Eric Paslay scored his very first nomination for Song of the Year for writing the No. 1 hit, “Even If It Breaks Your Heart,” with pal, Will Hoge.

AUDIO: Eric Paslay says it has always been a dream to be nominated for a CMA Award.

Eric Paslay (CMA 2012) OC: …nominated. :10
“Getting nominated for a CMA is crazy. There’s always that hidden secret in ya as a musician, as a songwriter and as a singer of like, ‘Maybe someday, I’ll get nominated.”

AUDIO: Eric Paslay talks about his CMA-nominated song, “Even If It Breaks Your Heart.”

Eric Paslay (CMA-Even If It Breaks Your Heart) OC: …just life. :32
“I wrote ‘Even If It Breaks Your Heart’ with Will Hoge, who’s an artist in Nashville, and he’s more of a Triple A artist; and that song actually was released on Triple A radio. I think the majority of people that tell me they love it are the musicians or the entertainers ’cause it’s so much about what we do. It’s like, ‘Keep on dreamin’ even if it breaks your heart.’ If you let it, it can break your heart every day from the ‘yes’s’ and the ‘no’s’ and the ‘you’re not good enough’ and ‘now you are’ and ‘you should have done.’ Whatever it is and I think that’s just life.”

Alan Jackson is nominated for a CMA Award for Music Event of the Year with his pal Zac Brown on their duet, “Dixie Highway,” which appears on Alan’s latest album, Thirty Miles West.

AJ (Zac Brown) OC: …of sound. :38
“I like artists, and I like Zac, that are the real thing, you know. He’s been playin’ in clubs for years and had that band and just strugglin’ like people do, and playing ‘til he likes, the music and he’s a songwriter. He’s not just a singer, a guy that got out of college and said, ‘hey, I wanna be a country singer and move to Nashville.’ He’s a guy who was singing and really making a living doing it playing clubs and things that I did to. I think it comes across and just his style when he sings, he’s created his own sound and his own musical style too. It’s not real hard country, but it’s rootsy. You know I like that kind of sound.”

Little Big Town scored three CMA nominations this year, including Vocal Group, Single & Video of the Year for their No. 1 hit, “Pontoon.”

The 46th annual CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena Thursday (November 1st) at 8pm ET on ABC.

In other LBT news, don’t forget to watch live (or set your DVR) for their performance on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars on Tuesday (October 30th). Also, the music video for their latest single, “Tornado,” will make its world premiere on CMT Wednesday (October 31st) at 6am ET on CMT.

AUDIO: Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild talks about their CMA nomination for Single of the Year for “Pontoon.”

LBT (CMA Single of the Year) OC: …good time. :22
“We’ve never been nominated [for Single of the Year]. We’ve been nominated for Group before, but never for that, a song performance. So, it’s just super cool. Who would’ve thought that ‘Motorboatin’’ would be up for Single of the Year, you know? But that’s how big an impact, I guess, it’s had with the fans and with people. People want to have a good time.”

AUDIO: Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Phillip Sweet talk about their CMA nomination for Group of the Year.

LBT (CMA Group) OC: (Phillip) …cloud nine. :08
“[We’re] so honored. The Group of the Year category is fierce.” PHILLIP: “We’re so thrilled. I mean, this is the best! [We’re] living on cloud nine.”

Kelleigh Bannen makes her television debut in the CW’s Hart of Dixie on Tuesday (October 30th). The “Sorry on the Rocks” singer will appear as the “country band” in the Halloween-themed episode of the show. “We’re playing a couple of songs on camera while the story’s unfolding sort of around us at this local party at this local club,” Kelleigh explains. “It was fun. I really didn’t have to act. I just had to lip-synch really well.”

Kelleigh had to be in makeup at 4am and was on the set until after 6pm shooting her scenes, which made for a long day. What made up for the long hours on the soundstage was the catering. “You’re working this kind of really long day in the soundstage, and it’s dark and you kind of don’t even know what time it is, and they keep bringing out new food, like there’s new trays of food that keep showing up,” she says. “Amazing sliders and fries and then berries and whipped cream. I was attacking the berries and the cream.”

Fans will see her perform her debut single “Sorry on the Rocks,” as well as “Be a Man,” which will appear on her forthcoming album, due out next year.

AUDIO: Kelleigh Bannen describes her appearance in the CW’s Hart of Dixie Halloween episode.

Kelleigh Bannen (Hart of Dixie) OC: …really well. [laughs] :21
“They were looking for a country band to play a country band in their show, so actually, it’s a Halloween episode, and we’re playing a couple of songs on camera while the story’s unfolding sort of around us at this local party at this local club. It was fun. I really didn’t have to act. I just had to lip-synch really well.” [laughs]”

AUDIO: Kelleigh Bannen really enjoyed the catering on the set of the CW’s Hart of Dixie.

Kelleigh Bannen (Hart of Dixie catering) OC: …the cream. :23

“The catering that they had was awesome. You’re working this kind of really long day in the soundstage, and it’s dark and you kind of don’t even know what time it is, and they keep bringing out new food, like there’s new trays of food that keep showing up. Amazing sliders and fries and then berries and whipped cream. I was attacking the berries and the cream.”

Capitol Street Party 5 took place in downtown Nashville recently, and Luke Bryan, along with Jon Pardi and Kelleigh Bannen, played to over 25,000 fans on lower Broadway. He also had a special guest — Dierks Bentley — join him on stage during the show. Check out the behind-the-scenes look at the Capitol Street Party on the latest episode of LBTV!

Jon Pardi has been hitting the streets on the Tie One On Tour with new pals Frankie Ballard and Miss Willie Brown. He described the trek initially as a “rowdy, beer-drinkin’ good time,” and it sounds as though that prediction has come true, at least in part. “We’re just out there hittin’ the honkytonks and bars, wherever we can play, and it’s been really fun,” says Jon. “We all get along. It’s a lot of fun, and…it’s just a lot of talent on the stage.”

Since he’s been on the road so much these last several months, he’s not been able to see the inside of his gym as often as he’d like, which is quite the challenge in staying healthy on the road. “My biggest challenge on the road? Putting on the pounds, man,” he says. “Sometimes it just feels good to sleep in, I tell you, instead of waking up and going jogging…and pizza, it’s the pizza man, we had to outlaw pizza, like ‘No more pizza after the shows!’”

Jon is closing in on the Top 25 with his single “Missin’ You Crazy.” 

AUDIO: Jon Pardi talks about the Tie One On Tour.

Jon Pardi (Tie One On Tour) OC: …the stage. :13
“We’re just out there hittin’ the honky tonks and bars, wherever we can play and it’s been really fun. Miss Willie Brown and Frankie Ballard are awesome, we all get along, it’s a lot of fun and everybody’s a solid act. It’s just a lot of talent on the stage.”

AUDIO: Jon Pardi says he’s outlawed pizza after his shows.

Jon Pardi (Eating On The Road) OC: …the shows. :27
“My biggest challenge on the road? Putting on the pounds, man! I’m like, ‘Oh man, whew!’ [I’m] getting a little bit of a…beer belly. But, no, I’m not. It’s hard working out and kind of like managing my time, ’cause sometimes it just feels good to sleep in, I tell you, instead of waking up and going jogging. But other than that, that’s probably the hardest thing. And pizza, it’s the pizza man, we had to outlaw pizza, like ‘No more pizza after the shows!’”

Little Big Town‘s video for “Tornado” will make its world premiere on CMT on Wednesday, October 31st at 6:00 a.m. ET on CMT, repeating every hour throughout music hours.  Leading up to the Halloween-timed premiere, fans can visit CMT and CMT.com for an exclusive trailer launching this Saturday, October 27, as well as a special countdown clock that will run until the video’s debut.

            “Tornado” was filmed in Watertown, Tennessee, and is a highly symbolic, visually eerie and thrilling portrayal of Little Big Town’s latest single and title track “Tornado.” Actor and friend of the band, Johnathon Schaech (That Thing You Do!, Takers, Prom Night) serves as co-star and brooding antagonist to Little Big Town’s sexy and commanding foursome.  With visuals that portray a classic Americana landscape and with dramatic fashion styling, the video of “Tornado” yields the power of its name and is the tale of a woman scorned. “Tornado” was directed by Shane Drake, who has also worked with such artists as Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry and Panic at the Disco.

            Little Big Town will be featured on CMT all week long and will appear on CMT RADIO LIVE WITH CODY ALAN to promote the world premiere on Tuesday, October 30th. “Tornado” will also be highlighted during CMT TOP 20 COUNTDOWN as a Bonus Video on Friday, November 2nd.  The video premiere will be promoted across all of CMT’s digital platforms including CMT.com, CMT Pure, CMT Mobile and over 3 million social media fans.

            Fans can also expect more big news from Little Big Town on Wednesday, October 31st regarding the band’s 2013 tour plans and an exclusive offer from CMT. Check littlebigtown.com and CMT.com at 10 a.m. CT for the news.

The video for Darius Rucker‘s latest single, “True Believers,” makes its debut on AOL’s TheBoot.com today. The South Carolina native immediately thinks of his wife, Beth, whenever he hears the song.

(From The Boot)“It’s the story about a husband and a wife who all their friends said were never going to make it,” he tells CBS Local, “and all these years later all their friends are divorced and they’re still together … It’s a song that’s saying to everybody, ‘Screw you. I know we’re going to make it. Through all the crap, we’re going to be the two that make it.’ And that’s how my wife and I feel. I love the song.”

Click here to see the video.

Luke Bryan picked up a pair of CMA nominations this year, including Male Vocalist and Album of the Year for his platinum-certified tailgates & tanlines, which features three consecutive platinum-selling singles.

The 46th annual CMA Awards will be broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 1st at 8pm ET on ABC.

AUDIO: Luke Bryan talks about his CMA nominations for Male Vocalist and Album of the Year.

Luke Bryan (CMA nominations) OC: …the nominations. :28
“At the end of the day all you want to be is in the game and have some nominations and be in the hunt. At the end of the day, whoever wins, it will be an awesome night. If we win, it’ll be a big deal. It’ll be an amazing night for me and we’ll have the time of our lives and enjoy them. And if we don’t win, we’ll approach the year to try to make the best album [and] the best songs and kinda going from there. For me, it’s always enjoying this and celebrating the nominations.”

AUDIO: Luke Bryan talks about his CMA nomination for Album of the Year for tailgates & tanlines.

Luke Bryan (CMA album) OC: …a big deal. :13
“To put your heart and soul into a record and to have it get nominated for Album of the Year, it’s really special…it makes all the hard work really stand out and really feel like it’s paying off, and it’s a big deal.”

Eric Church leads the list of CMA nominees this year with five. He’s up for Male Vocalist, Album for his platinum-selling Chief, as well as Single, Song and Video of the Year for “Springsteen.”

The 46th annual CMA Awards will broadcast live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena November 1st at 8pm ET on ABC.

AUDIO: Eric Church talks about making his platinum-selling album, Chief.

Eric Church (making of Chief) OC: …its heartbeat. :59
“We have built our career on the backs of our fans. We have not cared what else was going on around us. The other thing, we went and played shows, and we have given those fans the keys to this vehicle, and we said, ‘Drive it!’ And they have told people about it, and they’ve spread the word, and they’ve preached that gospel, and they’ve just become an army out there. This record when we made it, it needed, for me, to sound like a live show. It needed to sound like we had recorded it live, like you were watching something that we didn’t rehearse, that we didn’t think out. And there’s so many tracks on this record, where I am interacting with the musicians, because I am in the room with them, and either I will sing a melody line or the guitar will be playing a melody line, and we’ll pick up on each other, and it will turn into this little jam moment. And that is where the magic happens. We didn’t plan it, we didn’t talk about it, there’s as much unrehearsed magic on this record as we’ve ever had. There’s a lot of mistakes on it, and I think that’s part of a live show. We mess up every night live, and we talk about it after a show. We left it on this record. Those mistakes are in there, and I think that’s what gives it its heartbeat.”

AUDIO: Eric Church explains what the song, “Springsteen,” means to him.

Eric Church (Springsteen) OC: …my favorites. :44
“The interesting thing about this song is it has probably less to do with [Bruce] Springsteen than it is about what’s happening at this amphitheater up on the lawn. I had this experience. If you’ve had this experience, no matter whether you stay together or don’t stay together, when you hear that person’s music whether it’s Springsteen or anybody else, you always think of the person you were with at that show. And I have that. I just thought it was an interesting story about two people falling in love at a concert, and for the rest of their life that’s the soundtrack. That artist is the soundtrack to their love, to that time. I just love that. It makes me feel 17 again every time I hear it, and I think that other people feel the same way. It’s just a track that I’m very, very proud of. It might be my favorite on the record. I mean, I go back and forth between a couple, but that’s one of my favorites.”

AUDIO: Eric Church is shocked at receiving the most nominations for this year’s CMA Awards.

Eric Church (CMA nominations 2012) OC: …get this done. 1:13
“I really don’t know what to say. The funny part of the story is I’ve been on vacation for the last week and I lost my phone in the Gulf of Mexico when I was swimming. And I had no clue that even the CMA nominations were today and just landing on an airplane, and really just been unplugged and not paying attention to what’s going on in the world. I got whisked to my management office and they had a screen up that said we were the most nominated artist, so I’m still a little bit in shock. I’m truly speechless. I think it’s a testament to really fans that believed in the music and loved the music and told people about the music. Otherwise, we don’t really have really the track record to be the most nominated artist at this point in time in our career for the path that we’ve taken. I think it’s truly because of the fans and because they did something that’s, I think, really going to be judged as pretty special and pretty unique that we were able to get this done.”