It’s no secret that HARDY has had an incredible year and fans certainly recognized that as they voted him Favorite Breakthrough Artist at the inaugural Country Now Awards.
HARDY was crowned the winner of the Breakthrough artist category on Wednesday evening during the Country Now Awards livestream.
Appearing from his tour bus, HARDY graciously accepted the award with a heartfelt speech.
“Wow, you guys. Thank you so much. I think this is my first big award that I have ever won, and I am so, so thankful and so surprised and truly from the bottom of my heart, I want to say thank you so much to the Country Now Awards and for everybody that voted for me for Favorite Breakthrough Artist,” the Mississippi native shared.
“Seriously, you guys are amazing, and I’m incredibly thankful just to be accepted within the community of Nashville,” he continued. “I know I’ve been in Nashville for quite some time now, but I still feel like sometimes I’m still one of the new guys and so to be appreciated and recognized and even recognized enough to be voted for and then to win is such a huge honor, so seriously I’m so thankful.”
HARDY then shared an acoustic performance of his current single, “GIVE HEAVEN SOME HELL,” from his 2020 debut album, A ROCK.
In 2021, HARDY’s career climbed to new heights, as he joined Jason Aldean on the Back In The Saddle Tour.
He’s gearing up to join Morgan Wallen on The Dangerous Tour in 2022.
On Friday, HARDY will release HIXTAPE: Vol. 2, a star-studded collaboration album featuring Ashland Craft, Ben Burgess, Brantley Gilbert, Brothers Osborne, Chase Rice, Chris Lane, Chris Shiflett, Colt Ford, David Lee Murphy, Dierks Bentley, ERNEST, Granger Smith, Jake Owen, Jake Worthington, Jimmie Allen, Jon Pardi, Josh Thompson, Justin Moore, Lainey Wilson, Larry Fleet, Lee Brice, Marty Stuart, Matt Stell, Midland, Morgan Wallen, Randy Houser, Rhett Akins, Ronnie Dunn, Scotty McCreery, Sean Stemaly, The Cadillac Three and Travis Denning.
Callista Clark, Drew Parker , Elvie Shane, Jameson Rodgers, Lainey Wilson, Matt Stell, Mickey Guyton, Parker McCollum, Priscilla Block, Restless Road, Tenille Arts, Travis Denning and Walker Hayes were also nominated in the category.
The Inaugural Country Now Awards streamed on Wednesday, December 8. The winners in the 14 categories were determined by fan votes placed between November 15 and November 30 on CountryNow.com. Over 1.1 million total votes were cast.
Hosted by Country Now’s Lauren Black, the Country Now Awards featured special appearances by Brantley Gilbert, Carly Pearce, Chayce Beckham, Chelcie Lynn (a.k.a. Trailer Trash Tammy), Elle King, ERNEST, Jameson Rodgers, Jimmie Allen, Kaleb Austin, Katie Austin, Kierra Lewis, Lindsay Ell, Morgan Wallen, and Walker Hayes.
George Birge, HARDY, Jameson Rodgers, Jimmie Allen, Lainey Wilson, Restless Road and Lily Rose also performed.
The Country Now Awards live stream was in support of the Love Music. Stop Cancer. Campaign to raise awareness and support for kids with cancer and other catastrophic diseases at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®. Visit musicgives.org to learn more about Love Music. Stop Cancer.
