Trace Adkins says he expects nothing but smooth sailing and lots of fun when he co-hosts this year’s 2011 American Country Awards with Kristin Chenoweth, which will air live on FOX on Monday (Dec. 5) at 8PM ET.

Although Adkins was visibly nervous when he hosted last year’s inaugural fan-voted award show, he feels more in the groove this year. Not only is that because he has one hosting gig under his belt, but this year’s he been very involved in pre-production for the show. “Last year was the first time that I had ever done that,” he tells Billboard. “I had done a couple of CMT things before, but they were very controlled and very structured. I was very anxious and apprehensive coming into it, but after an hour or so, I thought ‘I can do this.’ I calmed down and settled into it. This year, it’s more of a sense of looking forward to doing it. I did have a lot of fun doing it.”

Although Adkins says he hasn’t worked with Chenoweth before, he thinks the pairing will be a good match, and somewhat comical, too, since she stands just under five feet tall and he reportedly stands about 6′ 6″ tall. “As far as I know, they’re not making any special provisions,” he says of the height difference. “Maybe somebody will have to carry around an apple box for her. I’ve seen her on television, and I’m aware of who she is. She’s very funny, very pretty, and very petite, so it would be a huge contrast.”

Toby Keith will perform the network debut of his song ‘Red Solo Cup‘ during the show. Other scheduled performers include Scotty McCreery, Blake Shelton, Pistol Annies, Thompson Square, Eli Young Band and the Band Perry.

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