Jason Aldean Wins Album of the Year at 2011 CMA Awards

While he’s sold out stadiums and millions of albums, major country music awards have alluded Jason Aldean … until now. The ‘Tattoos on This Town’ singer picked up his first ever CMA Award on Wednesday night, snagging the trophy for Album of the Year at the 2011 CMA Awards in Nashville.

Aldean accepted the award from ESPN reporter Erin Andrews and 2011 World Series MVP David Freese. He bested Blake Shelton‘s ‘All About Tonight,’ the Zac Brown Band‘s ‘You Get What You Give,’ Brad Paisley‘s ‘This is Country Music’ and Taylor Swift‘s ‘Mean.’ Aldean thanked his wife Jessica and his two daughters before recognizing his record label, management team and the album’s producer. For someone who’s never given an acceptance speech, the Georgian was certainly cool under pressure.

“This is the guy that found me in a club in Atlanta, Ga. and brought me town 13 years ago,” Aldean said of Knox, who stood beside him. Aldean is also nominated for Entertainer and Male Vocalist of the Year as well as Musical Event of the Year for ‘Don’t You Wanna Stay’ with Kelly Clarkson.