Jack Ingram OK With Being ‘New’ After 15 Years

Jack Ingram released his debut CD 15 years ago and has a discography of more than a dozen albums. So is he offended by his ACM nomination for Top New Male Vocalist this year? No way.

"I love being a new male vocalist," Ingram told GAC. "I mean, I love the fact that what that category does is celebrate achievements made in the last couple of years to a guy that just entered the format, and that's me to a T."

Ingram goes on to explain that he hopes his current success will result in a resurgence of his older recordings.

"The fact is that to millions of country fans across this nation, I'm brand new. They never heard of me until 'Wherever You Are' came around, and 'Love You,' 'Lips Of An Angel' and 'Measure Of A Man.' They're just getting to know me. And I'm glad when they do commit and get to know me and decide they're a big fan of mine, they're gonna have all this stuff that I did before, and they'll go back and check it out, and I love that, too."

If Ingram takes home the trophy tomorrow, it won't be the first time that someone who has been on the music scene for several years has won the ACM honors of Top New Male Vocalist. Rodney Atkins was last year's winner, ten years after signing his record deal. And Kenny Chesney was the 1998 Top New Male Vocalist, five years after releasing his debut album.

Ingram's competition is Luke Bryan and Jake Owen, two singers who have released one album each. He knows it's an unpredictable category.

"I'm gonna be honest about the fact that I'd love to win!" he says.