Lipscomb alumni Kelsea Ballerini and Thomas Rhett shine at Academy of Country Music Awards
Lacey Klotz |
Lipscomb University was well represented at the 51st annual Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards that aired on CBS on Sunday, April 3.
Lipscomb alumni and breakout country stars Kelsea Ballerini, who attended Lipscomb from 2011-2013; and Thomas Rhett (Akins), who attended Lipscomb from 2008-2011; were each nominated in multiple categories and walked away with their first ACM awards.
Ballerini was up for awards in two categories including New Female Vocalist of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year, and was named one of the early winners 
of the 2016 ACM Awards. She was given her trophy for New Female Vocalist of the Year after her performance at the ACM Party for a Cause Festival on April 2.
“All I’ve ever wanted to do was this,” Ballerini said. “I’ve been doing shows for the past two years trying to get my music in front of people and just introduce myself and say hi and they’re the ones that have received it.”
The country breakout star also teamed up with pop star Nick Jonas for a special performance at the awards show. Ballerini sang a medley of her first single “Love Me Like You Mean It,” and her current single, “Peter Pan.” Jonas joined Ballerini for a duet near the end of “Peter Pan” after entering the stage for his guitar solo.
“I don’t even know what to say, so for now I will just say thank you from the bottom of my heart,” Ballerini posted on her social accounts after receiving the news. “For not only making my dreams come true, but for making all of the people around me who work so hard have so many beautiful moments to celebrate.”
A native of Knoxville, Tennessee, Ballerini has taken country music by storm this year with two No. 1 hits on the Billboard Country Airplay chart for her first single “Love Me Like You Mean It” and second single “Dibs.” Ballerini was also recently received the Rising Star honor at Billboard’s Women in Music event in December, and was nominated for CMA’s New Female Vocalist of the Year and Female Vocalist of the Year.
Rhett was also among the elite group of artists who walked away with an ACM honor last night. Nominated for New Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year and Single Record of the Year, Rhett was elated at the news that he won Single Record of the Year for “Die A Happy Man,” a tribute love song to his wife, Lauren.
During his acceptance speech, Rhett thanked his label, family and God for his first ACM award, and later performed “Die A Happy Man” live for the crowd and his wife, who sang along from her seat.
Rhett has also had a great deal of success this year with the release of his second album, Tangled Up, which features his recent hit-single “Die A Happy Man,” a song that tied Taylor Swift’s record of holding the No. 1 spot on the Billboard U.S. Country Airplay chart for six weeks in a row.
Rhett and his wife Lauren also recently visited Lipscomb’s campus and shared a glimpse into their lives in the limelight and how their faith keeps them grounded through the fame and fortune.
“It’s a huge blessing to be creative and to get to sing songs for a living, but at the same time, we know for a fact that we have been put in this position to be on the road and open for certain artists, and maybe only have one conversation with that artist that may have completely changed their life,” Rhett explained. “Not by anything that I said or have done, but something that The Lord completely ordained.”
Hosted by country superstars Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley, the event featured other all-star performances by Katy Perry and Dolly Parton, Carrie Underwood, Tim McGraw and Blake Shelton.
Chris Stapleton walked away with four trophies from the event and Jason Aldean was named ACM’s Entertainer of the Year.
For more information visit: www.acmcountry.com/.