Which country artists will perform at CRS New Faces in 2017?

[Deleted]

Every year at CRS (Country Radio Seminar), 5 up-and-coming new artists are voted in to play at the CRS New Faces show. CRS is a pretty huge radio/industry event, and the New Faces show in particular is a big deal as it allows new artists to play their music for literally everyone who works for country radio.

And it's basically a popularity contest, as only those people who work for radio stations are allowed to vote. So the New Faces show can be a pretty good indicator of which new artists radio is really enamored with. There are 11 nominees this year; their names are listed in the poll above. The top 5 vote-getters will be the New Faces performers.

I will list the artists and their respective labels again, as well as the New Faces performers from years past. Keep in mind, though, that what label they're on really doesn't matter, as label staffers do not vote. It is only those who work for country radio stations that can vote.

My question is simply this: which artists do Pulse members think will be voted in to the New Faces show? The idea isn't to vote for your favorite artists, but to vote for which ones you think are most likely to be voted in by radio employees.

Here are the 11 nominees for the CRS New Faces 2017 show:

• Lauren Alaina (19 Recordings/Interscope Records/Mercury Nashville)
  
• Tucker Beathard (Dot Records)
  
• Chase Bryant (Red Bow Records)
  
• Chris Lane (Big Loud Records)
  
• William Michael Morgan (Warner Bros. Records/Warner Music Nashville/WMN Promotion)
  
• Maren Morris (Columbia Nashville)
  
• Jon Pardi (Capitol Nashville)
  
• Michael Ray (Atlantic Nashville/Warner Music Nashville/WEA Promotion)
  
• Granger Smith (Wheelhouse Records)
  
• Drake White (Dot Records)
  
• Brett Young (BMLG Records)
  

Past "CRS New Faces" Performers:

2016: Brothers Osborne, Kelsea Ballerini, Cam, Old Dominion, and Chris Janson

2015: Cole Swindell, Eric Paslay, Frankie Ballard, Maddie & Tae, and Sam Hunt

2014: Brett Eldredge, Cassadee Pope, Charlie Worsham, Thomas Rhett, and Tyler Farr

2013: Brantley Gilbert, Easton Corbin, Florida Georgia Line, Jana Kramer, and Kip Moore

2012: David Nail, Eli Young Band, Hunter Hayes, Sunny Sweeney, and Thompson Square

2011: Jerrod Niemann, Josh Thompson, Lee Brice, Steel Magnolia, and The Band Perry

2010: Chris Young, Gloriana, Justin Moore, Love and Theft, and Randy Houser

2009: Chuck Wicks, James Otto, Kellie Pickler, Lady Antebellum, and Zac Brown Band

2008: Bucky Covington, Jake Owen, Jason Michael Carroll, Luke Bryan, and Taylor Swift

2007: Eric Church, Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert, Rodney Atkins, and Trent Tomlinson

2006: Hot Apple Pie, Jason Aldean, Jeff Bates, Keith Anderson, and Little Big Town

2005: Billy Currington, Blue County, Josh Gracin, Julie Roberts, and Sugarland

2004: Buddy Jewell, Craig Morgan, Dierks Bentley, Jimmy Wayne, and Pat Green

2003: Emerson Drive, Joe Nichols, Kellie Coffey, Steve Azar, and Tammy Cochran

2002: Blake Shelton, Carolyn Dawn Johnson, Cyndi Thompson, Darryl Worley, and Rascal Flatts

2001: Chris Cagle, Phil Vassar, Sara Evans, The Clark Family Experience, and Trick Pony

2000: Andy Griggs, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, Montgomery Gentry, and SHeDAISY

[Deleted]

For me, there are two clear front-runners, and they are Maren Morris and Jon Pardi. After that, it's hard to guess. It's interesting that 6 of the 11 nominees have been OTV artists: Lauren Alaina with "Road Less Traveled", Tucker Beathard with "Rock On", Chase Bryant with "Take It On Back", Maren Morris with "My Church", Michael Ray with "Kiss You In The Morning", and Granger Smith with "Boring Song Backroad Song".

Here's how I'd rank them, and the first 5 were who I voted for in the poll:

01 Maren Morris
02 Jon Pardi

03 Lauren Alaina
04 William Michael Morgan
05 Granger Smith
06 Brett Young
07 Tucker Beathard
08 Chase Bryant
09 Chris Lane
10 Drake White
11 Michael Ray

But to be honest, any of them making it in wouldn't really surprise me. I think the field is pretty even this year (in terms of the artists' popularity among radio employees), with the exceptions of Maren and Jon. If either of those two doesn't make the final 5, then I'd be very surprised. But for the others though...yeah, it's hard to guess.

Maren has the industry acclaim and she already released a popular album. Jon also has a new album out there and he's pretty red hot right now. Lauren doesn't have a sophomore album out yet and I admit that I'm not sure if she'll be among the final 5, but the one thing that gives me hope is that she's been around for a long time without success, but only just now does it finally seem that radio is really interested. William Michael Morgan doesn't have the numbers commercially, but I think radio programmers are going to like "Missing", and I think they already like the success story of "I Met A Girl" and its long chart run, which is still fresh in their minds (the song peaked not very long ago). And then Granger Smith...well, consumers don't seem to be interested in his music, but I think he might make it in due to his social media following. I think he's actually more popular than his two Wheelhouse singles would lead us to believe (seriously, BBRMG is marketing Granger as some boring vanilla artist...I feel like he was actually more popular before he signed with Wheelhouse, but I think he's still popular enough with radio folks that he has a decent chance to be voted in here).

Brett Young could easily get in and I nearly put him ahead of Lauren, WMM, and Granger, especially since Brett will be releasing his debut album in February and radio really liked "Sleep Without You", which just went #1 on Mediabase, and without the assistance of OTV, too. So he could easily get in. Tucker is in a similar situation, with the difference being that his full-length debut album hasn't been scheduled yet. But radio seemed to like "Rock On" and new single "Momma and Jesus" has gotten a solid number of adds these last few weeks. Chase Bryant - radio likes him but I think they know that "Take It On Back" didn't make much of an impact. Still, he could get in. Chris Lane took "Fix" up to the top of the charts and he has a very unique (read: "non-country") sound, which could unfortunately help him here. Drake White has a lot of potential and I think "Makin' Me Look Good Again" could be a big hit, but I think "Livin' The Dream" got going a little too late for Drake to have enough momentum to be voted in for New Faces...I do think he has an outside shot, though. And finally, Michael Ray...his first single was an OTV #1 hit, but didn't seem to make much of an impact. His 2nd single stalled in the teens due to poor callout, but now "Think A Little Less" -- despite somewhat poor sales and streaming numbers -- is testing well and is picking up the pace on the airplay charts. Still, I get the sense that his momentum isn't as high as some of the others so I ranked him last, but again, I think 3-11 are all very close in terms of popularity/momentum. I think Maren and Jon are the only shoo-ins.

[.indulgecountry]

Predicting it'll be these five, in order of likelihood:

1. Maren Morris
2. Jon Pardi
3. William Michael Morgan
4. Brett Young
5. Lauren Alaina

These are also the five I think are the most deserving and I'd be pretty pleased with this set. I like Chase Bryant and Michael Ray as well, but neither of them seem to have quite made the same kind of impact as some of the others to be chosen. And the other four are either boring or awful so I hope none of them get selected.

[zaclord 🌈]

1. Maren Morris
2. Jon Pardi
3. William Michael Morgan
4. Brett Young
5. Granger Smith
6. Lauren Alaina
7. Tucker Beathard
8. Chris Lane
9. Drake White
10. Chase Bryant
11. Michael Ray

I'm hoping Lauren gets it over Granger though. But I also wouldn't be surprised at any of these making the final 5. Just really hoping Michael Ray doesn't make the list. Maren and Jon are definitely in though.

[Kurt]

Pretty much everyone got 4/5:

William Michael Morgan
Maren Morris
Jon Pardi
Granger Smith
Drake White

www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/160307/crs-2017-new-faces-show-lineup-announced

[Deleted]

Dagnabbit Kurt beat me to it!

Well since the results are out, I went and locked the poll