If I were a bettin' (wo)man...

Are you ready for the ACM Awards LIVE from Vegas this coming Sunday? We are! Do you have your winner picks ready? We do! Check 'em out below, as well as our takes on who SHOULD win, even if they don't. Plus, check back Monday for a recap of the show, performances and to see if anyone made Jake Owen say "Damn."

For a full list of nominees, click here.

By the way, we're just guessing as to who will win. We don't know and we'll probably be wrong.

Top Male Vocalist
Who Will Win: Brad Paisley
Who Should Win: George Strait
Brad Paisley has been racking up serious awards lately. He and Urban have already been named winners of Vocal Event of the Year from the ACMs. Paisley also won Video of the Year. Sounds like a shoe-in to us. George Strait, however, is George Strait. George Strait is the closest thing to a living embodiment of country music out there. There's a reason they call him King George. And we all know, it's good to be king.

Top Female Vocalist
Who Will Win: Carrie Underwood
Who Should Win: Miranda Lambert
Let's face it, in the country music world, Underwood can apparently do no wrong. (That's notwithstanding her shrieky rendition of Randy Travis' I Told You So and the fact that we here don't like her.) She is the current darling of country radio. Since her American Idol win, people have been fawning over her, claiming she is the reason they like country music. Not a good enough reason. Miranda Lambert is the anti-Carrie Underwood. Just as beautiful, with twice the pipes and triple the personality. Underwood may bash your headlights in, but Lambert will shoot you down just as soon as look at you. Which one sounds more country?

Top Vocal Group
Who Will Win: Rascal Flatts
Who Should Win: Rascal Flatts
The groups are great, but no one can deny Rascal Flatts' success. It's a no-brainer. (Watch them not win, now.)

Top Vocal Duo
Who Will Win: WE DON'T KNOW!
Who Should Win: Sugarland
We just couldn't make a pick on this one. After all, Duo has long been "the Brooks & Dunn award," but Sugarland is the one group who was able to topple them. Lately B&D have been making a resurgence with Cowgirls Don't Cry, but Sugarland's star has been steadily burning in the Nashville sky. As far as we're concerned, it's a toss-up.

Top New Artist
Who Will Win: Jake Owen
Who Should Win: Jake Owen
Wanna know why? Go here. There is a slight chance of a Julianne Hough upset given her Dancing With the Stars fan base. We aren't big DWTS watchers, but there's no doubt she's been plugging for votes.

Album of the Year
Who Will Win: Carrie Underwood or Taylor Swift
Who Should Win: Jamey Johnson
If Underwood is radio's darling, Swift is its golden child. Her first two albums have had unbelievable success, mostly due to the tween factor. But Jamey Johnson has long been a Nashville fixture. TLS is critically acclaimed and Johnson can sell out bar crowds in a way no other artist of his relative newbie status can. His songwriting ability is unparalleled (just ask George Strait) and his singing style is "somewhere between Jennings and Jones."

Single of the Year
Who Will Win: "In Color" Jamey Johnson
Who Should Win: "In Color" Jamey Johnson
Have you ever heard a sold-out crowd sing a popular song back to its artist? We have and the sound is deafeningly beautiful. "In Color" stretches across generational boundaries, speaking to the veterans of World Wars and to the youngest members of society. Who doesn't know that "Man, you should have been there" feeling? Who has never expressed, "Guess ya had to be there." Some things just can't be conveyed, they can only be experienced. Of course, if hell freezes over and Johnson doesn't take home this trophy, it will likely go to Brad Paisley's "Waitin' on a Woman" or Trace Adkins' "You're Gonna Miss This."

Song of the Year
Who Will Win: "I Saw God Today" George Strait
Who Should Win: "In Color" Jamey Johnson
We have no complaints if King George takes this home, but refer to our reasons above for our JJ love.

Entertainer of the Year (Fan Voted!)
Nominees: Kenny Chesney, Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, George Strait, Keith Urban
Who We Voted For: George Strait
There is no real way to call this one. It's all about who gets the most clicks. But, we predict Carrie Underwood again, given her legions of AI fanatics.

Hell yeah, that is the YeeHaw Guy!

If you haven't seen Jake Owen perform live, you've been missing out. If you haven't had the chance to see Owen perform in an intimate setting, then you are really missing out. Jake Owen is a great performer and songwriter, but he's also supremely comfortable on stage, much more than you would expect of a once-aspiring golf star.

Watching him recently at performance for fewer than 50 local radio listeners was like being invited to a jam session in his living room. He talked about his new puppy, Vern, he did a masterful impression of Ronnie Dunn, and he even managed to squeeze in a few songs. Normally he has a full band backing him, but today it was just him and a guitar. Though his band members are among some of the coolest guys on the planet, they were not missed. Owen is a compelling performer no matter the venue.

Having recently released his sophomore album, Easy Does It, Owen is enjoying the upswing of his career. When you get the CD (and you will) be sure to check out Anything for You and Every Reason I Go Back. He has already opened for legendary performers like Alan Jackson and Brooks & Dunn, as well as newer major acts Kenny Chesney and Brad Paisley. Judging by his stage presence, it won't be too long before Owen has his own opening acts.

Owen is also the ACM New Male Artist of the Year. His winning is testament to Owen's loveability as this year is the first time this award is fan-voted. He's up against Julianne Hough and the Zac Brown Band for Best New Artist at the ACMs. Cast your vote for Jake here.

And the Most Underrated Country Star Is...

Lee Brice! The good ol' boy from Sumter, South Carolina, has been toiling in Nashville for a while now, with little to show for his efforts since Garth Brooks rocketed to the top with More Than a Memory, which Brice co-wrote (with Kyle Jacobs and Billy Montana). His debut CD on the Curb label has been pushed back at least three times; its original release date was 2007 and Curb's web site now has it set for 2037.

Brice could be in his sixties before we hear track 1. That's a real shame, as anyone familiar with Brice's work knows. He's the voice behind the raucous Upper Middle Class White Trash, the vulnerable Happy Endings and the gotta-love-a-crazy-chick anthem, She Ain't Right. And, let us not forget the beauty and angst of More Than a Memory.

Of course, he hasn't been in Nashville for 10 years, which appears to be the average amount of toiling time spent by some of country's hottest artists. So, we may yet luck out. But with talent like Brice's, why must he suffer the 10 year curse? He's developed his voice. He knows who he is. He knows his audience. So what is Curb waiting for?

The official word is that Curb is waiting for one of Brice's singles to hit the Top 20 (an upcoming single is due in April). Given the way Curb has treated mega-star Tim McGraw of late, why should we believe them? McGraw's troubles inadverently screwed Brice once more, as one of the singles from McGraw's delayed new record was co-written by Brice.

Most importantly: Brice is genuine. He's true to his roots and to his fans.