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Jason separated himself from the pack by ignoring conventional country boundaries, first with a duet with Kelly Clarkson on “Don’t You Wanna Stay” and more aggressively with the country–rap “Dirt Road Anthem.” His willingness to take risks, and his commitment to those risks, is surely playing into his success.

“A lot of creative types can live in the ‘gray,’ and Jason’s very ‘black and white’ about things,” says manager Chris Parr at Spalding Entertainment. “That’s a really strong thing, to understand who you are as an artist, and you can extrapolate that to your music, to appearances, to whatever different requests you might get. He’s like, ‘if I’m gonna do it, we’re doing it, we’re all in,’ which fits well, because [Spalding Entertainment president] Clarence [Spalding] and I are the same way, we don’t like to stay in the ‘maybe.'”

For his fifth album, Night Train (out Oct. 16), “maybe” duties went to Aldean’s producer Michael Knox, who tells Billboard he went through about 5,400 songs for this record. “The job that I have now is making sure the quality of songs he picks from are where they need to be.”

Theirs is a melding of ’70s and ’80s arena rock with contemporary country vocals and arrangements spiced with wailing guitar solos and the occasionally foray into rap and pop power ballads that fans have embraced and radio accepted. Beyond that, it’s delivered with a rawness that comes from road–seasoned musicians in the studio and Aldean’s way with a vocal that makes everything he sings believable to fans. Aldean is dead–set on his musical vision, and Knox is the tireless seeker of songs and the mad scientist in the studio that brings that vision to life.”

“One thing I’ve never wanted is for my records to sound like every other male act that’s on the radio,” Aldean says. “I don’t hear anybody’s record and say, ‘man, I want my record to sound like that.’ I want my record to sound like me, what it sounds like when I’m on stage. The best way to do that is have my guys playing. The session players in Nashville are some of the best players in the world, but they don’t always play what I want to hear.”

In the end, the two ended up with a record that stays true to Aldean’s sound and still manages to move that sound forward sonically, vocally and lyrically. “The big progression we made this time was more in the lyrical aspect than like ‘Dirt Road Anthem’ when we had never done anything like that, or when we did ‘Don’t You Wanna Stay,’ he had never done that big pop power ballad before,” says Knox. “Now it’s more of a lyric thing, where he has something he wants to say and he’s out there looking for it.”

Which songs on Jason’s Night Train are standouts? Check out Billboards track–by–track breakdown of the album here.

Jason’s nominated for Male Country Artist of the Year at the AMAs. Here’s your chance to speak out and vote for your favorite artists to win big at The 40th Anniversary American Music Awards airing SUNDAY NOV 18 8|7c on ABC. Cast your vote here.

Jason’s nominated in the following categories at the American Country Awards:

• Artist of the Year
• Artist of the Year: Male
• Single of the Year: “Tattoos On This Town”
• Single of the Year Male: “Tattoos On This Town”
• Touring Artist of the Year
• Song of the Year: “Fly Over States”
• Song of the Year: “Tattoos On This Town”

You can vote for your favorites once a day until November 12, 2012, in all categories. However, there’s one big exception to that: the ARTIST OF THE YEAR category will remain open until December 7th – two days before the show airs live from The Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas on Monday, Dec., 10 (8:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. Cast your votes here.

Tune in for a special LIVE episode of Noteworthy at the Opry featuring performances by Jason, Bill Anderson, Casey James and more as they help celebrate the Opry’s 87th birthday. Some of your favorite artists also reflect on the Opry’s legacy and how the hallowed institution has impacted country music through the decades.

Catch the special re-airing on GAC at these times:

• October 07, 2012 1:00 AM ET
• October 07, 2012 11:00 AM ET
• October 07, 2012 6:00 PM ET
• October 09, 2012 9:00 PM ET

Check out more info here.

You can tag yourself in the photo and share with your friends on Facebook, Twitter and via email. Check it out here.

Driving into the top spot on both the Billboard and Mediabase charts after only 10 weeks, the lead single off Jason’s upcoming October 16th release, NIGHT TRAIN, climbed to the top of both charts faster than any other country song this year.

“It’s awesome to see new music getting a reaction on radio and live at our shows’” said Aldean. “It’s always dicey adding new songs to your set before an album is out, and you never know how long it’s going to take a single to catch fire. This one went quick … the crowd is screaming for it even before we kick into the opening riff. It’s a good reminder of how important country radio has been, and continues to be, to my career. We have so many great songs on the new record, and I hope we get to release a lot of ’em!”

The Billboard cover story featuring Aldean and NIGHT TRAIN crowns him “the hottest male act in country music” and “the leader of a bonafide country scene.” All the buzz for the award winner’s fifth studio album comes on the heels of the top-selling country album of 2011, MY KINDA PARTY, which spawned five consecutive No. one singles and holds the current title of CMA Album of the Year. NIGHT TRAIN is available for pre-order now at digital retailers and the JasonAldean.com store.

Aldean recently earned three Country Music Association Awards nominations for the Nov. 1 show, in the categories of Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Single of the Year for “Dirt Road Anthem.” Additionally, he has sold out every show on his MY KINDA PARTY TOUR presented by State Farm®–often within minutes on the day of on-sale–and has broken over 40 venue attendance records. The tour has gone on to sell an unparalleled 1.9 million tickets.

Performers announced include Jason, Dierks Bentley, Kelly Clarkson, and Little Big Town. More performers will be announced later.

Jason is nominated for three CMA Awards including Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, and Single of the Year for “Dirt Road Anthem.”

Tune in to the 46th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood and broadcast live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, on Thursday, Nov. 1 at 8:00PM ET on the ABC Television Network.

Catch the special airing on GAC this weekend at these times:

• September 27, 2012 8:00 PM ET
• September 28, 2012 12:00 AM ET
• September 29, 2012 10:00 PM ET
• September 30, 2012 2:00 AM ET
• September 30, 2012 7:00 PM ET

Jason’s current status as a country superstar stands in stark contrast to his average, American upbringing. Born and raised in Georgia by a devoted single mother and musical father who wholeheartedly believed in their son’s talent, this country rocker spent years paying his dues in small-town bars and clubs, working his way through the ranks to become the chart-topping artist he is today. GAC’s “Backstory: Jason Aldean” chronicles the slow rise and hard-won success of one of country’s young rebels.

Check out more details here.

The final date of the 2012 MY KINDA PARTY TOUR presented by State Farm®, the show sold out this summer with over 20,000 tickets purchased in just four minutes.

“This is one of the nights I look forward to most every year,” said Aldean. “I’m really proud of the money we’ve raised so far, and it feels great to be able to honor our friend who passed away at such an early age from breast cancer. Everyone has been affected by this disease at some point, and I want to do my part to help find a cure before my daughters grow up. I know Dallas is ready to help us!”

About Susan G. Komen for the Cure®
Nancy G. Brinker promised her dying sister, Susan G. Komen, she would do everything in her power to end breast cancer. Today, Susan G. Komen for the Cure® works to end breast cancer in the U.S. and throughout the world through ground-breaking research, community health outreach, advocacy and programs in more than 30 countries. Visit komen.org, or connect with us on Facebook and Twitter.

As our winner, Jake has won a new Jason Aldean dog tag set, Jason Aldean leather travel wallet, Jason Aldean bottle opener, Jason Aldean camo hat and a Jason Aldean t-shirt.

Earlene and Nicole both won a Jason Aldean camo hat & a Jason Aldean t-shirt

Check out the winning photos:

Jake

Earlene

Nicole

Congratulations to Jake, Earlene and Nicole!

Check out all the ways you can stream Jason performing at the iHeartRadio music festival including on your computer, ipad or XBox here.