2023 MusicRow Awards Category Profile: Female Artist Of The Year
Following the announcement of this year’s nominees for the 35th annual MusicRow Awards, we take a closer look at the Female Artist of the Year category. This category is voted on by MusicRow’s subscribers to honor outstanding achievements by a Nashville female artist during the eligibility period.
This year’s winners will be announced online on all MusicRow platforms on Tuesday, Sept. 12. Presenting Sponsor of the 2023 MusicRow Awards is City National Bank.
Click here to see the full list of MusicRow Awards nominees.
Winners are determined solely by MusicRow Magazine subscribers. Voting is now open and closes on Aug. 18 at 5:00 p.m.
To receive a ballot to vote in the MusicRow Awards, become a MusicRow subscriber here.
Kelsea Ballerini broke new ground this past year with the released of her fourth album, Subject To Change. The first single “Heartfirst,” quickly took over airwaves as the most added song at country radio, was certified Gold by the RIAA and earned Ballerini a Grammy nomination for Best Country Solo Performance. Soon after releasing Subject To Change, Ballerini surprised fans with the release of her intimate sixsong EP Rolling Up the Welcome Mat. The EP, along with an accompanying short film written and directed by Ballerini, became an instant hit with fans and debuted to universal acclaim from critics. On the heels of the EP’s success, Ballerini made her Saturday Night Live debut on March 4, 2023. After the Grand Ole Opry member wrapped a stint as special guest on Kenny Chesney’s “I Go Back 2023 Tour.” She sold-out three legs of her exclusive headlining “Heartfirst Tour.” Her tune “If You Go Down (I’m Going Down Too)” continues to climb at country radio.
Miranda Lambert is the most-awarded artist in ACM history and has notched 11 No. 1 hit radio singles, more than 70 prestigious awards and countless sales certifications. Her eighth solo album, Palomino, arrived in 2022 as the largest female country album debut of the year and earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album. Lambert also became a New York Times best-selling author this year with her first book, Y’all Eat Yet. With her headlining “Velvet Rodeo Las Vegas” residency extended through late 2023 at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino’s Bakkt Theater, the top streaming female country artist of 2022 was also named to the TIME100 list honoring the world’s most influential people. She is also the first female artist to have her own venue on Broadway in Nashville with her Casa Rosa Tex-Mex cantina. An avid animal lover, Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation has raised over $8 million since its inception in 2009.
Grammy, CMA and ACM award winner Ashley McBryde elevated her artistry this year with the release of her collaborative project Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville. The album earned McBryde a Grammy nomination for Best Country Album, making her a six-time nominee. She will release her next studio album The Devil I Know in September, which features the chart-climbing lead single “Light On In The Kitchen.” The now Grand Ole Opry member hit the scene with her 2018 major label debut Girl Going Nowhere. Her follow-up, Never Will, was the only album nominated for Country Album of the Year by the ACMs, CMAs and the Recording Academy in the same award season. Her Grammy-winning duet with Carly Pearce, “Never Wanted To Be That Girl,” went all the way to No. 1 and earned McBryde and Pearce a CMA, ACM and Grammy award. McBryde is currently on the road with Jelly Roll and recently announced “The Devil I Know” tour.
Grammy Award-winning singer-songwriter Carly Pearce raised the bar industry-wide with her critically acclaimed and commercially lauded third studio album 29: Written in Stone, which earned her third and fourth No. 1 hits with “Never Wanted to Be That Girl” featuring Ashley McBryde and “What He Didn’t Do.” Her duet with McBryde went on to win both the ACM and CMA Music Event of the Year, Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the Grammys and it became the third duet between two solo women to top Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. The Grand Ole Opry and Kentucky Music Hall of Fame member recently started her next musical chapter with “We Don’t Fight Anymore,” featuring Chris Stapleton, which earned her the biggest add date of her career thus far. Pearce will hit the road in October on her “Country Music Made Me Do It Tour.”
Carrie Underwood is a multi-format, multi-media superstar, spanning achievements in music, television and film, and as a New York Times bestselling author and successful entrepreneur. She has sold more than 85 million records worldwide and recorded 28 No. 1 singles–14 of which she co-wrote. She is the most-awarded female country artist for singles in RIAA history and has seven albums that are certified multi-Platinum or Platinum by the RIAA, with over 72 million total RIAA certifications to date, all while continuing to sell out arena tours across North America and the UK. Underwood released her most recent album, Denim & Rhinestones, in 2022, and she also recently completed her 43-city U.S. arena tour, “The Denim & Rhinestones Tour.” In addition to becoming the first artist to perform at the new Resorts World Theatre with her ongoing “Reflection: The Las Vegas Residency,” Underwood just launched her exclusive year-round SiriusXM channel, Carrie’s Country. Her deluxe edition of Denim & Rhinestones, featuring six new tracks, will be out on Sept. 22.
Breakout star Lainey Wilson was the leading female nominee and winner at the 2023 ACM awards with Female Vocalist of the Year, Album of The Year, Visual Media and Musical Event of the Year. She’s also the reigning CMA 2022 Female Vocalist and New Artist of the Year. After landing her first No. 1 with her Platinum-certified ACM Song of the Year, “Things A Man Oughta Know,” Wilson has revisited the top of the charts with the two-week No. 1 hit “Never Say Never” with Cole Swindell, as well as her third and fourth No. 1 songs with “Heart Like a Truck” and collaboration with Hardy, “Wait In The Truck.” Her critically acclaimed album, Bell Bottom Country, reached No. 9 on Billboard’s Country Albums Chart, quickly rose to No. 1 on iTunes charts and has amassed over 350 million streams to date. Most recently, she made her acting debut in Season 5 of the smash hit series Yellowstone as a musician character named Abby.
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