Online voting opened on Tuesday (April 7) for a competition in which an Abbotsford country singer – and the only one from B.C. – is among the top eight semifinalists.
Morgan Griffiths was among those in February who moved to the next stage of the SiriusXM Top of the Country competition, following a nation-wide search.
The contest is being held in partnership with the Canadian Country Music Association.
The eight competitors headed to studios in Toronto and Vancouver to record original tracks, and the public now has until April 14 to vote daily for their favourite at topcountry.siriusxm.ca.
The top three singers will go on to perform on major stages throughout the summer as they compete for a $25,000 grand prize and the chance to be crowned the 2026 Top of the Country champion.
Their performances include the Departure Festival in Toronto, LASSO Montreal and CMA Fest in Nashville.
The competition wraps up in September in Saskatoon, Sask., with a finale concert as part of the CCMA’s Country Music Week.
Griffiths is a rising singer/songwriter whose breakout single Bourbon was released on March 1, 2025.
The whiskey-soaked anthem resulted in Griffiths being chosen as iHeart Radio’s Future Star, Rogers Radio’s One to Watch and Artist of the Month on JRFM.
Bourbon debuted at number 42 on the Mediabase country chart and went on to peak at No. 4 – the highest charting debut by an independent Canadian country artist.
Griffiths has also been featured on the cover of Apple Music Canada’s country playlist for Bourbon, which now has more than 2.2 million streams.
The seven other semifinalists in the Top of the Country competition are from Quebec, PEI, Alberta, Ontario, Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
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