Watch now: New Artist nominee Luke Combs ready for his “cornerstone moment” at this year’s CMA Awards

ABC RadioLuke Combs is nominated as a New Artist of the Year at Wednesday’s CMA Awards.  He says winning the trophy would mean a lot to him.

“It would mean, obviously, a lot of hard work coming to a point of recognition from the industry. That’s a cool thing,” he tells ABC Radio. “We’ve been selling a lot of tickets, which is great. The fans have been awesome for this headlining tour that I’ve got. It’s a different thing to be embraced by the industry. It’s cool to acknowledge that the work that you put in has paid off. I think that this would be a big culmination for that.”

Luke has had quite the year, with back-to-back number-one hits “Hurricane” and “When It Rains It Pours,” off his major label debut, This One’s For You. It’s the awards recognition, though, that tops it all.

“This nomination is a big cornerstone moment for my career,” Luke says, adding, “My parents are coming in town so them getting to be a part of it is really cool. I’m looking forward to that.”

Luke’s nominated alongside Old Dominion, Brett Young, Jon Pardi and Lauren Alaina. Tune into the CMA Awards on ABC Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET to see who wins New Artist of the Year.

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