Associated Press (Nov. 3rd 2012)

Shelton’s moment was special, and emotional

Winning the Country Music Association Awards' entertainer of the year is a top honour and always counted as a career high point. But for Blake Shelton it wasn't even the most memorable moment of an amazing Thursday night.

The Voice star took home three trophies, including his third straight male vocalist victory, but nothing compared to sharing song of the year with wife Miranda Lambert. The pair wrote Over You, about the death of Shelton's brother Richie in a car wreck 15 years ago.

"For me as a songwriter that is as personal as I can get," Shelton said. "So that songwriter award, song of the year award, it will have its own shelf. It will have spotlights on it and an alarm and everything. Trip wires and there will be a landmine if you walk toward it. It is a real big deal to Miranda and I."

Shelton's entertainer win was the biggest surprise of a night full of them. Even he couldn't believe he'd won the award in a field that included Taylor Swift, Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney and Brad Paisley.

"I didn't think about that tonight. I was thinking there's Taylor Swift right there," he said of the two-time entertainer of the year. "Really, this is pretty dumb that there's anyone else even nominated."

The reality, though, is Shelton capped one of the most impressive career reboots in country music history with the win. About three years ago, he was searching for a hit or a gimmick that might return him to the top of the charts, without much luck. He scored a novelty hit with Trace Adkins called Hillbilly Bone, began a run of hits and then joined The Voice in a move that made him an instant celebrity outside the country world.

While Shelton didn't give himself much of a shot, Lambert - who also won her third straight female vocalist of the year award - thought he fit the definition of entertainer of the year after doing a little research.

"I realized that it just meant not only touring numbers, not only ticket sales or how much production you have, but the way that you represent country music within a year," Lambert said. "The media that you do and the work that you do and the TV shows that you are on and how you represent yourself and how you speak out about country music. When you think about it that way, Blake Shelton deserved to win that trophy tonight."