In a rare television performance, country legend Hank Williams, Jr. will sing on the inaugural edition of American Country Countdown Awards Dec. 15. Along with just-announced Lady Antebellum, Willams will join previously announced performers Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Kelly Clarkson, Brett Eldredge, Florida Georgia Line, Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood.
The American Country Countdown Awards will air live from Nashville's Music City Center on Monday, Dec.15 (8-10 p.m. ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX.
Hosted by Florida Georgia Line's Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, the award show is based on country music's longest-running radio countdown show, "American Country Countdown with Kix Brooks," and will honor country music's biggest stars based on album sales and radio airplay.
Presenters for the inaugural show include country artists Brooks, Sara Evans, Hunter Hayes, Maddie & Tae, Scotty McCreery, Kip Moore, Thomas Rhett, Chase Rice, Cole Swindell and Chris Young. NASCAR's Jimmie Johnson, Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher and 2014 National League MVP Clayton Kershaw, actors Emily Kinney ("The Walking Dead") and Melissa Fumero ("Brooklyn Nine-Nine") and Miss America 2015 Kira Kazantsev will also present.
Though he began his career in the shadow of his legendary father, Williams emerged as a formidable country singer-songwriter in his own right with 1960s hits such as "It's All Over But The Crying" and "Cajun Baby." But things changed with the 1979 release of "Family Tradition," where he broke the Nashville mainstream by adopting a rebel image and writing and recording in a style incorporating his blues and Southern rock influences. The results were staggering, as 42 Top-10 hits followed, two CMA Entertainer of the Year honors, three ACM Entertainer of the Year honors, multiple Grammy nominations and a Grammy award for "There's a Tear in My Beer," a duet with his father using electronic merging technology.
As groundbreaking as Williams became, it wasn't just his performance that people took note about, but rather his songwriting that became so notable. The driven musician penned hit songs year after year, scoring 20 BMI Awards. One of the arguably most-heard country songs of modern times, the four-time Emmy award-winning "Are You Ready For Some Football?," which was heard nationally as the theme song of ABC and ESPN's Monday Night Football telecasts, was aired for 21 years.
As the accolades kept coming, Williams sold more than 55 million albums, achieving gold, platinum and multi-platinum status along with 13 of those albums hitting the No. 1 spot on the Billboard chart. In 2008, Williams was honored with the BMI Icon Award at the 56th Annual BMI Country Awards, joining the elite group of past honorees including Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Dolly Parton.
The two-hour American Country Countdown Awards will also honor Kenny Chesney with The Groundbreaker Award, which recognizes an artist who has consistently pushed the boundaries and is a trailblazer in the realm of concerts, musical accomplishment, creative innovation and connecting with fans across the United States. Chesney will be on hand to accept his award.
Multimedia entertainer Reba McEntire will receive the first-ever NASH Icon Award, presented by Kix Brooks, which celebrates an iconic artist whose extraordinary talent has influenced generations of musicians and who has made a profound and lasting impact on country music. Kelly Clarkson and Miranda Lambert will join together to honor McEntire with a special tribute performance.
