Blake Shelton’s popularity has steadily increased since he became a judge on “The Voice” the singing contest on television, in 2011. However, the singer last released an album in July 2011, and expressed astonishment on being chosen as the ‘entertainer of the year’ over big names like Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley and Kenny Chesney. His expressions were one of disbelief, as his last album “Red River Blue” had been released last year and not on this year. “Man! Entertainer of the year?” he said, “I know I am not out there on the road as much. I don’t know how this happened. I freaking love it though.” Referring to his role as a judge on the popular television singing contest, Shelton said, “I know I have a side job, but country music is still what I love doing.”
On the other hand, Eric Church, who won ‘album of the year’ for “Chief” thanked the show for giving him the space he was searching. Church told the audience, “I spent a lot of my career wondering where I fit in – country or rock? I want to thank you guys for giving me somewhere to hang my hat.” For Church, too, it seemed to be very special. He told the media “I can distinctly remember playing for about eight people in Amarillo, Texas, about four years ago and to get from there to here is surreal.”
Another family team, Thompson Square won the prize for the best vocal duo. Keifer Thompson told the media assembled backstage, “Can you believe we were singing for tips for eight years down on Broadway and now we’ve won this award? It’s one of the most wonderful nights of our lives so far.”