Country Radio Seminar Revises New Faces of Country Music Show Eligibility & Selection Criteria
Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart has been added as a qualifying measure for eligibility for the 2026 show.
The Country Radio Broadcasters/Country Radio Seminar board of directors has made two significant updates to the eligibility and selection criteria for its annual New Faces of Country Music Show.
Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart has been introduced as a qualifying measure for New Faces eligibility, joining the existing Mediabase Country Chart published in Country Aircheck. The expanded chart criterion incorporates digital sales and streaming data alongside terrestrial radio airplay to offer a more comprehensive view of music performance metrics.
RJ Curtis, executive director at Country Radio Broadcasters, said in a statement: “The revised New Faces Show chart criteria more broadly reflects how our music is being exposed and consumed in 2024, and how its performance is measured. While radio airplay continues to be the critically important calculation for artist success, digital sales and streaming data are also important, accurate factors in identifying the rising New Faces and voices in country music.”
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The second update places the responsibility of determining artist eligibility and management of the submission process on record labels and artist representatives. Representatives will now confirm that artists meet the minimum criteria, submit their names for ballot inclusion, and verify artist availability and willingness to perform if selected.
This shift is also aimed at increasing the level of industry involvement and accountability, ensuring artists chosen reflect the current and future landscape of country music. The new criteria are in effect for the Nov. 1, 2024, to Oct. 27, 2025, qualification period, which will impact the New Faces of Country Music Show lineup for the Country Radio Seminar 2026.
Artists must have at least one but no more than five top 25 singles on Country Aircheck‘s Mediabase Country Chart or Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart during the qualification period. Voter eligibility requirements state that “voters must be full-time employees in programming, promotion, or distribution of country music, excluding those with vested interests in individual artists.”
The ballot will include all qualifying artists submitted by their representatives, with artists listed in alphabetical order. Ballots will be reported to and approved by the Country Radio Broadcasters executive committee before final selections are made.
The 2024 New Faces of Country Music Show, held during March’s Country Radio Seminar, featured artists Megan Moroney, George Birge, Dillon Carmichael, Corey Kent and Conner Smith. Since its inception in 1970, the show has put some of country music’s brightest new talents in the spotlight, including Tim McGraw, George Strait, Taylor Swift, Faith Hill, Keith Urban, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert and Jelly Roll.
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