The 60th ACM Awards ceremony marked a dangerous one. Chris Stapleton was nominated enough to surpass The King, George Strait, as the most awarded solo male artist. Although Stapleton didn't win enough awards, I fear it's only a matter of time.
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To the surprise of no one, Chris Stapleton won Male Artist of the Year again, for the fifth time. Country fans are getting real sick of seeing the same artist receive the same award for so many years. No matter how talented they are.
Male Artist of the Year is all Chris Stapleton won this year, however, meaning that he's still behind George Strait in terms of ACM wins. But I don't think that'll be the case for very long.
Considering that George Strait had 24 ACM Award wins and Chris Stapleton had 20, Stapleton needed five wins. As he was nominated for six awards, it wasn't out of the question for the 60th ACM Awards to mark the moment The King got dethroned.
Although it's boring seeing him win the same award again, he's undeniably one of the greatest country singers right now. Considering how much the academy likes him, and the fact that George Strait hasn't won an ACM Award in over 10 years (2014), it's likely that Chris Stapleton will soon overtake The King.
George Strait Will Be Taken Over By Chris Stapleton In A Matter Of Years
We are seeing the last years of The King leading in terms of ACM wins. As Chris Stapleton now has 21 ACM Awards, all he needs is three more wins to tie with George Strait, and then one more to take the lead.
Country fans are caring less and less about award ceremonies, however. Whether it's the ACMs or the CMAs, the trophies are becoming more superficial as fans pay the academies less credence. But that doesn't mean it's not somewhat interesting to see who the panels want to support that year.
George Strait will always be The King, and no trophy count can take that away from him. But does look like we're moving into a new era as far as the academies are concerned.
Mark my words, before the turn of the decade, Chris Stapleton will have more ACM Awards than George Strait, whether we like it or not.
