Chris Stapleton Explains Why ACM Award Nomination for Album of the Year Means the Most to Him

Chris Stapleton leads the pack of ACM nominees with eight nods, including Male Vocalist of the Year and the night’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year. But the one that means the most to him is his nomination for Album of the Year, for his Album of the Year, for his 2017 From a Room, Volume 1 record, because it recognizes the entire body of work over one song.

“They are all significant and if you get one award for anything it’s a treat,” Stapleton says. “But any of the awards that awarded the album, the album awards, because I really wanted to make an album that was good.I wanted that to be a thing, again, more than I wanted it to be, ‘Well here’s the single and eight other songs.’ So, the album awards for me were important in that we did our job in a good way, you know. Just I have such an affinity for albums that I don’t know if I want those more or if they mean more, but they are all meaningful.”

With so much success from From a Room, Volume 1 (which also earned Stapleton a GRAMMY Award for Best Country Album), it might seem like he would be eager to record a new project. But the Kentucky native says he is willing to take his time before he heads back into the studio.

“I like the creative process, and I like to do things just because I like to do them,” Stapleton says. “I’ve got a couple of songs in some movies and some different collaborations with some people that are on the horizon. But as far as a project for me, I don’t know what that next thing is. It’ll probably be a minute, because two records in a year is a lot and sometimes you don’t know stuff like that until you do it, like, ‘Yeah, I’m gonna put out two records in a year.’

“It’s been great,” continues Stapleton, “and it was a good plan, and I’m real happy with the way things are turning out. But we’ll probably not be recording anything real soon. It may be a minute. We’ll tour off these two records. They’ve got a lot of life in ’em as far as touring goes, so I’m sure whatever the next right thing is to do will present itself, and then I’ll look at it dead in the eye and go, ‘Alright, let’s go.’”

Stapleton is also nominated for Single Record of the Year (both Artist and Producer) for “Broken Halos,” and Song of the Year (both Artist and Songwriter) for “Whiskey and You.”

The 2018 ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 15, at 8:00 PM ET on CBS.

Photo Credit: Instagram/ChrisStapleton