Hunter Hayes is the only open­ing act for one of the hottest tours of 2013 – Car­rie Underwood’s Blown Away Tour. After leav­ing the stage each night, Hunter keeps his own head­lin­ing tour in mind, and is using this oppor­tu­nity to find ways to rein­vent his set.

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Hunter has been announced as a nom­i­nee for this year’s ACM New Male Artist cat­e­gory, along with Brant­ley Gilbert and Lee Brice. Fan votes will deter­mine which artist goes on to com­pete for the New Artist of the Year title, against win­ners in the New Female Vocal­ist and New Vocal Duo or Group cat­e­gory. The ACM Awards will air live April 7th at 8PM East­ern on CBS.