All three of this year’s New Artist of the Year Nominees were responsible for at least two country radio number ones. All three, therefore, register as legitimate success stories in the world of country music.
But only one could walk away with the Academy of Country Music Award.
That one is Cole Swindell.
Swindell, who performed “Ain’t Worth the Whiskey” earlier in the broadcast, topped Sam Hunt and Thomas Rhett in the fan-voted New Artist of the Year battle.