The Band Perry, Eric Church Are ACM Top New Artist Winners

And the envelope please ....

The Band Perry are the winners of the ACM's Top New Vocal Duo or Group award, while Eric Church has triumphed in the Top New Solo Vocalist race. The two will now go on to compete for the ACM's Top New Artist trophy, which will be handed out on the live awards broadcast, set for April 3 at 8:00 PM ET on CBS.

The Band Perry were up against Steel Magnolia and JaneDear girls, while Eric's category included Randy Houser and Easton Corbin. Both awards were fan-voted, with the online polls closing yesterday (February 23). The voting will open back up March 11, for fans to pick either the Band Perry or Eric for Top New Artist, along with casting votes for Jason Aldean, Toby Keith, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift or Keith Urban for the ACM's top honor, Entertainer of the Year. All other ACM Awards categories will be industry-voted.

Miranda Lambert leads the ACM nominees with seven nods this year. Her fiance, two-time nominee Blake Shelton, will co-host the show with Top Female Vocalist contender Reba McEntire. See the full list of 2011 ACM Awards nominees here.