Soul is taking a seat at the Grand Ole Opry.
Bria Cheri is bound for Nashville and the 12th Annual Josie Music Awards on September 20, nominated for Vocalist of the Year – R&B/Soul. The Jamaica, Queens singer-songwriter walks into the Opry House on a category that judges tone, technique, and the kind of connection you cannot fake. That is the lane she has been building since childhood piano lessons turned into a catalog she writes herself.
The field is real: Melinda Chervon Ulysses, Tracy Cruz, Nia Renee, Kristen Shores, Shy Perry, Corey Ronell, and Mr. Talkbox. Cheri sits in that company because the voice holds—sweet and soulful at once, the quality Donnie Klang heard when he pulled her into the studio after Making the Band. Recent singles like “Boy Toy” and “Lie” keep that voltage current. The Josie nod is the industry saying the vocal is not a local secret anymore.
She travels with the same World Star PR class already booked for Music City: Irene Michaels, Paulino, Ray Ray Star, Quinn Lemley, SCARECROW. Conference September 19 at Gaylord Opryland. Red carpet 4:00 to 6:30 p.m. Doors 5:15. Seated by 6:45. Show at 7:00.
R&B at the Opry is not a mismatch. It is the Josies doing what they were built to do—put an independent voice on the most famous stage in country music and let the singing decide. Bria Cheri is heading to Nashville with that voice intact. The rest is September 20.
