When the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Top New Artist nominees were announced, one of the 'surprise' names was Sunny Sweeney. The singer of the Top 10 hit "From A Table Away," Sweeney was a surprising choice not because of her immense talent but because of the fact that she had quietly parted ways with Republic Nashville in the middle of 2012. So not only was Sunny nominated but she was nominated as an independent artist without a label. In this brief interview, we talk about the nomination and her reactions to getting nominated for the award

Roughstock: Where were you when you found out you were nominated as one of the three Best New Female Artist nominees by the ACademy of Country Music?

Sunny Sweeney: I was in my living room and my manager called me. And he had me wait until my husband came home from work so we could hear the news on speaker phone together.

Roughstock: What would be the ideal way to find out you were chosen by the fans as the best new Female Artist?

Sunny: I don't know, maybe a fan would call me or something. That'd be pretty awesome.

Roughstock: How funny is it for you to be considered new, still, all these years into it.

Sunny: You could put any adjective in front of it and I'd still be blown away. I mean my first gig was almost 10 years ago and I played every dive bar along the way…And a lot of fans still don't know who I am when they come to the show. They go "I didn't know who you were until tonight and I bought a CD" and I go "That's the biggest complement ever, thank you!"

Roughstock: How does it feel to have the nomination?

Sunny Sweeney: It makes me feel validated. To know that every toil and trouble and any stress and all the hard work, effort and gigs and cheese burgers and beer that I played for, that's what I wanted for it. I wanted people to recognize all the work I put into it.

Roughstock: Is it safe to say that 2011 and 2012 were the two best years of your career thus far?

Yes. They were both amazing and 2013 is going to be even better!

You can vote for Sunny Sweeney in the ACM's Top New Artist category by clicking here. Voting Ends Monday, February 4, 2013.