Thirteen rising artists named to year-long campaign
CMT has revealed its newest lineup of rising artists to watch in its highly-anticipated 2022 CMT Listen Up campaign, which recognizes and supports country musicโs most promising newcomers across CMT platforms. Breland, Brittney Spencer, Elvie Shane, Frank Ray, Jaime Wyatt, Kat & Alex, Lily Rose, Morgan Wade, Sam Williams, Shy Carter, Tiera, Walker Hayes and Yola will be highlight across CMT’s platforms in 2022.
The year-long initiative is committed to raising support for these artists via full cross-brand support for their music and videos across CMT and CMT Music, CMT Hot 20 Countdown, CMT.com and @CMT social platforms, in additional to opportunities across other MTV Entertainment Group brands with live events, the ViacomCBS Times Square NYC Billboard and more.
โOur Class of 2022 class truly represents what the future of country music looks like – wildly talented, diverse newcomers who are all positively impacting our genre with their own very unique style,โ shares Leslie Fram, SVP of Music & Talent at CMT. โWe canโt wait to work with this exciting group of rising artists across CMTโs many initiatives, including Equal Play, while continuing to introduce their music to audiences at CMT and beyond.โ
Since 2011, CMTโs Listen Up franchise has introduced new talent to the brandโs passionate fan base and has helped launch the careers of many country sensations. Some notable alumni of the franchise include Ashley McBryde, Blanco Brown, Brett Eldredge, Carly Pearce, Dan + Shay, Gabby Barrett, Ingrid Andress, Jimmie Allen, Jon Pardi, Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Combs, Maren Morris and Thomas Rhett, among others.