Billboard Touring Awards Honor Three Country Superstars

Next week will be an even busier one for some of country music's biggest -- and most well-traveled -- stars. On Thursday, Nov. 10, one night after the CMA Awards, Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift and Kenny Chesney will find out if they'll take home a Billboard Touring Award, in recognition of both their touring revenue and venue attendance in the past year.

Jason, who's still reveling in the success of his My Kinda Party tour, will compete for the Breakthrough award, along with Katy Perry and Rihanna. The 'Tattoos on This Town' singer launched his first arena tour earlier this year, which quickly sold out all across the country.

"We've never tried to headline amphitheaters before, so this year we decided to jump in there with Tim McGraw, Keith Urban and Toby Keith and go for it," Jason explains The Boot. "We figured it would be a learning year for us, going in and seeing maybe only 12,000 of the 25,000 seats filled. But to go in and sell them out weeks in advance, that has far surpassed what we thought it would do."

Kenny's Goin' Coastal tour and Taylor's Speak Now tour are both in the running for the Top Package award -- recognizing the headliner and their opening acts. Kenny was joined on his tour by the Zac Brown Band, Uncle Kracker and Billy Currington, while Taylor shared the stage with a variety of opening acts including Needtobreathe, Frankie Ballard, Hunter Hayes, Josh Kelley, Danny Gokey and James Wesley. Also nominated in the category is Usher's OMG tour.

Other nominees for 2011 Billboard Touring Awards include Bon Jovi, U2, Take That and comedian Robin Williams. The Billboard Touring Awards will take place on Nov. 10 at the Roosevelt Hotel Ballroom in New York City.

Kenny, Jason and Taylor are all nominated for CMA Awards as well. Jason and Taylor are both named in five categories, including Entertainer of the Year, while Kenny is up for three trophies.

The 45th Annual CMA Awards will air live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Nov. 9, at 8:00 PM ET on ABC.