Breakout artist Kelsea Ballerini is the latest recipient of the 2016 ACM New Female Vocalist of the Year Award with two consecutive No. 1 smashes - the Gold-certified "Love Me Like You Mean It" and the infectious follow-up "Dibs" - from her critically acclaimed debut album, "The First Time." The country sweetheart is the first solo female artist in 15 years to hit No. 1 with her first two country singles and one of only 11 women to have ever hit the top of the charts with a debut. The Black River Entertainment recording artist is a two-time 2016 ACCA finalist for Female Vocalist Of The Year and BREAKTHROUGH Female Of The Year.
Shining newcomer Cam is a two-time 2016 ACCA finalist for Female Vocalist of the Year and
BREAKTHROUGH Female Vocalist of the Year. Her No. 1 smash, "Burning House," was certified Platinum by the RIAA and remains the only single by a country female to achieve more than 1 million downloads the past year. When Cam's debut album, "Untamed," was released in December, it earned 2015's best first-week sales by a debut country artist.
Critically acclaimed duo and current two-time ACCA finalist Dan + Shay (Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney) hit No. 1 on Billboard's Country Albums chart with their first album, "Where It All Began." Racking up more than 26 million
Youtube views, they are the only new country duo in SoundScan-recorded history to debut at No. 1. Dan + Shay have been nominated for both the CMA's and ACM's Vocal Duo of the Year for two years in a row, and were previously nominated for a
CMT Music Video Award.
Standout newcomer Sam Hunt is a current five-time ACCA finalist, including coveted categories Artist Of The Year and Album Of The Year. His Grammy-nominated debut album, "Montevallo," topped the Billboard Country Albums chart in its first week and remains the best-selling debut album for a country artist since 2011.
Multiple Grammy(R) Award nominee and vocal powerhouse Martina McBride has sold more than 18 million albums to date, including 20 Top 10 singles and six No. 1 hits. Recently, she released her new single, Reckless," the title track from her 13th studio album, due out April 29. She has earned more than 15 major music awards, including four wins for Female Vocalist of the Year from the CMA and three ACM Awards for Top Female Vocalist.
Rising singer/songwriter Cole Swindell just hit the top of the country singles charts for a record-breaking fifth consecutive time with the title track "You Should Be Here," from his forthcoming album, following four No. 1 singles off his Platinum-certified debut. The 2015 ACM New Artist Of The Year and Billboard Top New Artist has earned more than 250 million streams and sold more than four million tracks. Additionally, he has co-written eight of the biggest No. 1 songs in country music for some of the format's hottest stars, including Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line and Thomas Rhett.
