Luke Combs is nominated for the ACM Award for Entertainer of the Year, a category he shares with Kane Brown, Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen and Lainey Wilson. Although Combs would love to walka way with the trophy for the night’s highest honor, he says he thinks that award should go to Brown.
“I think that he has never gotten the recognition that I think he deserves, and he works really hard,” Combs tells Taste of Country. “I think it would be cool to see him take it home.”
Combs is also a big fan of Wilson, who he says works harder than almost anyone else in the business.
“She was just always a hustler, man,” Combs says. “She’s always been so respected, in my opinion. We have a lot of the same mutual friends, we kind of came up in the same writing circles and hung out at the same places … She’s always just been a writer’s writer, an artist’s artist. She’s someone that is impossible to not root for. She’s such a great person, and she’s always been that. ”
“She’s everything she claims to be, which I think there are so many people that aren’t that,” he continues. “She’s an elite songwriter. That’s the thing that I think people may not know, is that she’s just an all-around insane talent, and definitely deserves everything that’s come her way.”
It’s a big week for Combs. In addition to the ACM Awards, he just dropped his new single, “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma,” from the upcoming Twisters film.
“This song is about everything that I think this movie is about,” Combs told Audacy. “High-energy, high-octane, I think the song really musically matches that vibe. It’s really sort of abstract, lyrically speaking, I think that was done intentionally. We were really just trying to sonically match the vibe that they were looking for with this film.”
It was also just revealed that Combs would be part of a brand-new exhibit, Luke Combs: The Man I Am, at the Country Music Hall of Fame.
“Once I decided I wanted to do music as a career, it didn’t matter if it was for 100 people or 1,000 people, I just wanted to be playing country music for anyone who would listen,” Combs said when the news was announced. “If I could have enough fans to call it a job, I was set. Other than that, I never dreamed of being featured in the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, much less having my own exhibit; that was beyond my wildest dreams.
“But honestly, it’s all a credit to my fans, family, songwriters and team,” he continued. “I have only made it to where I am today because of them, and this honor is one of my most humbling yet. At my core I love country music and this exhibit is as prestigious of an honor as it gets.”
Combs is the most-nominated artist at the ACM Awards, with a total of eight nominations.
The ACM Awards will air live on Thursday, May 16, from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The ceremony will stream live exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. More information is available at ACMCountry.com.
Read ‘Luke Combs: 11 Things To Know About the Singer’s Life and Career’ here.