Going into this year’s ACM Awards as the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, Eric Church is well-aware of the responsibility the title brings to him and what it would mean to him, but he’s spent the past few months trying to live up to its title.

“I did not know what that award would mean to me because we’d never won that award (laughs) and never thought we would, and I felt a responsibility,” says Eric. “I know what that award means to the format; I know what that means historically, and I tried to live up to that. I think with the vaccinations, I think with the touring, I think with the things we’ve tried to do during this, I’ve done more in that regard than I ever would’ve, because I understand the people that came before me, and I understand the people that will come after me. So, that nomination means more to me now than it probably ever has, because we’ve won. I think representing the format that I adore is something that I’m trying to live up to.”

In addition to the nomination for Entertainer, Eric is also up for Male Artist of the Year and Music Event of the Year with Luke Combs on their chart-topping song “Does To Me.”

The 56th Academy of Country Music Awards, hosted by Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton, will air Sunday, April 18th beginning at 8pm ET/delayed PT on CBS.

The reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, who just announced The Gather Again Tour kicking off in September, is set to release the first of his three new records, Heart, April 16th. He created the middle album of the trilogy, &, specifically for the Church Choir (his fan club), which will be available exclusively to them only as a vinyl record on April 20th. The third installment, Soul, is set for release April 23rd.

Eric is currently making his way up the country charts with his latest single, “Hell of a View.”