Jack Ingram Cheers His Victory

Feb. 27, 2009 — It’s been a good nine months since Jack Ingram picked up the Top New Male Vocalist trophy during the "44th Annual ACM Awards". It was a great moment in his life, but it’s continued to resonate in his career ever since.

"In any business, there's always a need to separate yourself from the competition somehow," he told HitFix.com. "It's not always talent that does that. So when you get an award that says you're the top of the class, it does things for you. You get offers that you might not have got. Just different things."

Some of the people who’ve won Top New Male before Jack include Tim McGraw, Alan Jackson, Brad Paisley, Clint Black, Dwight Yoakam, Randy Travis and Kenny Chesney. The trophy has obviously singled out some talented individuals who went on to long and prosperous careers. And that’s part of the allure of the ACM’s new honors.

"I [wanted] to win for the reasons that we all like to be recognized as doing good work, a pat on the back, a job well done, way to go, a pat on the ass," Jack said. "Then I also [wanted] to win because this is a business. This is not a hobby for me. I've got a family and three kids, and there's going to be better things that come because, in capital letters, ‘You won Top New Male Vocalist!’"

Last year’s victory made Jack a perfect host for this year’s GAC special ACM Showcase, celebrating the nine acts that are currently nominated for Top New Male, Top New Female or Top New Vocal Duo or Group. They include Jake Owen, Jamey Johnson, James Otto, Sarah Buxton, Julianne Hough, Ashton Shepherd, the Eli Young Band, the Lost Trailers, and the Zac Brown Band.

ACM Showcaseairs five times through Monday, beginning with Saturday’s telecast at 4 p.m. ET. In addition, you can vote for your favoriteof those three categories online at GACTV.com.