In honor of college basketball’s craziest month, I created a bracket with 16 of the hottest acts in country music. I seeded them based on the strength of their current “season,” which ran from the ACM Awards in April 2016 to the Grammy Awards in February 2017.
After more than 6,000 votes were cast in the Fab 4 Round, two stars emerged victorious: Blake Shelton and Dolly Parton.
A few interesting factoids from the previous Fab 4 Round before you vote in the Final Round.
- Blake Shelton defeated two-time reigning champion Carrie Underwood by more than 1,500 votes. In the three-year history of our Nash Music Madness bracket, this is Carrie’s first defeat.
- Dolly Parton defeated Thomas Rhett by almost 2,000 votes. This is Dolly’s first trip to the Finals.
- Volunteers vs. Sooners. The Final Round features a Tennessee (Dolly) vs. Oklahoma (Blake) match-up.
- On his way to the Finals, Blake (#7 seed) defeated Maren Morris (#2), Keith Urban (#6) and Carrie Underwood (#5).
- On her way to the Finals, Dolly (#2 seed) defeated Luke Bryan (#7), Eric Church (#6) and Thomas Rhett (#5).
Garth Brooks courtesy CMA; Dierks Bentley courtesy The Greenroom PR; Carrie Underwood by Koury Angelo/Schmidt Relations; Miranda Lambert by Randee St. Nicholas/Sony Music Nashville; Keith Urban courtesy PFA Media; Little Big Town by Matthew Welch/Sandbox Entertainment; Blake Shelton by Brian Bowen Smith/NBC; Maren Morris by LeAnn Mueller/Sony Music; Sturgill Simpson by Reto Sterchi/Sacks & Co.; Kelsea Ballerini courtesy Black River Entertainment; Thomas Rhett by John Shearer/The Greenroom PR; Jason Aldean by James Minchin/The Greenroom PR; Eric Church by John Peets/EB Media; Chris Stapleton courtesy UMG Nashville; Luke Bryan courtesy Schmidt Relations; Dolly Parton by Quantrell Colbert/NBC