Oct 30, 2012 2 min read

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Eric Church expects to be angry when he walks out on the stage to perform during the Country Music Association Awards. The rising country music star will cap a long journey as the top nominee Thursday night, but that doesn’t change anything as far as he’s concerned. He’s always angry when he walks onstage. “I have a huge chip on my shoulder,” Church said. “I got that from how we got here, and I think it’s a good thing. When I walk on the stage, I carry all the times that other artists got other things, or when we couldn’t get a song played because of who we were versus the song’s merits, or the times we had to play 12, 13 days and still were broke. “All those things I carry on that stage. I think it makes me a better performer and I think it makes it better for the crowd. I’m not going to lose that, regardless of the nominations.”In 18 months, Church’s relationship with the Music City machine that runs popular country music has turned upside-down. Long an outsider, he’s been shunned for his hard-edge sound, lack of hits and even his choice of eyewear. There was a tip of the hat to his growing popularity last year when Church got to play part of his song “Drink in My Hand” during the CMAs. “Drink” went on to become Church’s first No. 1 and a year later he’s got a leading five nominations, including album and male vocalist of the year. He’s also got a primo performance slot on a show that will likely draw 16 million viewers when it airs live at 8 p.m. on ABC. Church acknowledges he did everything wrong on his journey to this point. That’s what makes it all feel so right. Almost every decision ran hard against conventional Music City wisdom, yet since the release of “Chief” in 2011, the 35-year-old has done no wrong. That album debuted atop the Billboard 200 all-genre album chart and went platinum, scoring heavy sales for his back catalog. He launched his first headlining arena tour. And the rise of “Springsteen” to the top of the charts further proved Church has overcome radio’s resistance, the largest hurdle to a widespread country audience.