Country artists pour heart and soul into the albums they create. While individual singles tend to get the more attention from casual listeners, devoted fans dive deep into their favorite artists’ entire albums.
That’s why awards shows hosted by organizations such as the ACM hand out trophies to the best country albums released in a given year. The artists nominated for the Album of the Year award at the ACM’s 2021 awards ceremony were the following:
- Born Here Live Here Die Here – Luke Bryan
- Mixtape, Vol. 1 – Kane Brown
- Never Will – Ashley McBryde
- Skeletons – Brothers Osborne
- Starting Over – Chris Stapleton
All of these albums were incredibly popular with country fans. So it was hard to predict who would win.
Finally, fans learned the name of the winning album during the ACM Awards on Sunday night (April 18). After much anticipation, the trophy was given to Chris Stapleton for Starting Over!
It’s no wonder why Starting Over won this award! Stapleton released the album in November 2020, and it went on to claim the #1 spot on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The album also reached the third spot on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart.
Starting Over served as the springboard for three singles: “Starting Over,” “Cold,” and “Arkansas.” One of those songs, “Starting Over” was a Top 10 hit on both the Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts.
Now, Starting Over’s latest claim to fame is the fact that it won the ACM’s award for Album of the Year! Congratulations to Stapleton and all who worked on the album!