Following the announcement of this year’s nominees for the 33rd MusicRow Awards, we take a look at the MusicRow Song of the Year category. The nominees honor Nashville writers and publishers on the craft of songwriting, not necessarily chart performance, during the eligibility period of June 1, 2020 to May 31, 2021.

The MusicRow Awards will be announced virtually among multiple MusicRow platforms on Thursday, Aug. 19, 2021. Presenting Sponsor of the 2021 MusicRow Awards is City National Bank.

Click here to see the full list of MusicRow Awards nominees.

Winners are determined solely by MusicRow Magazine subscribed members. Voting is now open and closes on July 23 at 5 p.m.

To receive a ballot to vote in the MusicRow Awards, become a MusicRow subscribed member here.

“Black Like Me”
“If you think we live in the land of the free / you should try to be Black like me.” It is a powerful sentiment delivered by Mickey Guyton’s equally powerful voice. The song was written by Guyton in 2019 at a cross-genre writing camp with Nathan Chapman, Emma Davidson-Dillon and Fraser Churchill. She released the recording in June 2020, making an important statement in a time of social unrest, and received widespread critical acclaim. Guyton’s remarkable year included making history as the first Black female solo artist to earn a Grammy nomination in a country category, for Best Country Solo Performance for “Black Like Me,” which she performed as part of the awards ceremony. In addition, she co-hosted the ACM Awards. This is her first MusicRow Awards nomination, and she is also nominated for Breakthrough Artist of the Year.

“Give Heaven Some Hell”
Penned by Hardy with Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson, and Hunter Phelps, “Give Heaven Some Hell” is a song full of heart, grief and ultimately, hope. On first listen it could come across as a redneck ode to the afterlife—a good ole boy’s dream of muddy fields, beer and clear, and hitting “gold streets on two-wheels.” But a few more listens reveal depth below the surface, with imagery and rhyme (“Make some thunder / make ‘em wonder how you got in”) and references to classic hymns (“Amazing Grace,” “Just As I Am”). Produced by Joey Moi with co-production by Derek Wells, it is from Hardy’s debut album A Rock and is the follow-up single to his No. 1 hit “One Beer.” Gorley is the reigning MusicRow Male Songwriter of the Year and is nominated again this year. Moi is vying for Producer of the Year and Johnson is up for Breakthrough Artist-Writer.

“Half Of My Hometown”
Written by Kelsea Ballerini, Shane McAnally, Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins, and Nicolle Galyon, it is a heartfelt tribute to hometowns, and the conflicting desires to stay or leave the place where you grew up. (“Stay or leave / part of me / will always be / half of my hometown”). For the recording Ballerini tapped fellow Knoxville native Kenny Chesney to add harmonies. It is from her self-titled third album Kelsea, which she co-produced with Copperman and Robbins. Copperman is nominated for MusicRow Producer of the Year and Male Songwriter, while Galyon is up for Female Songwriter. Ballerini recently attained her sixth No. 1 song with “Hole In The Bottle.”

“Hell Of A View”
Eric Church is “chasing life instead of dollar bills” in his hit song “Hell Of A View.” Co-written with longtime collaborators Casey Beathard and Monty Criswell, it’s an endearing and rebellious love story about the stellar view from life on the edge. Delivered with classic Church conviction and backing vocals by powerhouse Joanna Cotten, he sings, “This ain’t for everybody / Toes hanging off the ledge / Like we got nothin’ to lose / Ain’t always heaven, baby / This livin’ on the edge / You holdin’ me holdin’ you / It’s a hell of a view.” It is his tenth No. 1 and is on his critically acclaimed new triple album Heart & Soul. This summer the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year returns to the road with The Gather Again Tour.

“My Boy”
Elvie Shane proves that love and devotion transcend traditional family ties on his song “My Boy.” Written about his stepson (“He’s my son and that’s my choice / he ain’t my blood but he’s my boy”), the song became a viral hit which resonated with many blended families. This led to a record deal with BBR, which released it as a single, where it is Top 20 on country radio. It is featured on the Kentucky native’s debut EP, County Roads, which is chock full of blue-collar grit, vivid imagery and nostalgia delivered by Shane’s soulful vocals. His breakout year includes his debut on the Grand Ole Opry, and being direct support for Jason Aldean at his first live concert in more than a year. This summer he will join Brooks & Dunn’s 2021 Reboot Tour, Miranda Lambert’s amphitheater dates, and anticipate the arrival of his baby girl.

“Next Girl”
Carly Pearce wrote this song of warning with hitmakers Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne. (“If he ever talks about the ex girl / she tried like hell / it was too late to save herself / so she’s just trying to help the next girl…I know what happens next… girl”). It’s a clever song found on Pearce’s acclaimed album 29, which explores life after loss, and shows the songstress emerging from the ashes. Among her other recent successes are the hit “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” recorded with Lee Brice, and joining CCM artist Matthew West on a new version of his No. 1 “Truth Be Told.” She was recently surprised by Dolly Parton with an invitation to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry, and will spend the summer touring with Lady A. Co-writer Osborne is nominated for Male Songwriter of the Year.

Walker Hayes

Walker Hayes continues his stay at the top of the country streaming songs chart with “Fancy Like” topping the chart again this week. Hayes earned an impressive 10 million streams this week, adding for a total of 30 million RTD, according to Nielsen.

The remainder of this week’s top five songs also remain the same with “Lil Bit” (Nelly & FGL) receiving 7.5 million streams, “Forever After All” (Luke Combs) getting 7.4 million, “Famous Friends” (Chris Young & Kane Brown) gaining 6.9 million, and “Glad You Exist” (Dan + Shay) adding 6.3 million.

Once again, Morgan Wallen takes the top country streaming album with Dangerous: The Double Album earning another 44,000 streams this week, totaling 53 million RTD, according to Nielsen. Wallen also maintains No. 4 with If I Know Me gaining another 14,000 streams. Combs keeps the No. 2 and No. 3 spots with What You See Is What You Get and This One’s For You receiving 24,000 and 17,000 streams this week, respectively. Rounding out this week’s top albums, Chris Stapleton‘s Traveller re-enters the top five after gaining 13,000 streams this week.

Maurisa Pasick and Gwen Foster

Brown Sellers Brown Management, the full-service management company helmed by industry veterans Benny Brown, Jason Sellers and Paul Brown, has added two new faces to its in-house staff.

Promotion veteran Gwen Foster has been named West Coast Director of Promotion & Marketing, while industry executive Maurisa Pasick will serve as East Coast Director of Promotion & Marketing. They will support BSM’s roster that includes multi-Platinum country star Joe Nichols, as well as singer-songwriter Ben Gallaher and up-and-coming country artist Nate Barnes.

A 25+ year music industry veteran, Foster has worked with the likes of Luke Combs, Aaron Watson, Montgomery Gentry, Colt Ford, Don Henley, and more. She previously served as the Director of West/Southwest Promotion for Big Label Records, the Director of Midwest Promotion for Thirty Tigers, and in West Coast Promotion for I.R.S./Capitol Records, Average Joe Records, and Treehouse Records.

“I couldn’t be more excited about working with Benny Brown, Jason Sellers, and Paul Brown and the outstanding artists at BSB Management! Opportunities like this don’t come along every day and I feel very blessed to be collaborating with the on-fire Quartz Hill Records promotion team,” shares Foster.

Pasick joins BSB Management with over 15 years of promotion experience, spending more than a decade as the Northeast Director of Promotion for New Revolution Entertainment. Pasick most recently served as the National Director of Promotion for Riser House Records, overseeing a staff of five and working with Dillon Carmichael, Meghan Patrick, Ronnie Milsap, and more.

“I’m incredibly honored and humbled to join a company with the reputation these guys have and, the music–oh my God–the music is good! So excited to jump right in,” says Pasick.

“Paul, Jason, and I are so excited to add Gwen and Maurisa to the Brown Sellers Brown Management family. Both their passion and experience are great additions to our team, and a great support for our artists and our other brands,” says BSB Co-Founder Benny Brown.

Pasick will be based in Nashville and can be reached at Maurisa@bsbmgmt.com. Foster will be based in Phoenix and can be reached at Gwen@bsbmgmt.com.

Pictured (clockwise): Blake Shelton, Toby Keith, Little Big Town

The iHeartCountry Festival will make its return on Saturday, Oct. 30 at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas.

Now in its eighth year, the 2021 lineup will feature Blake Shelton, Toby Keith, Little Big Town, Jake Owen, Lee Brice, Carly Pearce, Cole Swindell, and Chase Rice. The show, presented by Capital One, will once again be hosted by iHeartMedia’s nationally-syndicated top on-air country personality, Bobby Bones.

“The iHeartCountry Festival is one of country music’s most-anticipated nights, and this year is especially exciting,” says Rod Phillips, Executive Vice President of Programming for iHeartCountry. “Live music is back, and we can’t wait to return to the Frank Erwin Center with this iconic lineup.”

Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, July 30 at 12 p.m. CST. LiveXLive Media will also be exclusively streaming the main stage for fans globally and iHeartMedia’s country music radio stations will broadcast the event live in their local markets and on iHeartRadio.com.

Jason Aldean has reached another career milestone this week as he charts his 25th career No. 1 with his latest hit, “Blame It On You.” The single currently holds the top spot on both the Mediabase/Country Aircheck Singles chart and Billboard‘s Country Airplay this week. The single also went No. 1 on MusicRow‘s CountryBreakout chart on May 21, 2021.

The track marks back-to-back chart-toppers off his sixth consecutive No. 1-selling album, 9. “Blame It On You” gives Aldean his 34th Top 10 song on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart since making his chart debut in 2005, which is more than any other artist to date.

“25 No. 1 songs is bigger than I could have dreamed while I was driving that delivery truck back in Macon, GA,” Aldean shares. “This one is for the fans, country radio, and my team for taking this crazy ride with us.”

Aldean is returning to the road Aug. 5 for his Back In The Saddle Tour in Virginia Beach with special guests Hardy and Lainey Wilson. For more tour and ticket information, click here.