Each year, countless country artists pop up and deliver amazing songs, leaving country music fans craving more. We can’t expect anything less from these artists because they all want to survive and make a name for themselves in a highly competitive genre. With so many of them, it takes a lot of work to keep track of the new country artists to look forward to in 2023.
No need to worry about that anymore because we’ve got your back, fam! We did the dirty work and came up with the top five new country singers you can look forward to in 2023.
Parker McCollum
During the CMT Music Awards on April 11, 2022, Parker McCollum got recognized as one of the year’s most prominent breakthrough artists. In addition, McCollum’s “To Be Loved By You” music video also got nominated for the Breakthrough Video of the Year award. The song itself came out huge, hitting number one on country radio and doing impressively well on the Billboard charts.
McCollum has opened for famous country acts such as Dierk Bentley and even Sam Hunt. During the CMA Awards 2022 event, Parker McCollum got nominated for the New Artist of the Year award.
HARDY
HARDY has charted the singles “One Beer” and “Rednecker” after releasing his 2020 debut album for Bog Loud Records called “A Rock.” After breaking ground with his highly acclaimed 2020 album, he earned the reputation of being Philadelphia’s pride and “Nashville’s clever new redneck songwriter.”
While considered one of the new country artists in the industry, it isn’t HARDY’s first ride to the top because he’s already co-written plenty of hits. He co-penned eight chart-toppers, including “God’s Country” for Blake Shelton, “More Than My Hometown” for Morgan Wallen, and his own, “One Beer,” which also made it to platinum. During the recent CMA Awards 2022 event, HARDY also received a nomination in the New Artist of the Year category.
Cody Johnson
Cody Johnson has self-released six albums, including his “Gotta Be Me” album, which debuted at the number two spot on the Billboard Country Albums Chart. What’s more impressive is that he did that before releasing his first major-label album, “Ain’t Nothin’ To It,” in 2019.
Cody burst into the mainstream country music scene after releasing his hit song “Til You Can’t.” Most people don’t know that Cody has been living the musician’s life for years. He’s earned widespread success as an independent artist and has only widened his reach by signing with a record company. He also got a New Artist of the Year nomination for the CMA Awards 2022.
Walker Hayes
Another fantastic new country artist to look forward to in 2023 is Walker Hayes. He has released three studio albums: his 2011 Reason to Rhyme under Capitol Records Nashville, the 2017 Boom, and 2022 Country Stuff albums under Monument Records.
Hayes has also charted several singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts. “Fancy Like” was his highest-peaking song. Between late 2021 and early 2022, the song reached the number-one spot on both charts. If you haven’t noticed the pattern yet, Hayes also got nominated for New Artist of the Year during the CMA 2022 Awards.
Lainey Wilson
Lainey Wilson is one of the most prominent artists in country music today. She released her first album in 2014 and followed it up in 2016 with her second one under the Lone Chief label. In 2020, she released “Things a Man Oughta Know” as a single under the BBR Music Group, eventually reaching the number one spot on the American Country Songs chart.
Lainey Wilson is also the CMA 2022 New Artist of the Year winner. She’s, without a doubt, the one many of us should look forward to in 2023.
There you have it; these are our top five picks for new country artists to look forward to in 2023. It’s obvious, but in case you missed it, these five artists are the nominees for the CMA 2022 New Artist of the Year Award. Since the CMA has recognized them, it only stands to reason that we look forward to how their careers will go from here on.
