CarterMatt Awards 2018: Shin Lim, Brynn Cartelli, Dalton Harris, Bobby Bones among Reality Star nominees
Welcome to the 2018 CarterMatt Awards! This is our seventh annual year-end series where we as a site celebrate some of the best that TV has to offer! Our staff collectively hand-picks nominees across a wide array of different fields, and then leaves it up to you to declare the winner. We’ve had a fun time over the years with these awards and creating some fun debate throughout the month of December. Hopefully, this time around is no exception!
Today we’re discussing Best Reality Star, a category that we’ve had for many years and one that we love celebrating. There aren’t many awards out there who recognize individual reality show personalities, and here we wanted to look at some of the people we not only found to be entertaining, but also ones who we feel made a broad impact on their respective shows. Maybe they were a talent-show participant, or maybe they were a part of a story-based show or a competition of a different sort. There is no real limitation to what the category pertains.
The nominees
Bobby Bones, Dancing with the Stars – Was his win at the end of this past season controversial? Sure, but the radio host had a good sense of humor about it — just as he did the entire competition. That is one of the reasons why he was so endearing to many people in the first place; he brought enthusiasm and a sense of fun to the competition and offered up a voice and a spirit you didn’t see elsewhere.
Christian Buckingham, Ink Master – Consistently one of the most entertaining reality TV personalities out there in addition to being a great tattoo artist. What Christian brought to this season as a coach was different than anything we’ve seen with him before on the show — while you still had that master strategist and gameplayer, there was also a paternal side to him as he did his best to care for the artists who he was fighting to keep around all season.
Brynn Cartelli, The Voice – Does the season 14 champion have a significant chance at success outside the show? As we’re approaching the season 15 finale, it does actually seem that way. The former Team Kelly member just signed a record deal and has performed all over the country since the NBC show ended. We know her to be extremely talented, and beyond that, she absolutely has the right mentor.
Tyler Crispen, Big Brother – While he did not win this past season of the show, he was awarded America’s Favorite for his role in dominating most of the gameplay all season long. He was exceptional at thinking a couple of moves ahead and balancing alliances, which is not often easy in a house where so many people have nothing better to do then gossip. He lost a tight jury vote, but certainly proved himself as one of the better players out there.
Dalton Harris, The X Factor – One of the most dominant singing-show performances from start to finish that we’ve seen. While some of Dalton’s appeal came through his incredible voice, he also possessed a unique ability to connect to songs and draw you into his world. Even if you didn’t know much about him beyond the pre-taped packages in the live shows, it still felt like you did when he performed.
Shin Lim, America’s Got Talent – There were people who thought that a close-up magician would never win America’s Got Talent … and then Shin came around. He possessed not only incredible skill in what he did with magic, but also a sense of unparalleled showmanship. It really did feel all season like you were watching a master craft something beautiful, and he managed to also get stronger and stronger with each passing performance.
Maddie Poppe, American Idol – The big challenge for American Idol entering season 16 of the show was pretty simple: Find a way to uncover another great talent in an era where there are so many venues for stars to be made. Yet, the beauty of this show is about capturing moments, and that is what Poppe brought to the series. She’s a gifted vocalist, but her storytelling ability through song is what is going to have her be remembered for years to come.
Candace Rice, Floribama Shore – She’s long been one of the more entertaining cast members on the MTV series, but where she shined throughout the most-recent season is giving us a chance to see a more personal, vulnerable side to who she is. This is one of the reasons why this network is such a pioneer in reality TV; they strip down the barriers and give people a platform to open up to viewers. While Candace was a bit more guarded during season 1, this season she really opened up to her housemates (and to us!) and there was something really wonderful about watching her walls come down and letting us all in.