We’re only one week away from the 2016 American Country Countdown Awards!
The award show, based on country music’s longest-running radio country show “American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks,” honors country’s biggest stars with awards, performances and additional surprises. Finalists and winners for all categories are based on radio airplay charts, sales and streaming data from April 1, 2015 to March 28, 2016, provided by BuzzAngle Music.
Here at Celeb Secrets Country, we are eager to see the presenters this year, but we are even more excited about the musical performances. As of right now, the performers for the special evening include Kelsea Ballerini, Cole Swindell, Florida Georgia Line, Carrie Underwood, Brooks & Dunn, Luke Bryan, Cam, Dan + Shay, Sam Hunt, Martina McBride and Thomas Rhett.
Toby Keith will also perform that evening – a special tribute in honor of the late legend Merle Haggard who passed away on his 79th birthday on April 6.
Today, we are bringing you our predictions on who we think will take home the prize for the following categories: Artist of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Group/Duo of the Year, Breakthrough Male of the Year, Breakthrough Female of the Year, Breakthrough Group/Duo of the Year, Song of the Year, Album of the Year, Digital Song of the Year, Digital Album of the Year and Touring Artist of the Year.
The 2016 American Country Countdown Awards will air live from the Forum in Los Angeles, CA, Sunday, May 1, 2016 at 8:00pm ET on FOX. Don’t forget to tune in next week and make sure you tweet us who you think will win each of these awards!
Photo: Christopher Polk/Getty Images
Artist of the Year: Blake Shelton, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt
Who Will Win: We’re going to have to go with Jason Aldean on this one. He recently won ACM Entertainer of the Year and his concert tour at Fenway Park this upcoming summer sold out in 90 minutes. 90 minutes! People love this guy. You can’t argue with that.
Male Vocalist of the Year: Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett
Who Will Win: We may be a bit biased on this one, but we think Thomas Rhett will (and should!) walk away with this award. The songs from his second studio album Tangled Up have been blowing up country radio since its release in September 2015. He’s had five No. 1 hits and his hit song “Die a Happy Man” had a six-week run at the top.
Female Vocalist of the Year: Cam, Carrie Underwood, Jana Kramer, Kelsea Ballerini, Miranda Lambert
Who Will Win: As nice as it would be to see Carrie Underwood (or anyone else for that matter) take home an award for her incredible vocals, it seems like the Idol alum just can’t top Miranda Lambert. Lambert took home the ACM Award for Female Vocalist for the SEVENTH year in a row. You just can’t beat that.
Group/Duo of the Year: A Thousand Horses, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Old Dominion, Zac Brown Band
Who Will Win: Old Dominion‘s newest album, Meat and Candy, has been heating up the radio charts with hits like, “Snapback” and “Break Up With Him.” The group also took up the ACM Award for New Vocal Duo or Group of the Year, so we wouldn’t be surprised if they continued the winning streak.
Breakthrough Male of the Year: Chris Janson, Michael Ray, Sam Hunt
Who Will Win: We’re going to say Sam Hunt will walk away with this award. His platinum-selling single “Take Your Time,” dominated radio charts, and the other singles off of his debut album Montevello have been doing increasingly well.
Breakthrough Female of the Year: Cam, Jana Kramer, Kelsea Ballerini
Who Will Win: In case you haven’t noticed, Kelsea Ballerini has been on fire this past year. She’s been racking up awards left and right, performing at award shows and festivals and recently released a music video for her new single “Peter Pan.” There’s no doubt in our minds she’ll walk away with this award.
Breakthrough Group/Duo of the Year: A Thousand Horses, Dan + Shay, Old Dominion
Who Will Win: Like we said before, Old Dominion has been dominating the radio charts. We’re not sure if a group/duo can win both Group/Duo of the Year and Breakthrough Group/Duo of the Year, but if they can, we would bet on Old Dominion.
Song of the Year: “Stay A Little Longer” — Brothers Osborne, “Home Alone Tonight” – Luke Bryan featuring Karen Fairchild, “Strip It Down” – Luke Bryan, “Die A Happy Man” – Thomas Rhett, “Homegrown” – Zac Brown Band
Who Will Win: “Die A Happy Man” by Thomas Rhett is the song of every girl’s dream. It’s such a beautiful tribute to his wife, and if you’re anything like us, it leaves you in a puddle of happy tears. It deserves all of the awards.
Photo: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Album of the Year: “Storyteller” – Carrie Underwood, “Traveller” – Chris Stapleton, “Kill The Lights” – Luke Bryan, “Montevallo” – Sam Hunt, “Jekyll + Hyde” – Zac Brown Band
Who Will Win: Chris Stapleton literally came out of nowhere, but he walked into every country award show this year and left everyone in the dust. It might have taken a little bit of Justin Timberlake to nudge everyone in the right direction, but people finally started to realize the brilliance of Traveller. It definitely deserves the award for Album of the Year.
Digital Song of the Year: “Girl Crush” – Little Big Town, “Kick The Dust Up” – Luke Bryan, “Die A Happy Man” – Thomas Rhett
Who Will Win: This is a tough one. We love “Girl Crush,” but like we said before, “Die a Happy Man,” is everything. If either song won, we’d be happy, but we have to go with “Die a Happy Man.”
Digital Album of the Year: “Anything Goes” – Florida Georgia Line, “Montevallo” – Sam Hunt, “Tangled Up” – Thomas Rhett
Who Will Win: Out of the three nominees, Thomas Rhett has had the most No. 1 singles from his album. It only makes sense that he would take home the award for Tangled Up.
Touring Artist of the Year: Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan, Shania Twain, Zac Brown Band
Who Will Win: Kenny Chesney knows how to put on a show. His Rig Revival tour was country music’s biggest tour of 2015, and possibly all time. His tour grossed over $114 million. Seriously. How does one beat that? Chesney clearly will win this award.
