Reba McEntire, Maren Morris to Receive 2017 Music Biz Awards
Reba McEntire and Maren Morris will both be receiving honors at this year's Music Biz Awards. The event, part of the Music Business Association's annual conference, will take place in Nashville on May 18.
At the Music Biz Awards, McEntire will be receiving the Music Business Association's 2017 Chairman’s Award for Sustained Creative Achievement, in recognition of her long and successful music career. In 2017, the country icon released her first gospel album, Sing It Now: Songs of Faith & Hope, a double-disc collection that includes 10 of her favorite hymns and 10 contemporary Christian songs. McEntire will be the first female country artist to win the Chairman's Award for Sustained Creative Achievement since it was established in 1964.
“Reba fully embodies the essence of the Chairman’s Award, which honors immensely talented artists whose creative contributions truly stand the test of time and keep evolving,” Fred Beteille, the chairman of the Music Business Association's board of directors, says in a press release.
Reba McEntire's Best Throwback Photos
Adds McEntire, "I am very grateful, getting to do what I love to do after all these years at the level I get to do it. When I first started out I didn’t have enough imagination to even dream about all the wonderful things I’ve gotten to do along with all the great people I have gotten to meet."
Morris, meanwhile, will be one of two artists receiving the Music Business Association's Breakthrough Artist Award (the other is going to Danish pop band Lukas Graham). Morris' debut album, Hero, was released last June to critical and fan acclaim, and landed at the top of the Billboard country chart; she's also received a number of CMA, Grammys and ACM nominations and wins.
Other artists who will be recognized during the 2017 Music Biz Awards include Adele, Paula Abdul and the original cast of the Broadway musical Hamilton. Music Biz 2017 will run May 15-18; more information about the event can be found on its official website.
Adorable Photos of Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd