Thomas Rhett

Thomas Rhett may stem from country music royalty (he's the son of Rhett Akins, after all), but yet he's still marked his own path.

Rhett played music in both junior high and high school. He later chose to study communications at Lipscomb University in Nashville, but the draw of Music City was too much. He eventually dropped out to pursue music full-time.

Thanks to his songwriting prowess, Rhett landed a publishing deal with Big Machine Label Group. In the early stages of his professional career, he co-wrote singles for Jason Aldean, Florida Georgia Line and Lee Brice, among others.

Rhett's debut album It Goes Like This arrived in 2013, and two years later he followed it up with Tangled Up. His sophomore release was nominated for Album of the Year at the ACM Awards. The single 'Die a Happy Man' from the album would go on to win Single of the Year at the ACMS and Song of the Year at the CMAs.

Three more albums followed: 2017's Life Changes, 2019's Center Point Road and 2021's Country Again: Side A. The latter marks the first of a double album release.

In 2020, the ACMs named Rhett Entertainer of the Year, and one year later he earned the title Male Artist of the Year.