Jason Aldean Is a ‘Little Nervous’ to Receive Artist of the Decade Award at 2019 ACM Awards

Jason Aldean already knows he will walk away with one trophy at the 2019 ACM Awards – the prestigious Artist of the Decade honor. Receiving the trophy, paying tribute an entire decade of contributions to country music, makes Aldean far more nervous than when he takes the stage to perform.

“I think something like that you just want to go well,” Aldean shared at a media event ahead of the ACM Awards ceremony. “You don’t want to do anything that’s going to live on YouTube from now on, that’s kind of stupid. So yeah, [I’m] a little nervous but excited.

“I’m not a guy that sits down and writes speeches or does any of that kind of stuff,” he added. “I think the best speeches come from the heart and what’s on your mind at the time. I don’t know what I’m going to say yet but I’ve got a lot of people to thank, I do know that.”

The Georgia native is also nominated for Music Event of the Year, for his “Drowns the Whiskey” collaboration with Miranda Lambert, as well as the night’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year. But the 2019 ACM Awards will mark the first time Aldean knows he is already a winner, which he admits is an unusual feeling for him.

“This is kind of a new thing for me, showing up to a show like this knowing that you’re gonna get up there and give a speech and knowing that you’re going to win something,” Aldean conceded. “Typically you don’t; you just go up and play your song and do your thing and then you wait for your category and whatever happens, happens. So honestly, it’s kind of new territory for me, so I don’t really know if it’s gonna be easier – if it makes it easier or more stressful. We’ll see.

“I want to go out and have fun and just enjoy the night,” he continued. “It’s a big honor for me. I’m just thrilled to be the one that’s receiving that award and will get to go out and play a couple songs during the night, so it’ll be fun.”

Aldean is in good company, since previous winners include Alabama, Garth Brooks and George Strait.

“It’s been really humbling for me,” Aldean acknowledged. “You look back at the last 10 years or so, and I realized that we have had a great run, but when something like this is coming up, this only comes out every 10 years, so you don’t really think about it. I didn’t even know it was something that was on the radar at this point that was coming up. It came out of the blue for me a little bit.”

The Artist of the Decade award has already given Aldean one gift already: the ability for him to see how far he has already come.

“I know it’s been a great run, but I don’t think I sometimes stop and really take it all in,” Aldean said. “It’s one of those awards for me that kind of made me do that a little bit. Stop and sort of look at it and realize how much we have accomplished.”

The 2019 ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 7, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Photo Credit: Getty Images/Michael Tran