As 2023 ends, the team at Country Central put their heads together to nominate the most deserving artists for this year’s staff-selected awards. The featured categories include Male Artist, Female Artist, New Artist Duo/Group, Best Project, Best Song, Best Collab, Songwriter, Worst Song, and Cover Art.
Zach Bryan’s remarkable momentum continued well into 2023, culminating in a whopping eight nominations. Among them, he secured three nods for Best Collab, collaborating on “Holy Roller” with Sierra Ferrell, “Sarah’s Place” featuring Noah Kahan, and “I Remember Everything” alongside Kacey Musgraves.
Joining the spotlight, Zach’s close friend, Charles Wesley Godwin, also earned multiple nominations, totaling four. Rising star Wyatt Flores made a splash with nominations in Best New Artist, Songwriter, and Cover Art categories. Megan Moroney’s stellar year garnered her four nominations, including a nod for Best Project with “Lucky.”
Of course, there is the award no one wants to win: Worst Song of the Year. The nominees are a pretty spread-out group of artists, but there is one thing they all have in common: they all released a song that probably should’ve stayed in the vault.
The winners of the awards will be announced on Country Central’s Instagram this Thursday, December 7th.
Full List of Nominations Below:
Best Male Artist
Zach Bryan
Charles Wesley Godwin
Luke Combs
Cody Johnson
Morgan Wallen
Best Female Artist
Kelsea Ballerini
Megan Moroney
Morgan Wade
Hailey Whitters
Lainey Wilson
Best Songwriter
Charles Wesley Godwin
HARDY
Randy Montana
Wyatt Flores
Zach Bryan
Best Project
Family Ties – Charles Wesley Godwin
Gettin’ Old – Luke Combs
Higher – Chris Stapelton
Lucky – Megan Moroney
Zach Bryan – Zach Bryan
New Artist
Sam Barber
Wyatt Flores
Dylan Gossett
Evan Honer
Lauren Watkins
Duo/Group
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Flatland Cavlary
Muscadine Bloodline
Turnpike Troubadors
Best Collab
“Fix You Too” – Megan Moroney (feat. Kameron Marlowe)
“Holy Roller” – Zach Bryan (feat. Sierra Ferrell)
“I Remember Everything” – Zach Bryan (feat. Kacey Musgraves)
“Man Made a Bar” – Morgan Wallen (feat. Eric Church)
“Sarah’s Place” – Zach Bryan (feat. Noah Kahan)
Best Song
“Family Ties” – Charles Wesley Godwin
“Ticking” – Zach Bryan
“What am I Gonna Do” – Chris Stapelton
“Where the Wild Things Are” – Luke Combs
“White Horse – Chris Stapelton
Worst Song
“Boys Back Home” – Dylan Scott & Dylan Marlowe
“Chevrolet” – Dustin Lynch (feat. Jelly Roll)
“Fancy Like Christmas” – Walker Hays
“Giddy Up!” – Shania Twain
“Try That in a Small Town” – Jason Aldean
Cover Art
Coal – Dylan Gossett
Leather – Cody Johnson
Life Lessons – Wyatt Flores
Lucky – Megan Moroney
Zach Bryan – Zach Bryan
