The House of
Dungan and
Mabe began the year with some huge looks.
UMGN swept the country categories at the 2022
Grammys, with
Chris Stapleton taking Country Album, Song (“Cold”) and Solo Performance (“You Should Probably Leave”) and
Brothers Osborne winning Best Country Duo/Group Performance (for “Younger Me”). Meanwhile,
Carrie Underwood scored Best Roots/Gospel Album. Breakout
Mickey Guyton, for her part, wowed the mainstream with her rendition of the National Anthem at the
Super Bowl.
At the
ACMs, Stapleton—who has two of the Top 10 streaming country tracks YTD with the unstoppable “Tennessee Whiskey” and “You Should Probably Leave”—was anointed Male Artist of the Year, while the Osbornes snagged the Duo of the Year trophy and fresh face
Parker McCollum was named New Male Artist.
Meanwhile, the label enjoyed a bona fide new smash with
Jordan Davis’ “Buy Dirt.” The barnstorming single—on which Davis collaborated with one of his idols,
Luke Bryan—is currently the #2 streaming song in the genre YTD and has amassed 542m+ global streams (not to mention 185k+ downloads).
Davis’ monster was, of course, also a radio #1, joining other UMGN airplay chart-toppers in 2021-22 like
Stapleton’s “You Should Probably Leave,” Bryan’s “Waves,”
Sam Hunt’s “23,” Underwood and
Jason Aldean’s “If I Didn’t Love You” and two from
Dierks Bentley, “Gone” and “Beers on Me.” As this issue went to press,
Jon Pardi’s “Last Night Lonely” was flying toward the Top 10. UMGN Promo EVP
Royce Risser doesn’t mind mentioning that imprint
Capitol Nashville was dubbed Platinum Label of the Year at the
CRS/Country Aircheck Awards.
Underwood, having triumphed with her gospel set
My Savior, delivered a fresh set of country material bearing the evocative title
Denim & Rhinestones.
Mike and Cindy’s big signings and deal extensions of the last year include powerhouse husband-and-wife duo
The War and Treaty (who achieved renown with their moving tributes to fallen soldiers),
Florida Georgia Line co-founder
Tyler Hubbard,
Sam Williams and
Ya’Boyz.
The past year, in sum, saw UMGN’s superstar roster extend its reach while a batch of newcomers showed enormous potential.
The elevation of
Annie Ortmeier to SVP Streaming Marketing further enhanced a team that includes marketing ace and fellow SVP
Lori Christian and VP Media Marketing
Leigh Malleus, both of whom were upped last year.
