Luke Bryan, the reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year, is going into Wednesday night’s CMA Awards with three nominations, including the top honor, Entertainer of the Year. Luke is also up for Male Vocalist and Musical Event of the Year for “That’s the Only Way I Know” with his buddies, Jason Aldean and Eric Church. When the nominations were read back in August, he was actually on an airplane. “I knew the nominations were coming out while I was in the air, so when I turned my phone on, it just started blowing up,” recalls Luke. “And then I see, obviously, the three nominations, and I was on a plane fist pumping. I’m sure people were looking at me kinda crazy, but it was an amazing moment.”

OTHER LUKE NOTES:

• Luke will be performing on the CMA Awards on Wednesday night, which air live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena at 8pm ET on ABC.
• Luke will kick off CMA Awards day with a performance on ABC’s Good Morning America.
• Luke just released his new single, “Drink a Beer,” which features Chris Stapleton, who also co-wrote the song. “Drink a Beer” follows his two previous singles, “Crash My Party” and “That’s My Kind of Night,” from his latest album.

Luke Bryan (CMA 2013 nominations) OC: …amazing moment. :16
“I knew the nominations were coming out while I was in the air, so when I turned my phone on, it just started blowing up. And then I see, obviously, the three nominations, and I was on a plane fist pumping. I’m sure people were looking at me kinda crazy, but it was an amazing moment.”

Luke Bryan (ride of a lifetime) OC: …so blessed. :09
“It’s totally the ride of a lifetime. To have No. 1s and things like this going on in my life, we’re certainly so blessed.”