Blake Shelton Is CMA Male Vocalist of the Year

Blake Shelton has won his first CMA Award for Male Vocalist of the Year! The future husband of CMA Female Vocalist winner Miranda Lambert beat out Brad Paisley, Dierks Bentley, George Strait and Keith Urban to take home the trophy.

"It's about 34 years worth of steps right there for me. This is a really big deal for me, and I have to go back a long way to thank everybody I need to thank," the emotional singer said when he took the stage. "Thank you country radio ... thank you Narvel [Blackstock], Reba [McEntire], Brandon, Miranda, Warner Brothers .... and before I forget, the guy that got me into this mess -- I may never get a chance to say that again, so thank you, Bobby Braddock."

The award is long overdue, according to his fiancée. "I think it's awesome," Miranda said about Blake's CMA nominations. "He's been going at it like he's a new artist, playing shows and working really hard, and he's been doing this for ten years. I think he's one of the best singers in country music, and the fact that he'd never been nominated for Male Vocalist of the Year was getting on my nerves. It's not just been a huge year for me, it's been a huge year for both of us."

This is the first time Blake has been nominated in the Male Vocalist category. He has had a total of six CMA nominations, including four tonight. He took home the statue earlier this evening for Musical Event of the Year, for his collaboration with good friend Trace Adkins on their No.1 hit, 'Hillbilly Bone.'