Luke Bryan is now taking a break from sold-out crowds on his Dirt Road Diaries Tour to take time out to get ready for his co-hosting duties for this year’s ACM Awards. When he was first asked to host the show with buddy Blake Shelton, he was feeling a bit overwhelmed by the responsibility. “Somebody [asked] me…‘What do you think about hosting the show?’ Immediately, I was just kind of overwhelmed by it, and I said, ‘I just don’t know if I’m ready for something like that.’ I just felt like it was so, it was a little early in my career,” says Luke. “I think I had said, ‘I kinda just want to enjoy being at the show for a few years,’ because it’s still new to me being at the show and performing, and so I just wasn’t ready to leapfrog. About a month later they got back with me, and they said, ‘You may have misunderstood us, but it’s gonna be you and Blake together.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m in.’ That’s a no-brainer.”

The Georgia native, who’s up for several awards including Entertainer of the Year, says he knows he’ll have support on the stage if things go awry. “I know Blake will have my back up there if I get to scrambling too bad.”

The 48th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas April 7th on CBS.

Luke Bryan (ACMs-being asked to host) OC: …too bad. 1:02
“Well, it was interesting because I’d gotten in kind of a roundabout way asked, and I’d kinda said, you know, somebody told me – and I’ll leave the names out – but they were like, ‘What do you think about hosting the show?’ Immediately, I was just kind of overwhelmed by it, and I said, ‘I just don’t know if I’m ready for something like that.’ I just felt like it was so, it was a little early in my career. I think I had said, ‘I kinda just want to enjoy being at the show for a few years,’ because it’s still new to me being at the show and performing, and so I just wasn’t ready to leapfrog. About a month later they got back with me, and they said, ‘You may have misunderstood us, but it’s gonna be you and Blake [Shelton] together.’ And I was like, ‘Oh my God, I’m in.’ That’s a no-brainer. It’s gonna be a riot. And so, it wasn’t that I ever questioned my decision. In this business, I just want all my little things to come when they need to happen, and I know Blake will have my back up there if I get to scrambling too bad.”