Just a few days after his 42nd birthday, Jason Aldean got a huge surprise!
Not only will he be going to Las Vegas this April as a two-time nominee at the Academy of Country Music Awards, he is now going to receive the biggest award of the night – the Dick Clark ACM Artist of the Decade Award.
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This award is given out once a decade, so there have only been five other Artist of the Decade award-winners: Marty Robbins in 1969, Loretta Lynn in 1979, Alabama in 1988, Garth Brooks in 1998, and George Strait in 2008.
Strait was the only artist that was honored with his own televised event. All the other recipients received their award at the ACM Awards, like Aldean will.
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This is the first time someone will receive the award with its new title. According to Billboard, the Artist of the Decade Award was named after the legendary Dick Clark after he passed away in 2012 “in recognition of his many years as the ACM Awards producer and early host.”
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Aldean is an ACM favorite, having won the coveted Entertainer of the Year title for the past three years, and being up for a fourth this year. He has also won Top Country Song, Male Vocalist of the Year, Vocal Event of the Year, Single Record of the Year, and Top New Male Vocalist over the years, as well as the ACM Triple Crown Award, which is given to artists who have won New Male/Female/Duo/Group of the Year, Male/Female/Duo/Group of the Year and the prestigious Entertainer of the Year.
The elite group of Triple Crown Award winners include Carrie Underwood, Brooks & Dunn, Kenny Chesney, Mickey Gilley, Merle Haggard, and Barbara Mandrell.
Upon hearing about being the Dick Clark ACM Artist of the Decade Award, Aldean said in a statement, “This is probably one of the coolest awards I’ve ever been given. My heroes are on this list, something I can’t really even wrap my head around being part of. But, man, I’m proud to be getting it — it’s for everyone who stuck with us and supported us through the years.”
Aldean also took to Instagram to express his gratitude, writing, “Truly honored to be receiving the [ACM Awards] Dick Clark Artist of the Decade award this year. Just wanna thank Country Radio and the Country Music fan base for all the support over the years! It has been a crazy and unbelievable ride to get here and it has changed my life. This is the proudest moment of my professional career and I hope we are just getting started.”
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Aldean’s career has had an upward trajectory over the last ten years. In the past decade, he has released a quadruple platinum album (2010’s My Kinda Party), two double-platinum albums (2009’s Wide Open and 2012’s Night Train), one platinum (2014’s Old Boots, New Dirt), and two gold albums (2016’s They Don’t Know and 2018’s Rearview Town).
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Watch his perform his latest single, “Rearview Town” in the video below, and help us congratulate Aldean on this prestigious honor!