Cody Johnson is walking into tonight’s ACM Awards with five nominations and every intention of trying to land a spot on Reba’s new television show.

While excited to be up for one of the night’s biggest awards, Entertainer of the Year, COJO is even more excited to be surrounded by his childhood heroes whom he grew up watching on the ACM Awards. That includes tonight’s host, Reba McEntire, who Johnson said he connected with while at various ACM events earlier in the week.

“I was talking to her earlier this week, she’s so sweet,” Johnson said of McEntire. After inviting her to one of his shows in Arlington, TX this November, Johnson said he also took the opportunity to offer himself up as an extra on her new sitcom. “I was like, ‘Hey! If you need any extras, let me know.’” He laughed.

“It’s always great to have people like Reba or like Ronnie Dunn that you can pick up the phone and call and let them mentor you a little bit,” he said on a more serious note. “They were here for the first time too. They know how it feels. I’m doing this all for the very first time — this is all brand new to me... I remember being a kid and watching Reba and Alan Jackson, George Strait, Garth Brooks and all my heroes that were nominated in this category [Entertainer of the Year].”

In addition to catching up with all his mentors and fellow Country pals, Johnson is also set to take the stage to perform his current single, “Dirt Cheap,” a song he said was almost recorded by Luke Combs. “I’ll tell ya what, Luke Combs had this song,” Cody revealed. “He had it in his phone and never clicked on it. So, thank you, Luke!” he laughed. Expressing his gratitude for the tune that he believes will bring him his next number 1 hit.

Catch Cody’s performance of “Dirt Cheap,” on the ACM Awards tonight via Amazon Prime and hear his entire conversation with Audacy’s Katie Neal above.

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal