Raleigh native, rising country star Priscilla Block nominated for 1st CMT Music Award
A rising country music star and Raleigh native is seeing her fame reach new heights with her first CMT Music Awards nomination.
Priscilla Block, a 26-year-old singer who saw her music career take off in 2020, is nominated for Breakthrough Video of the Year for her video, “Just About Over You.”
“I am freaking out right now,” Block said Wednesday in a video posted to her TikTok account, which has 1.3 million followers. “Mainly because you all get to vote.”
The CMT Music Awards nominations were announced Wednesday and feature a who’s who of country music, including fellow North Carolina natives, Eric Church and Luke Combs. Fans vote for winners of each category at vote.cmt.com.
The award is for an “artist’s major breakthrough album,” according to a release from CMT. The break-up song has racked up nearly 9 million views on Block’s YouTube channel.
She said fans helped the song change her life. Following its release, it shot to the top of the iTunes All Genre Chart and Country Chart.
The CMT Music Awards ceremony will air April 11 on CBS with hosts Kelsea Ballerini and Anthony Mackie.
One to watch
The nomination is the latest high-profile recognition for Block, who packed up her bags after graduating from Leesville High School to head to Nashville to see where her aspirations — and singing talent — would take her.
In February, she was nominated for ACM New Female Artist of the Year — also her first nomination — following her debut album, “Welcome to the Block Party.” (Lainey Wilson took home the award on March 7.)
Thanks to a fanbase built in part from TikTok, Block and her band have topped country music charts with songs like “Thick Thighs,” “PMS” and “Just About Over You,” the music videos for which have generated millions of views on YouTube and plays on music streaming services.
She received major attention after posting her songs “Thick Thighs” and “PMS” on TikTok in 2020, at the onset of the pandemic, according to her website.
In Raleigh, Block performed at venues like Deep South the Bar in downtown Raleigh, which closed in 2019.
Her debut album “Welcome to the Block Party” was released to critical acclaim in 2022, with lyrics about feminine empowerment, self-love and body positivity as part of her take on country music and Southern rock.
Block has been named an Artist to Watch by Amazon Music, PANDORA, Spotify, CMT, The Boot, HITS, Sounds Like Nashville, Country Now, Music Row Magazine and more, according to a news release.
This story was originally published March 16, 2022 at 8:57 PM.
