Originally called the Horizon Award when introduced in 1981, the New Artist of the Year award is given to the developing artist that voters feel have demonstrated the most growth in their career during the past year. Here’s a look back at previous nominees and winners, following a rundown of this year’s contenders.
For a look back at the other major categories, visit our CMA Awards page.
New Artist of the Year (2008-Present)
2016
Nominees:
Kelsea Ballerini
Brothers Osborne
Maren Morris
Old Dominion
Cole Swindell
No artist can be nominated more than twice for New Artist of the Year, and this year’s lineup has has 2014 nominee Cole Swindell and 2015 nominee Kelsea Ballerini getting their second and final chance in this category. They are joined by three artists nominated for the first time, who will all be eligible again next year if they lose.
2015
Kelsea Ballerini
Sam Hunt
Maddie & Tae
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Chris Stapleton dominated the 2015 CMA Awards, winning Album of the Year along with Male Vocalist and New Artist. In doing so, he became the first artist since Carrie Underwood in 2006 to win both this award and their Vocalist category on the same night.
2014
Brandy Clark
Brett Eldredge
Kip Moore
Thomas Rhett
Cole Swindell
Rising star Brett Eldredge won in his second attempt at the trophy, the most recent artist to do so and the first since Zac Brown Band in 2010.
2013
Lee Brice
Brett Eldredge
Florida Georgia Line
Kip Moore
Kacey Musgraves
Kacey Musgraves dominated the award shows on the strength of her debut album, Same Trailer Different Park, which would later earn her a Grammy and an ACM for Album of the Year.
2012
Lee Brice
Brantley Gilbert
Hunter Hayes
Love and Theft
Thompson Square
Young star Hunter Hayes won in 2012 on the strength of his popular debut album that spawned the hits, “Wanted” and “Somebody’s Heartbreak.”
2011
The Band Perry
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Thompson Square
Chris Young
The prize went home with the Band Perry, largely on the strength of “If I Die Young,” which won Song of the Year the same evening.
2010
Luke Bryan
Easton Corbin
Jerrod Neimann
Chris Young
Zac Brown Band
Zac Brown Band became the fifth band to win this award, and the second to do so without ever winning Vocal Group of the Year.
2009
Randy Houser
Jamey Johnson
Jake Owen
Darius Rucker
Zac Brown Band
Thirteen years after winning the Best New Artist Grammy as part of Hootie & The Blowfish, Darius Rucker won the country music equivalent, adding an exclamation point to the most successful pop-to-country crossover in a generation.
2008
Jason Aldean
Rodney Atkins
Lady Antebellum
James Otto
Kellie Pickler
Industry favorites Lady Antebellum became the fourth band in history to win this award, following Rascal Flatts, Dixie Chicks and Sawyer Brown.
Horizon Award (1981-2007)
2007
Jason Aldean
Rodney Atkins
Little Big Town
Kellie Pickler
Taylor Swift
Taylor Swift won her first major industry award when she became the final artist to win the Horizon Award.
2006
Miranda Lambert
Little Big Town
Sugarland
Josh Turner
Carrie Underwood
Carrie Underwood’s transition from American Idol winner to country music star was completed at the 2006 CMA Awards, where she won both the Horizon Award and Female Vocalist of the Year, the first woman to do so since Alison Krauss in 1995.
2005
Dierks Bentley
Big & Rich
Miranda Lambert
Julie Roberts
Sugarland
Dierks Bentley has been a regular nominee at the CMA Awards since his victory for Horizon Award in 2005, competing often in the Male Vocalist and Album of the Year categories.
2004
Dierks Bentley
Big & Rich
Julie Roberts
Josh Turner
Gretchen Wilson
Gretchen Wilson’s multi-platinum debut album was powered by the #1 hit, “Redneck Woman,” and helped her secure a Horizon Award victory.
2003
Gary Allan
Buddy Jewell
Joe Nichols
Blake Shelton
Darryl Worley
Traditionalist favorite Joe Nichols won in a year dominated by traditionalists, a sign that the genre was turning away from the pop crossover sound that had dominated it in the late nineties and early new century.
2002
Carolyn Dawn Johnson
Nickel Creek
Rascal Flatts
Phil Vassar
Darryl Worley
Their win for Horizon Award kicked off a very successful decade for Rascal Flatts, who would become among the genre’s top record sellers in the years that followed.
2001
Jessica Andrews
Nickel Creek
Jamie O’Neal
Keith Urban
Phil Vassar
His debut album was about as successful as those of his fellow nominees, but the CMA singled out the one act of the five that would become a superstar artist in the years to come.
2000
Sara Evans
Montgomery Gentry
Brad Paisley
SHeDaisy
Chely Wright
Brad Paisley was the traditional artist with all the buzz in 2000, and although that hasn’t always led to long-term success, it certainly did in Paisley’s case. This was the first of several major awards that Paisley would win over the next ten years.
1999
Kenny Chesney
Sara Evans
Jo Dee Messina
The Wilkinsons
Chely Wright
Jo Dee Messina was at her commercial peak when she won this award, dominating radio with hits like “Stand Beside Me” and “Lesson in Leavin’.”
1998
Trace Adkins
Dixie Chicks
Jo Dee Messina
Michael Peterson
Lee Ann Womack
The Dixie Chicks still hold the distinction of being the only act to win the Horizon Award and Vocal Group of the Year on the same night.
1997
Trace Adkins
Deana Carter
Terri Clark
LeAnn Rimes
Lee Ann Womack
LeAnn Rimes won the award on her second try, having already sold nearly ten million records when she did.
1996
Terri Clark
Wade Hayes
LeAnn Rimes
Shania Twain
Bryan White
Bryan White’s strong year at retail and radio powered him to his victory in this category.
1995
David Ball
John Berry
Faith Hill
Alison Krauss
Shania Twain
Alison Krauss became the first woman to win both Horizon Award and Female Vocalist on the same night, a feat only matched by Carrie Underwood to date.
1994
Faith Hill
Martina McBride
Tim McGraw
John Michael Montgomery
Lee Roy Parnell
The huge success of “I Swear” helped John Michael Montgomery sell four million copies of his 1994 album, and win a Horizon Award trophy along the way.
1993
Mark Chesnutt
Sammy Kershaw
Tracy Lawrence
John Michael Montgomery
Trisha Yearwood
Mark Chesnutt received his first major industry award when he triumphed in this category over four other rising stars.
1992
Suzy Bogguss
Brooks & Dunn
Billy Dean
Pam Tillis
Trisha Yearwood
Suzy Bogguss was the surprise winner in 1992, and she followed her victory with a string of gold and platinum albums and several top ten radio hits.
1991
Mary Chapin Carpenter
Mark Chesnutt
Doug Stone
Pam Tillis
Travis Tritt
Travis Tritt’s second album was his commercial peak, and its multi-platinum sales helped him win the Horizon Award in 1991.
1990
Garth Brooks
Alan Jackson
Kentucky Headhunters
Lorrie Morgan
Travis Tritt
Garth Brooks remains the only artist in CMA History to follow up a Horizon Award win with an Entertainer of the Year victory the next year.
1989
Clint Black
Desert Rose Band
Patty Loveless
Shenandoah
Keith Whitley
The Class of 1989 helped the nineties become the genre’s biggest decade ever, and the leader of the pack was Clint Black, this year’s Horizon Award victor.
1988
Highway 101
Patty Loveless
K.T. Oslin
Ricky Van Shelton
Sweethearts of the Rodeo
There was a trend around this time for male artists to win the Horizon Award one year, and then win Male Vocalist the next. Shelton followed this trend when he won Male Vocalist in 1989 after his Horizon Award victory here.
1987
T. Graham Brown
Holly Dunn
The O’Kanes
Restless Heart
Sweethearts of the Rodeo
Holly Dunn’s signature hit ,”Daddy’s Hands,” helped her stand out in a talented field this year.
1986
The Forester Sisters
Kathy Mattea
Dan Seals
Randy Travis
Dwight Yoakam
Randy Travis was already on the cusp of superstardom when he won this award on the strength of the classic hits, “On the Other Hand” and “Diggin’ Up Bones.”
1985
Ray Charles
Mel McDaniel
Eddy Raven
Sawyer Brown
John Schneider
Sawyer Brown followed up their first place finish on the debut season of Star Search with a Horizon Award win.
1984
Deborah Allen
Earl Thomas Conley
Vern Gosdin
The Judds
Michael Martin Murphey
The Judds began their award show dominance with their Horizon Award victory, which would soon be accompanied by more than a dozen Vocal Duo and Vocal Group awards from the CMAs, ACMs, and Grammys.
1983
John Anderson
Vern Gosdin
Reba McEntire
George Strait
The Whites
A historically strong lineup that John Anderson won, in part because of his massive crossover hit, “Swingin’.”
1982
John Anderson
Rosanne Cash
David Frizzell
Lee Greenwood
Ricky Skaggs
Ricky Skaggs won Male Vocalist the very same night, making him the first artist in history to win both the Horizon Award and their vocalist race. No other male artist achieved this feat again until Chris Stapleton in 2015.
1981
Boxcar Willie
Rosanne Cash
David Frizzell
Terri Gibbs
T.G. Sheppard
Shelly West
The inaugural year for the Horizon Award is also the only year to feature six nominees instead of five. The win went to Terri Gibbs, who had her first and biggest hit that year with “Somebody’s Knockin’.”