Brad Paisley has a lot to smile about these days. He's happily married to the girl of his dreams with two adorable sons, and professionally he's on quite a roll. He won the last two Country Music Association Male Vocalist of the Year awards and the last three consecutive Male Vocalist honors from the Academy of Country Music. He's sold more than 10 million albums and has scored 14 No. 1 singles, including his most recent hit, 'Then,' which spent three weeks at the summit. Today, he unleashes his eighth album, 'American Saturday Night.' Before heading out on tour with openers Dierks Bentley and Jimmy Wayne, Brad previewed the new record for The Boot at Blackbird Studios, shared some photos on his iPhone of his boys and pal Little Jimmy Dickens, and talked about music, married life and why you can never have too much mustard.

What was on your mind as you were making 'American Saturday Night'?

I was looking for some uncharted territory as an artist, because six albums in -- not counting a Christmas and an instrumental album -- that's a lot of ground that's been covered. So what am I doing? How can I make that even better? Where can I go that I haven't gone? And what are people feeling? What am I feeling? These times are fairly uncertain, but at the same time I have this really hopeful outlook that comes from having two little boys now -- both of them, in some way or another, spitting images of me. Songs are certainly influenced by how I see the world now through a couple of other sets of eyes. On top of that, I'm touring the country at a time when I'm seeing different things on the faces of people, and one thing I'm seeing is how important it is that I'm telling their story. They deserve that kind of honesty out of me.

One of Brad Paisley's many talents is being able to pull off a good prank. From hiding rotten chicken in Blake Shelton's tour bus to trapping Jack Ingram in a cage (the list goes on and on), Brad is constantly playing jokes on his tourmates. And don't expect him to change his ways anytime soon.

"When you're on the road, it can get pretty boring," Brad tells PEOPLE. "It makes me think of the British version of 'The Office.' It's kind of a daily grind. Pranking is one way to battle that boredom."

Brad Paisley has been singled out by Entertainment Weekly as their "Must Country Crooner" in the magazine's current issue touting "115 Things You Can't Miss This Summer." The singer-songwriter-guitarist earns the honor for embracing the more emotional side of himself on the upcoming 'American Saturday Night' album.

"I feel like I'm in open-heart surgery on the Health Channel," he jokes about the new disc, due out June 30.

Brad Paisley has three new trophies on his mantel, leading the pack in CMT Award wins Tuesday night. The country superstar took home Male Video of the Year for 'Waitin' on a Woman,' CMT Performance of the Year for 'Country Boy' (with Alan Jackson, George Strait and Dierks Bentley) and Collaborative Video of the Year for 'Start a Band' with Keith Urban.

Taylor Swift leads the ladies with two CMT wins: Video of the Year and Female Video of the Year for 'Love Story.' The 19-year-old superstar opened the show in a hilarious segment, in which she made a cameo in the 'Star Trek' movie, played with the Tennessee Titans and rapped with T-Pain. She also performed her latest hit, 'You Belong With Me,' and a duet of 'Pour Some Sugar On Me' with Def Leppard.

See a full list of CMT Award winners after the jump.

Friends on and off stage, Brad Paisley and Keith Urban took home the award for Collaborative Video of the Year for their hit single, 'Start a Band'.

"Brad called me up and he said he had a song he wanted me to play on," Keith said." I said absolutely. It was a blast."

"First of all, Martina is shorter than I thought," Brad joked of his labelmate Martina McBride. "What an honor to work with this guy (Keith). I think the world of you, and everybody here does, too."

Brad Paisley is CMT's Male Video of the Year winner, taking home his third trophy of the night at the star-studded awards show in Nashville. He won the honors for his No. 1 single, 'Waitin' On a Woman.'

"First of all, the same guy that directed 'Start a Band' also directed 'Waitin' On a Woman,' a man named Jim Shea," said Brad. "I need to thank a couple of people, first of all Andy Griffith. Jim and I agree that was the perfect man to pass wisdom. He has passed wisdom to all of us ... he has changed my life in so many ways, and to be on film with him, you can imagine what that would be like.

Marty Stuart has a new fan. Two-year old Huck Paisley, son of singer Brad Paisley and his wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley, is an avid viewer of 'The Marty Stuart Show,' the country music variety program that Stuart hosts on the RFD Network.

When he was at the Grand Ole Opry last Saturday, Huck's dad was chatting with WSM Radio personality Eddie Stubbs. During the conversation, Paisley mentioned that Huck thinks Stuart is as cool as Mickey Mouse. "We watch Marty's show every week," Paisley said, adding that he and Huck usually watch it together on YouTube. "Huck thinks Marty is very cool and hip."