George Strait is officially country music’s hottest male artist. A three-week-long, bracket style contest wrapped on Monday night (April 8), with the King of Country coming out on top.
He beat Scotty McCreery in the 2025 March Man-Ness Championship, taking nearly two-thirds of all votes.
Overall, tens of thousands of country fans voted through four rounds of competition. To get to the former American Idol winner, Strait had to get past Vince Gill, Luke Bryan, Alan Jackson and Tim McGraw.
The Championship matchup put the New School and Old School winners against one another.
Taste of Country’s 2025 March Man-Ness Tournament — Rounds + Voting:
Round 1: March 18-23
Round 2: March 24-27
Round 3: March 28-30
Final Four: March 31-April 3
Championship: April 4-7
March Manness Final Bracket
Taste of Country
McCreery’s path to the finals was arguably more difficult, as he had to stare down Shaboozey, Morgan Wallen, Warren Zeiders and Riley Green.
Country fans know that the younger singer considers the Country Music Hall of Famer to be something of a hero. His 2021 hit “Damn Strait” was part breakup song, part tribute to the legend.
This year’s March Man-Ness contest ran alongside the men’s and women’s NCAA tournament. Both ended within the last 48 hours with University of Connecticut (women’s) and University of Florida (men’s) taking the championships.
Like Strait, these schools were considered to be favorites for the title. Here is the final vote tally:
Strait’s next move will come in May when he continues his stadium tour with Chris Stapleton. The 72-year-old has five shows planned for this spring and summer, each at a venue that regularly hosts NFL games.
McCreery is currently on Kane Brown’s 2025 tour, with his next show scheduled for April 10.
Thanks for voting for Taste of Country’s March Man-Ness 2025!
The best country songs of the last 25 years were felt and heard. Commercial impact was a factor, but emotional impact is what separates these songs from others released in the 2000s.
Technically the century began in 2001, but we reached back to 2000 to summarize this list of top songs. Alan Jackson is the only artist with two songs, but you’ll find 11 Entertainer of the Year winners scattered across a playlist the required several stunning exclusions.
Curious as to why your favorite song missed the cut? Well, there are only 25 spots for the best of 25,000 country song releases. Hard decisions needed to be made!
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes