Top Selling Single of the Year
- American Idol Season 4 Finalists - "When You Tell Me That You Love Me" - Actual physical single sales are a much smaller portion of a song's chart status than ever in the past. However, some singles still sell a large number of copies. Anything American Idol tends to sell well, and that is why this forgettable record is nominated.
- Bo Bice - Inside Your Heaven - Bo, this year's American Idol runner-up, sold a lot of records, but not quite enough.
- The Pussycat Dolls featuring Busta Rhymes - Don't Cha - A year ago no one would have expected this troupe to be major pop stars, but they are, and they may even have some staying power.
- Carrie Underwood - Inside Your Heaven - The American Idol winner this season sold truckloads of her record.
New Artist of the Year
- Fantasia - 2004's American Idol champion found a welcome home among R&B fans.
- The Game - If the category gave a fair shake to truly new artists (see below), this new rap superstar would probably take the prize.
- Gwen Stefani - Gwen is only new as a solo artist. As part of New Doubt, she has been a pop fixture for many years. 2005 was a big year for her with 3 top 10 hits and a 4th on the way from the towering album Love, Angel, Music, Baby.
- Rob Thomas - This year Rob Thomas proved his success singing with Santana on the huge hit single "Smooth" was no fluke. He effectively carved out a separate identity from his group Matchbox Twenty.
