Jason Aldean Admits CMAs Will Be a ‘Whole Different Excitement’

Jason Aldean says of the five CMA awards for which he's nominated this year, Entertainer of the Year and Album of the Year would be the two that would probably mean the most to him.

"Entertainer of the Year, that's the big one for all of us," Jason tells The Boot. "Album of the Year is the one that has so much that goes into it and involves so many people. In my case, my producer Michael Knox is the person who brought me to town in 1998. The guys in my band play on my albums. And of course my record company. So to win Album would be for me and all of them, the award really recognizes everybody who was involved in the project, and everybody gets to celebrate that win together."

While Jason has attended the CMA awards before, he says this year will obviously be very different. "We've been to so many awards shows without me being up for anything, so to go to an awards show and be nominated, and in this case basically in most of the categories, it will be a whole different experience for me, a whole different thing to look forward to.

"In the past, we've gone to hang out and see everyone. This time it will be that, plus we might get to bring home an award or two. For me it's a whole different excitement level and a whole different reason for being there."

Jason and his family went to Florida over Labor Day weekend and arrived home early Tuesday morning. He was still asleep when the first round of CMA nominations were announced on ABC's 'Good Morning America,' so his very excited wife, Jessica, woke him up to tell him about the nominations.

"It took me a minute to figure out what she was saying, because she was so excited," Jason relates. Much to the singer's surprise, he found out later that morning that he was also nominated for several other awards: Album of the Year for 'My Kinda Party,' and Single and Musical Event of the Year for 'Don't You Wanna Stay' with Kelly Clarkson. The writers of 'Dirt Road Anthem,' Colt Ford and Brantley Gilbert, are also up for Song of the Year honors. Jason has been nominated twice before for a CMA award, the Horizon Award in 2007 and the New Artist Award in 2008, when the category changed names.

The Georgia-born entertainer made a splash this past June when he and rapper Ludacris performed a duet of Jason's hit, 'Dirt Road Anthem,' so he knows what a performance on a major award show can do for an artist. "It's a big night for country music, with millions of people watching," he notes. "If you're asked to be on the show, you give fans a chance to see you perform, probably your newest single.

"Last year Kelly and I did 'Don't You Wanna Stay' and it just exploded for us. So if your performance is right, it can be a huge thing for your career. There are only so many slots so we [fellow artists] are all hoping to get one. It's always a big deal for us to be asked to be on it."

Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood will host the CMA Awards, which will air live from Nashville on Nov. 9 at 8:00 PM (ET) on ABC.