AARON PRITCHETT, 'Thankful'

The Vancouver country artist's fourth album, Thankful, is more introspective than his last hit album, Big Wheel. 'Instead of worrying about writing another Big Wheel, I needed to write something more reflective on my life and me as a person,' says Pritchett. At it for a decade and a half, he was named 2005's Breakthrough Artist of the Year by FACTOR and won the Independent Male Artist of the Year title for the second year at the CCMAs. 'Hold My Beer' was the CCMA's SOCAN Song of the Year. (604*Universal)

CRYSTAL SHAWANDA, 'Dawn Of A New Day'

In her self-penned bio, Shawanda writes: 'I'm Native American. We're automatically country... joined to the land and the real stories of everyday people. To Native Americans, music is our everything. It's our storytelling, our history, and our dance.' A U.S. and Canadian citizen, she was born in Ontario and grew up on a reservation called Wikwemikong on Manitoulin Island. Signed to RCA Records, her debut album, Dawn of a New Day, debuted at No. 2 on the Canadian Country Albums chart, and No. 16 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. Dawn Of A New Day became the highest charted album by a full-blooded Native American country artist in the SoundScan era. (RCA*Sony)

DOC WALKER, 'Beautiful Life' WINNER

Doc Walker's soaring, heart-yanking harmonies are like musical tree rings, revealing the stories expressed in layered voices raised in jubilant major chords or plaintive minor-key intervals. You know when a group has got it - that elusive chemistry that only comes from years of bickering, bonding and really understanding each other - when their harmonies ring as clear as bells. In the case of Canadian country trio, Doc Walker, their fantastic harmony-laced new album Beautiful Life leaves no doubt - these boys have it. (Open Road*Universal)

GEORGE CANYON, 'What I Do'

Canyon has a string of hits, a shelf-full of JUNO Awards and Canadian Country Music Awards, not to mention his rocket-ride to American fame on Nashville Star 2 in 2004, and the subsequent blockbuster albums One Good Friend, and Somebody Wrote Love. Of his newest album, What I Do, Canyon says, 'If you were to pick a theme for any of my albums, it's always gonna be somewhat to do with my family, somewhat to do with moral issues, maybe miracles, and faith for sure. My faith plays a very important part in my life. If it wasn't for that I'd probably be long gone. Who knows where?' (Reiny Dawg*Universal)

TARA ORAM, 'Chasing The Sun'

In the trailer for Tara Oram's CMT television show, The Tara Diaries, she humbly tells Viewers, 'I finished sixth on Canadian Idol and then nothing happened.' Now things are happening for the Hare Bay, Newfoundland native. Her efforts on Idol and The Tara Diaries led to the release of her free, fun and uplifting debut album, Chasing The Sun. The album was constructed an organic way, starting with Oram writing and collaborating, with writers and now friends, including the dynamic Kaci Bolls; Doc Walker's guitar player/writer Murray Pulver; award winning Canadian Chris Perry; and one of Oram's own idols, Carolyn Dawn Johnson. (Open Road*Universal)