The 2017 Grammy nominees were announced today, and the Best New Artist category sports two names that may be unfamiliar to some FADER readers: Kelsea Ballerini and Maren Morris. The musicians are two rising stars of country music, and have both logged important milestones in their respective careers. Learn more about them below.
Kelsea's debut album The First Time went gold, while Maren enjoyed a platinum single in "My Church."
"My Church" peaked at number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 before getting certified, while The First Time got its gold plaque in October 2016.
Maren has co-written songs for Tim McGraw, and Kelly Clarkson, as well as tracks for the acclaimed TV series Nashville.
Her talents appeared on "Last Turn Home" from McGraw's 2014 album Sundown Heaven Town, and on Clarkson's "Second Wind", taken from 2015's Piece by Piece.
Kelsea co-hosted the performance series Greatest Hits with Arsenio Hall.
Maren didn't make the cut for those big TV singing competitions.
"It's full circle, because I was rejected from The Voice," she told Rolling Stone. "I was rejected from American Idol — and I'm happier for it now."
Maren's writing advice: drink a lot the night before.
This is why sometimes it's good to write hungover because it gets rid of your filter," she told Rolling Stone. "You come out with stuff that you can't overthink because you're hungover. I've written some really good songs that I love hungover because I wasn't overthinking it."
Kelsea's hits have historical significance.
She's the fifth female country artist in history to have back-to-back number one hits on the country charts with "Dibs" and "Love Me Like You Mean It."
Kelsea is a big Shania Twain fan.
