Luke Bryan Tops Finalists for 2016 AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS; Full List

Finalists for the 2016 AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS were announced today. Country superstar Luke Bryan dominates the list with seven category nods, followed by newcomer Sam Hunt with five, Thomas Rhett and Zac Brown Band each with four and Florida Georgia Line with three. Additionally, mega-star and multi-category finalist Carrie Underwood has been added as a performer, joining previously announced performers Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett and more. The AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS are based on country music's longest-running radio countdown show, "American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks," which has recognized the best in country radio for more than 40 years. This year's host and additional performers and presenters will be announced soon.

The 2016 AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS will air live from the Forum in Los Angeles, CA, Sunday, May 1 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX. The two-hour event is the first COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS show to air live from Los Angeles in more than 10 years. Tickets for the AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS at the Forum are on sale now at www.ticketmaster.com.

Superstar Carrie Underwood emerged from her 2005 AMERICAN IDOL win to become a true multi-format, multi-media artist, spanning achievements in music, television and film. A seven-time Grammy® Award winner, she has amassed more than 100 major honors, sold 58 million records worldwide and recorded 23 No. 1 singles, 13 of which she co-wrote, with a catalog of songs that has been streamed more than 1.5 billion times worldwide. She is a finalist in two categories for the 2016 AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS: Female Vocalist Of The Year; and Album Of The Year (for "Storyteller").

In addition to Underwood, A Thousand Horses, Blake Shelton, Cam, Dan + Shay, Jana Kramer, Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, and Old DOMINION each were named finalists in two categories. Brothers Osborne, Chris Janson, Chris Stapleton, Garth Brooks, Karen Fairchild, Kenny Chesney, Little Big Town, Michael Ray, and Miranda Lambert also received nods.

Below are the finalists for the 2016 AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS:

ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Blake Shelton

Florida Georgia Line

Jason Aldean

Luke Bryan

Sam Hunt

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Blake Shelton

Jason Aldean

Luke Bryan

Sam Hunt

Thomas Rhett

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR

Cam

Carrie Underwood

Jana Kramer

Kelsea Ballerini

Miranda Lambert

GROUP/DUO OF THE YEAR

A Thousand Horses

Dan + Shay

Florida Georgia Line

Old Dominion

Zac Brown Band

BREAKTHROUGH MALE OF THE YEAR

Chris Janson

Michael Ray

Sam Hunt

BREAKTHROUGH FEMALE OF THE YEAR

Cam

Jana Kramer

Kelsea Ballerini

BREAKTHROUGH GROUP/DUO OF THE YEAR

A Thousand Horses

Dan + Shay

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

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

"Storyteller" - Carrie Underwood

"Traveller" - Chris Stapleton

"Kill the Lights" - Luke Bryan

"Montevallo" - Sam Hunt

"Jekyll + Hyde" - Zac Brown Band

DIGITAL SONG OF THE YEAR

"Girl Crush" - Little Big Town

"Kick The Dust Up" - Luke Bryan

"Die A Happy Man" - Thomas Rhett

DIGITAL ALBUM OF THE YEAR

"Anything Goes" - Florida Georgia Line

"Montevallo" - Sam Hunt

"Tangled Up" - Thomas Rhett

TOURING ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Garth Brooks

Kenny Chesney

Luke Bryan

Shania Twain

Zac Brown Band

AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS 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. Touring data is from Pollstar "The Concert Hotwire." The NASH Icon Award is chosen by The American Country Countdown.

The AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS is produced by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro (CEO, dick clark productions), Mike Mahan (President, dick clark productions), Mark Bracco (Executive Vice President, Programming and Development, dick clark productions), Kix Brooks, Richard Godfrey and Tom Forrest are executive producers.

About AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS The AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS is based on country music's longest-running radio countdown show (43 years), "American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks," and honors country music's biggest stars, based on album sales and radio airplay. Since launching in 1973, the radio show now airs on more than 280 radio stations in 155 markets, covering 90% of the country.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ACCAs

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/americancountrycountdownawards/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/accas/

Tumblr: http://theaccawards.tumblr.com/

Snapchat: ACCAwards

Vine: ACCAwards