Corey Kent at the 2023 ACM Awards

Country fans everywhere are going wild for Corey Kent’s debut single to Country radio, “Wild As Her.” While most fans show their support by memorizing the lyrics, singing it back at live shows and streaming it over and over — others have taken their love to a new level. Ahead of the 58th annual ACM Awards in his hometown of Frisco, TX, Corey Kent sat town with Audacy’s Katie Neal to share his reaction to several fans getting tattoos inspired by the song. “It makes me hope they still like the song in two years,” Kent laughed. “Clearly, people are connecting with the music on a very deep level. It’s not the first time a song — or one of our songs — have been tattoos on somebody.” He continued, “To see somebody go all in... it just means people are connecting in a very real and tangible way with the music, and at the end of the day, that’s what this is all about. Putting music out that makes people feel something. You’re not going to get a full tattoo on your arm if you don’t feel something when you listen to a song, so that’s pretty cool. It’s a vote of confidence and affirmation that we’re on the right path and we’re putting out stuff that people care about.” Fans will have a lot more tattoo inspiration — or just music to connect with — as Kent prepares to release his album, Blacktop. The album title pays tribute to Kent’s time pouring blacktop for a living and he hopes it makes everyone who supported him along the way proud. “Everyone there was so supportive [of my music] from day one,” Kent said of his coworkers at the pavement company. “It’s really cool to get back to playing music full-time and to make their belief in me come true.” Kent’s album, Blacktop, will arrive June 2. Hear more about the album, fan tattoos and his first time attending the ACM Awards by checking out his full conversation with Katie Neal above. Also, be sure to catch the 58th Annual ACM Awards this Thursday, set to take place live from Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, TX. The show can be streamed via Amazon’s Prime video. Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal