Luke Bryan is undoubtedly still reveling in his ACM win for Entertainer of the Year at Sunday's awards ceremony. The country music hitmaker, who also served as the evening's co-host (along with Blake Shelton), says his unexpected victory is made even sweeter because of all of the difficulties his family has had to endure.

"What's important is that my family has dealt with a lot of tragedy in my life, with me losing my older brother and my older sister. That's the first thing you [think], that they're in heaven smiling down on moments like this," he told reporters backstage after his big win. "That's what is amazing. We can rejoice in the good things in life as a family and all of our friends."

Luke's brother, Chris was killed in a car accident in 1996. His sister, Kelly died in 2007 of a brain tumor. Thinking of his siblings drove the singer to tears when his name was called as the Entertainer of the Year winner, who says it was like an out-of-body experience. "When I won, I don't even know what I was seeing," Luke recalls. "It was like I was on a tilt-a whirl."

Now that the married father of two has taken home country music's highest honor, he will have to set a new goal for himself.

"When I moved to Nashville, I knew that I wanted to be the Entertainer of the Year at some point," he revealed earlier this year. "That's just how I moved to town thinking. It's not because I want people to open doors for me, that's just what I wanted to be. I wanted to work for it. If that ever happens, it will be one of the biggest defining moments of my career."

The "Crash My Party" singer acknowledges his newly-minted title brings with it a new responsibility. "I just want to do what I can to take country music to a whole other level. I truly love being on stage. I love lighting people's faces up. That's the most special thing you can do."

Luke won't have much time to celebrate before he heads back to work. His Dirt Road Diaries tour continues on Thursday (April 11) with a show in Alabama, followed by stops in Georgia and North Carolina. See a list of his upcoming concerts here.

Watch Luke Bryan's "Buzzkill" Video

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