Parker McCollum is nominated for one ACM Award, for Album of the Year. McCollum’s eponymous third studio album is nominated, a nomination that he admits caught him completely off-guard. SiriusXM‘s Cody Alan delivered the good news, via FaceTime.
“Had I known he was going to call me and tell me that, I would not have answered, ‘cause I was about ten to 15 minutes out of bed,” McCollum tells the Academy of Country Music. “And I had just walked across my driveway to my gym. I didn’t even know that they were announcing that day. I had no idea. I wasn’t even thinking about it. So, he really caught me off guard. [I was] completely unaware of the fact that that was going to probably live on the internet for the rest of time. But I think that kind of makes the video very genuine and real, which is cool.”
McCollum was understandably stunned that his self-titled project was in the running for Album of the Year, since he has said it is the record he wanted to make, regardless of if it had any commercial success.
“I spent the whole day just kind of processing it, reading text messages, people calling,” McCollum recalls. “That record, that’s everything I got, that record. That’s as good and as much and as committed and as deep as I can go, that I know of. So, for it to be recognized and be mentioned in such a stout category with so many great records nominated and so many great records that could have been nominated, I don’t know. As a songwriter, that one really, really means a lot.”
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Why Parker McCollum Wants To Win Album of the Year at the ACM Awards
McCollum’s only nomination at the 2026 ACM Awards is for Album of the Year, but it’s enough for him. The father of one, with one on the way, wrote or co-wrote all but two of the songs on Parker McCollum. Honored with the industry recognition, McCollum is also confident in the record as an entire entity.
“If you know anything about me, you know that I’m very hard on what I create,” McCollum maintains. “I never really am super satisfied with what I do creatively. And this is the first time in my career that I felt like I really reached my full potential as a songwriter and as a singer and as an artist on a complete collection and body of work, from top to bottom.
“And so, it’s like, I agree,” he adds. “I accept that nomination with great gratitude and humility, but also like… Yes, I do think that record deserves that attention. I think [producers] Frank Liddell and Eric Masse and that band and my team deserve to be mentioned and recognized for that body of work because I am that proud of it.”
Parker McCollum includes his recent hit, “What Kinda Man,” and his current single, “Killin’ Me.”
McCollum, who just celebrated his fourth consecutive sold-out show at RodeoHouston, shares the Album of the Year category with Zach Top (Ain’t In It For My Health), Carter Faith (Cherry Valley), Riley Green (Don’t Mind If I Do – Deluxe), and Morgan Wallen (I’m The Problem).
The 2026 ACM Awards will air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Prime Video on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at 8:00 PM ET.
Photo Credit: Chris Kleinmeier