Trace Adkins on Hosting the American Country Awards: "I'm at a Beautiful Place in My Career — If It's Going to Be Fun, I'm Going to Do It"

Country music superstar Trace Adkins — multi-platinum recording artist and Celebrity Apprentice contestant — took on double duty as host and performer at the inaugural American Country Awards, airing live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Monday, December 6 (8:00-10:00 PM ET) on FOX. Premier Guide Miami sat down to find out what that means — and what comes next.

Country music superstar Trace Adkins — multi-platinum recording artist and Celebrity Apprentice contestant — hosted and performed at the American Country Awards, airing live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Monday, December 6 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX. The American Country Awards is the only country music awards show that gives fans the opportunity to vote for their favorite artists in both traditional categories and previously unrecognized areas such as touring. Performers included Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, Rascal Flatts, Reba, Blake Shelton, Josh Turner, Easton Corbin, Steel Magnolia, and Uncle Kracker.

On doing double duty as host and performer: "We haven't discussed the payment yet. I think I'll get into that about a minute before I go on stage and I'll have a contract for them to sign. 'Here you go, sign this by the way, before I go out there.'"

On the other performers: "My favorite tours are always the ones that I'm on, but that's just because I have the most fun on those. As far as performances go, I know all those people. I'm not really looking forward to any of those performances. Most of them aren't very good, so I don't know why anybody would even want to watch this show." (Said with characteristic dry humor.)

On country music's evolution toward rock and pop: "Yes, of course. I think there's a good reason for that. Most of the producers in Nashville that are really hitting their stride right now were influenced by that kind of music when they were growing up. So you hear it now in a lot of country acts. I think it's just a reflection of how they grew up."

On his career resurgence after Celebrity Apprentice: "It's been a roller coaster ride. There are highs and lows. There will be a couple of years where you're having some big hits and things are going great, and then things will slow down for a year or two and it'll pick back up. I'm at a beautiful place in my career now — a point where I can ask, 'Is this going to be something that I think will be fun to do?' If the answer to that question is yes, then the other things don't really matter that much. When I asked that question about this hosting gig, the answer was yes, and I'm going to go do it."

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