Jason Aldean on ACM Awards: 'I Don't Need Awards to Validate My Career'

Jason Aldean is nominated in two categories, Entertainer of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year at the upcoming 2018 ACM Awards. Although Aldean has plenty of honors and accolades to his credit, including winning the ACM Awards for Entertainer of the Year the last two years, the Georgia native maintains that his career isn't defined by how many trophies he earns.

"If I never won any awards, was my career any less successful, just because I didn't win awards?" Aldean recently shared with PopCulture.com and other reporters. "No. I feel like awards are nice to have. I'm flattered every time we get nominated for those things, because we don't always get nominated for stuff. It does mean a lot to me when we do get those votes, and people are voting for us, and then especially if you win. The Entertainer of the Year, to me, that was a personal thing that I wanted."

Aldean's self-titled freshman album came out in 2005. As the "You Make it Easy" singer gets ready to release his eighth studio record, Rearview Town, with six of them earning platinum status, the Entertainer of the Year nod is one accolade that he has aspired to achieve.

"When I started in this business, two things I think I wanted was like, 'Man, it'd be cool to have a platinum record on my wall, and it would be cool to win Entertainer of the Year,'" Aldean acknowledged. "That was just kind of like my personal thing. It does mean a lot. It means a lot when you get nominated for those things, and when you feel like your peers and everybody in the industry feels strongly enough about you to vote for you. More than anything, I think it just makes you feel good, like the acceptance you're getting from everybody, and that's a cool feeling."

Still, Aldean doesn't weigh his success by the number of awards he wins.

"On the flip side of that, I would say if I never won an award ever, I still wouldn't feel like my career was a failure," Aldean said. "I don't think I need the awards to validate my career, I guess is what I'm saying. It is a nice thing to have. It does make you feel good to get that pat on the back from the industry and the people in it. It definitely makes it more exciting when you go to an awards show, I will say that. It's a lot cooler when you're up for an award. It's a lot more fun sitting out there watching the show, when you don't know what's coming."

Aldean is nominated for Entertainer of the Year along with Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, Chris Stapleton and Keith Urban, all deserving of the honor, at least according to Aldean, although Aldean knows who he would likely pick if the choice was up to him.

"Everybody's different, that's the thing," said Aldean. "I look at somebody like Luke, he's out there. To me, that's a touring award. I've said that for years. People can make their case that it's about whatever they want to make it. To me, my opinion is that is a road warrior award. That is being on the road, touring, entertaining people every night at your shows. It's just what it is to me. It was that back in 1982, when I stared watching the ACMs, to me. It's that way now.

"From that standpoint, I look at it and say it's hard not to throw Luke into that category," added Aldean. "He's out there selling out shows. He's playing stadiums, he's doing his thing. People are showing up. He puts on a great show. To me, that's hard, but everybody's different. You've got Garth out, selling out multiple nights, doing his thing. Stapleton, he's the best singer in town. He entertains people with that voice, none of the rest of us can do that, sing like that guy. Urban, he's out there, one of the best musicians in town. We all kind of have our own thing. It's really hard to go, 'That guy's better than that guy,' because we're all different."

The 2018 ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sunday, April 15, at 8:00 PM ET on CBS.

Rearview Town will be released on April 13. It is currently available for pre-order on Amazon and iTunes.

Photo Credit: Instagram/JasonAldean