th career No. 1 with “Burning Man,” feat. Brothers Osborne. The song is the second consecutive chart-topper from his ninth studio album The Mountain, following the hit “Woman, Amen.” Bentley co-wrote 10 of 13 tracks on The Mountain, which earned the highest debut sales of his career and became his seventh No. 1 album. Additionally, “Burning Man” earned a 2019 MusicRow Song of the Year nomination, and his tour of the same name is a sold-out success.

Kane Brown scored his third consecutive No. 1 with “Lose It,” and followed that with his new single, “Good As You,” which was the most-added at country radio that week. With the 2018 release of his album Experiment, Brown became one of only three country artists to top the overall Billboard 200 chart last year. For the album, Brown worked with Dann Huff, who is nominated for MusicRow Producer of the Year. Brown wrapped his soldout headlining arena tour in March, and will spend the summer on the road with Jason Aldean.

Eric Church is playing back-to-back nights in cities on his current Double Down Tour, visiting arenas nationwide. In addition, he’s upping the ante with a stop at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on May 25, expected to more than double his attendance record set at Bridgestone Arena in 2017. His current album, Desperate Man, debuted atop the Billboard Country Albums chart in October, and his producer Jay Joyce is nominated for 2019 MusicRow Producer of the Year. Church is a co-writer of the album’s latest single, “Some of It,” which recently climbed to No. 1 on the MusicRow Country Breakout Chart.

Luke Combs was voted Breakthrough Artist during last year’s MusicRow Awards, and he returns this year in the running for Artist of the Year. Combs recently made history as the first artist to simultaneously top all five Billboard country charts for multiple weeks. His single “Beautiful Crazy” spent seven straight weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and makes Combs the first artist to send his first five singles to the top of that chart. He is currently on the Beer Never Broke My Heart Tour, a sold-out nationwide run named after his brand new single.

Dan + Shay had a runaway year thanks to their major hits “Tequila” and “Speechless.” Together the songs made Dan + Shay the first duo to hold the top two spots on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart simultaneously for eight consecutive weeks. Also, “Tequila” was the most-streamed country song released in 2018. Their current single “All To Myself” follows suit as it climbs the charts. After Dan + Shay’s sold-out headlining tour, they will hit the road on tours with Florida Georgia Line, and Shawn Mendes. Dan + Shay are also nominated for 2019 MusicRow Song of the Year as co-writers of “Speechless,” and their producer, Scott Hendricks, is nominated for Producer of the Year.

Kacey Musgraves is having a stellar run with her latest album Golden Hour, which won four Grammy Awards, including the overall Album of the Year, and was voted Album of the Year at the CMA and ACM Awards. The project includes current single “Rainbow,” which is also nominated for MusicRow Song of the Year. Musgraves is wowing audiences around the globe on her sold-out Oh, What a World: Tour II. The acclaimed singer-songwriter is a previous three-time MusicRow Awards winner, taking the triple crown in 2013 for Breakthrough Artist, Breakthrough Songwriter, and Song of the Year.