Country singer Josh Ross, ‘American Idol' star Cameron Whitcomb lead CCMA Awards noms
The CCMA announced on Thursday that both musicians secured six nods each, and would face off in the fans' choice, male artist, entertainer and single of the year categories.
They're trailed by Brett Kissel and Owen Riegling, who both nabbed five nominations, while Jade Eagleson picked up four.
Ross, a Burlington, Ont. native who lives in Nashville, already has four CCMA trophies and led the winners at last year's celebration. He most recently captured attention after declaring that the United States was 'the best' country in the world at a music festival in Indiana.
Whitcomb, who grew up in Nanaimo, B.C., is a first-time nominee and performer on the broadcast. The 22-year-old catapulted to fame after he stunned 'American Idol' judges three years ago with his backflips and vocal acrobatics. He placed in the Top 20 finalists.
His upbeat confessional track 'Quitter' has earned praise for its darkly forthcoming verses about his struggles with addiction and sobriety, a battle he says he's waged since he was 13 years old.
'Quitter' is up single of the year, alongside 'I Grew Up on a Farm' by the Reklaws, 'Let Your Horses Run' by Kissel, 'Moonshines' by Riegling and 'Single Again' by Ross.
Whitcomb's newcomer status also landed him among the breakthrough artist or group nominees, with Noeline Hofman, Zach McPhee, Sacha and Tony Stevens.
Contenders for the fans' choice award also include High Valley, Tyler Joe Miller, MacKenzie Porter, The Reklaws, Dallas Smith, as well as Eagleson, Kissel, Riegling, Ross and Whitcomb.
CCMA organizers have introduced a new francophone artist of the year category to recognize homegrown country talents whose music is primarily sung in French. The inaugural award's nominees are Francis Degrandpré, Fred Dionne, Sara Dufour, Vince Lemire, and Salebarbes.
Other performers who've been announced include Madeline Merlo, Sacha, and Thelma & James, the stage name of husband-and-wife duo MacKenzie Porter and Jake Etheridge.
Comedian Tom Green will host the awards that air live Sept. 13 from Kelowna, B.C., on CTV and its online platforms.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 17, 2025.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Yahoo
Kelly Clarkson ‘devastated' for her kids after ex-husband Brandon Blackstock's death
Kelly Clarkson is reportedly 'devastated' for her children after her ex-husband Brandon Blackstock's death. 'When she found out that he was sick, she remained protective of him for their sake,' a source told People following Blackstock's death on Thursday, adding that the 'American Idol' winner has 'always tried to keep things classy.' 'It became clear earlier this year that Brandon was not doing well,' they continued. 'She's been devastated for the kids.' Blackstock — who died on Thursday at age 48 after battling melanoma — and Clarkson endured a contentious divorce, finalized in 2022. They initially split in 2020 after almost seven years of marriage. Still, the 'Stronger' songstress helped care for him in his final days — even canceling her Las Vegas residency for the second time on the eve of his death and missing episodes of her eponymous talk show. 'It's been exhausting and so sad… ' a source exclusively told Page Six. 'Kelly has been working so hard, as well as looking after Brandon. Despite their difficult divorce, he's still the man she loved and still her kids' father.' A family spokesperson confirmed in a statement to Page Six on Thursday that Blackstock — who was Clarkson's former manager and the former stepson of Reba McEntire — had died. 'It is with great sadness that we share the news that Brandon Blackstock has passed away,' a family spokesperson told Page Six Thursday. 'Brandon bravely battled cancer for more than three years. He passed away peacefully and was surrounded by family. We thank you for your thoughts and prayers and ask everyone to respect the family's privacy during this very difficult time.' Following their Tennessee wedding in 2013, the former couple welcomed daughter River Rose, 11, in 2014, and son Remington, 9, in 2016. Clarkson, 43, ultimately obtained primary custody of the children in their volatile family court battle. Blackstock also shares two older children with his first wife. Blackstock and the 'Kelly Clarkson Show' host had a complicated relationship, but the hitmaker — who remained amicable for her children — once admitted that she still cared for him. 'My kids ask me all the time, 'So you don't love him anymore?' I'm like, 'No, I don't know if that goes away,'' she said during a 2023 appearance on the 'Angie Martinez IRL' podcast
New York Post
a day ago
- New York Post
Bob Ross paintings easily surpass estimated sale prices at auction, marking milestone for the late artist
Money does grow on his 'happy little trees!' A pair of Bob Ross paintings sold for double and triple their estimated selling prices at a recent auction — shattering sales records for the mild-mannered late artist. Two oil-on-canvas works from the 'Joy of Painting' star, both depicting serene mountain and lake scenes, raked in some serious green at Bonhams' American Art Online sale, which ended on Aug. 7. 'Lake Below Snow-Capped Peaks and Cloudy Sky' fetched $114,800 — double what it was estimated to sell for — and 'Lake Below Snow-Covered Mountains and Clear Sky' took in $95,750, triple its anticipated price tag. 'I can tell you that Bob would have been quite shy to learn that his paintings are now selling at six figures. He was never really that interested in his finished works, Bob was more fascinated with the process of painting and sharing that with other people,' Joan Kowalski, president of Bob Ross Inc., told The Post. 3 Bob Ross' painting 'Lake Below Snow-Capped Peaks and Cloudy Sky' fetched $114,800 at Bonhams' American Art Online auction. Bonhams 'Truthfully, I can still hear him saying something like, 'You don't want my paintings, you want to create your own and hang them proudly on your wall.'' The record-breaking paintings, which both date to 1990-1991, caught the eye of five or six bidders during the Madison Avenue auction house's sale, which started on July 28. The pricey pieces managed to dethrone Ross' previous auction high-water mark, set at $55,000 on July 25 for the sale of another landscape, 'Snow-capped barn and trees behind a post and wire fence,' at Eldred's Auction Gallery in Dennis, Massachusetts. Ross, who died in 1995 at the age of 52, became a household name with a cult-like following for hosting the PBS series 'The Joy of Painting.' 3 'Lake Below Snow-Covered Mountains and Clear Sky' took in $95,750, triple its anticipated price tag. Bonhams On the instructional series, which aired over 400 episodes from 1983 to 1994, the Florida native, who had a net worth of $1 million, taught viewers the art of landscape painting. The paintings he created for the show are owned by Bob Ross Inc., and rarely hit the auction block, as per Barnebys. 3 Ross, who died in 1995 at the age of 52, became a household name for hosting the PBS series 'The Joy of Painting.' Over the last year, only seven have been purchased at auction for between $30,000 and $55,000, according to Artnet. The most recent ones — which were owned by private collectors in Florida and then passed down to other sellers — mark a milestone for Ross as the first that have gotten close to or exceeded $100,000.
Yahoo
a day ago
- Yahoo
Groom and His Dog Share Special 'Father-Dogter' Dance at Wedding (Exclusive)
The groom's pet Australian shepherd, Murphy, "loves attention and loves people, so she was grinning from ear to ear," the groom tells PEOPLE NEED TO KNOW Instead of a traditional father-daughter dance, a groom named Michael had a "father-dogter" dance with his pet Australian shepherd, Murphy "Murphy loves attention and loves people, so she was grinning from ear to ear just enjoying everyone watching her," Michael tells PEOPLE The dance was to the tune of Phil Collins' "You'll Be in My Heart," the same song Michael selected for his American Idol audition in 2020 Instead of a traditional wedding father-daughter dance, one groom had a "father-dogter" dance with his pet dog. Lauren and Michael tied the knot on July 29, 2023, with their beloved Australian shepherd, Murphy, in attendance. In honor of their second wedding anniversary this year, the couple recently reposted clips from Michael and Murphy's wedding dance on the pup's Instagram page. The DJ encouraged guests to gather around the checkered dance floor by announcing, "It is time for the father-dogter dance." As Michael picked up Murphy into his arms, wedding guests laughed in the background. The pair happily swayed to "You'll Be in My Heart" by Phil Collins. For their grand move, Michael lifted Murphy up into the air, causing everyone to cheer. "We love Murphy. She's our best friend, part of the family and everything, so we knew we wanted to incorporate her in our big day," Michael tells PEOPLE. While most couples incorporate their dog into their wedding through signature cocktails or decorations, Michael and Lauren wanted to do something more "special" and "unique." "Murphy's at that perfect small-medium size, where I can still pick her up and kind of move around," Michael explains. "I dance around with her a lot in the apartment, just one of our goofy little things, so we had this idea of maybe doing a father-dogter dance." The dance went perfectly. "Everyone sort of huddled around us, and it's funny, Murphy loves attention and loves people, so she was grinning from ear to ear just enjoying everyone watching her," Michael remembers. "It was super fun." For their dance song, Michael chose "You'll Be in My Heart," which was played in the 1999 Disney animated feature Tarzan, because "it's about the bond between a parent and a kid, even across different species." He also used this "human interest angle" for his American Idol audition in 2020, which was a "big punishment" assigned to him by his friends after he lost his fantasy football league. During the audition, which was virtual that year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Murphy made an onscreen appearance. "I was like, 'I recently got this puppy, and she's changed my world, taught me that you got to go for your moment and seize the day when you can,' " Michael says, noting that he did not move on to the next round of auditions. A video compilation posted on Instagram shows Michael and Murphy practicing their dance lift over time. "The lift they practiced for three years..." Lauren wrote in an onscreen text overlay, adding in the caption, "To this day Murphy still thinks she's the one who married him!" "I didn't realize, that I would be doing a little moment on my wedding day, but when we decided it, I already kind of knew my beats," Michael tells PEOPLE. "I had lifted her in that position countless times before." "He got her comfortable with it," Lauren adds. "I feel like a lot of dogs are less comfortable with A) that much attention or B) with, like, being carried, but Murphy was pretty used to it at that point. I honestly think their father-daughter dance was better than my and Michael's first dance." Murphy joined her owners as they were getting ready the morning of their wedding. A dog chaperone took care of her for the remainder of the day. "It was really special," Lauren says. "I think it was a memory that we'll cherish forever. It was nice to have all of our people, including Murphy, there with us. It was really sweet even to see people who have never met her before get to meet her in person at the wedding, and see why she meant so much to us." Never miss a story — sign up for to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories. Lauren and Michael adopted Murphy, now 5, in August 2020. The night before the couple picked up their new pet, they watched Interstellar. In the sci-fi film, Murphy's Law is reinterpreted not as "anything that can go wrong will go wrong," but as "whatever can happen, will happen." With Lauren always having wanted a dog, and it finally happening, she thought of the Australian shepherd as a "Murphy's Law dog." Despite Murphy traditionally being a male name, the couple felt it was a fitting name for their new pet. Read the original article on People Solve the daily Crossword
