2011 Country Music Awards: Taylor Swift, Blake Shelton, Brad Paisley and Jason Aldean lead nominations

Blake Shelton, Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley and Jason Aldean are leading the nominations with five each.

“To be honest, I secretly hoped that I’d get this nomination one day, but I never thought I actually would,” Shelton said in a statement. “After 10 years of watching my friends receive this incredible honor, I got pretty used to being a cheerleader for them, ya know?”

Aldean revealed he was given the news by his wife, Jessica, as he was sleeping when the nominations were announced.

“She just about gave me a heart attack,” he told Reuters. “She was so excited that I was up for (top) entertainer and male vocalist.”

“Once I understood what she was saying I was like, ‘Okay, cool.’ I didn’t realize that I had been nominated for the other awards until I started getting text messages congratulating me on the five nominations,” he said.

The annual CMA Awards will be hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood for the fourth consecutive year.

The show will be broadcast live on ABC from Nashville ‘s Bridgestone Arena, on November 9.

Here are the nominations for this year’s edition of CMA:

Entertainer of the Year

Jason Aldean
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Taylor Swift
Keith Urban

Female Vocalist of the Year

Sara Evans
Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Male Vocalist of the Year

Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Blake Shelton
Keith Urban

New Artist of the Year

The Band Perry
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Thompson Square
Chris Young

Vocal Group of the Year

The Band Perry
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band

Vocal Duo of the Year

The Civil Wars
Montgomery Gentry
Steel Magnolia
Sugarland
Thompson Square

Single of the Year

Sara Evans, “A Little Bit Stronger”
Zac Brown Band, “Colder Weather”
Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson, “Don’t You Wanna Stay”
Blake Shelton, “Honey Bee”
The Band Perry, “If I Die Young”

Album of the Year

Blake Shelton, All About Tonight
Jason Aldean, My Kinda Party
Taylor Swift, Speak Now
Brad Paisley, This Is Country Music
Zac Brown Band, You Get What You Give

Song of the Year

Zac Brown Band, Wyatt Durrette, Levi Lowrey and Coy Bowles, “Colder Weather”
Brantley Gilbert and Colt Ford, “Dirt Road Anthem”
Kimberly Perry, “If I Die Young”
Taylor Swift, “Mean”
Matraca Berg and Deana Carter, “You and Tequila”

Musical Event of the Year

Zac Brown Band featuring Alan Jackson, “As She’s Walking Away”
Loretta Lynn, Sheryl Crow and Miranda Lambert, “Coal Miner’s Daughter”
Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson, “Don’t You Wanna Stay”
Brad Paisley featuring Alabama , “Old Alabama”
Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter, “You and Tequila”

Music Video of the Year

Blake Shelton, “Honey Bee”
The Band Perry, “If I Die Young”
Taylor Swift, “Mean”
Brad Paisley featuring Alabama , “Old Alabama”
Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter, “You and Tequila”

Musician of the Year

Sam Bush, mandolin
Jerry Douglas, dobro
Paul Franklin, steel guitar
Dann Huff, guitar
Mac McAnally, guitar