TORONTO-
The Canadian Country Music Association awards tweak nominations in two categories this year — giving additional nods to MacKenzie Porter and the Reklaws — as they pledge to expand the audit committee that vets who fight for prizes.
The organization’s president, Amy Jeninga, explains that the categories were updated after the CCMA Awards “received a request directing us to review all eligibility data used to compile the nominations.”
“Understanding that accuracy and transparency are core values of the Canadian Country Music Association, we took the survey seriously and conducted a detailed review of the eligibility period data,” Jeninga said in a statement to The Canadian Press.
After further analysis, Porter received a nomination for Female Artist of the Year, putting her alongside Tenille Arts, Lindsay Ell, Robyn Ottolini, Meghan Patrick and Tenille Townes.
Sibling duo the Reklaws snagged a spot in the Fans’ Choice category alongside 10 other artists including Brett Kissel, Dean Brody, Dallas Smith, High Valley and the James Barker Band.
“Data categories are tab-heavy and increasingly so given fragmented publishing strategies across various channels, metadata, and eligibility criteria,” Jeninga said.
“Going forward, we will expand our audit committee and verification process to ensure the integrity of our rewards.”
Porter is now up for three awards, the other two for songwriter and his special appearance on the show “Pure Country Top 50 of 2021”, which is up for the country music program or special of the year.
The Reklaws also have three nominations in total, including their previously announced Group or Duo and Interactive Artist of the Year.
Leading the way this year is Nashville-based Alberta native Townes, who has seven nominations. The show will take place on September 11 at the Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary and will be broadcast live on Global.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on July 27, 2022.
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