CMT revealed the ten artists named to its prestigious “CMT NEXT WOMEN OF COUNTRY” franchise, the brand’s long-running effort to support and expose developing female talent.
And Laci Kaye Booth, who finished in fourth place on American Idol season 17 is included on the list of 10 female country singers. Big Machine Label group and 19 Recordings signed the country singer-songwriter after the 2019 season wrapped up. In 2021, Laci released a self-titled EP and a set of acoustic versions titled Shuffle.
Laci recently posted a new unreleased song, “Don’t Ask Me to Dance”
CMT Hot 20 Countdown officially introduced the class of 2022 during a dedicated three-hour special episode on Saturday Jan 22 and Sun Jan 23. The special featured exclusive interviews and performances with each new NWOC members, plus an exclusive interview with NWOC alumna (2015) Maren Morris who reflected on her experience with the program.
Previous members of the CMT Next Women of Country class include American Idol 10 and new Opry member Lauren Alaina, American Idol 16 alum Gabby Barrett, American Idol 5 alum Mickey Guyton, The Voice 4 winner Danielle Bradbery and more.
The full “CMT Next Women of Country” Class of 2022 is:
Amythyst Kiah
Callista Clark
Camille Parker
Jenna Paulette
Julia Cole
Laci Kaye Booth
Lily Rose
Madeline Edwards
Miko Marks
Morgan Wade
“We are so excited to welcome our newest class of ultra-talented female artists into our beloved CMT Next Women of Country franchise,” said Leslie Fram, SVP of Music & Talent at CMT. “Each is boldly blazing their own spirited path on their own terms, destined to make a lasting impact on country music. We celebrate this diverse group of women and look forward to supporting their work and their careers in 2022 and beyond.”
Over the next year, the new CMT NWOC class will receive cross-brand support for their music and videos across CMT, CMT Music, PlutoTV’s ‘CMT Equal Play’ channel, CMT Hot 20 Countdown, CMT.com and @CMT social channels, in addition to cross-promotional opportunities for ViacomCBS’ MTV Entertainment Group brands with live events, the ViacomCBS Times Square NYC Billboard and more.
