JASON ALDEAN, DIERKS BENTLEY, KELLY CLARKSON AND LITTLE BIG TOWN TO PERFORM AT "THE 46th ANNUAL CMA AWARDS," THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1 ON ABC

The star-packed lineup for "The 46th Annual CMA Awards" launches with today's announcement that Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Kelly Clarkson and Little Big Town are the first group of performers confirmed for "Country Music's Biggest Night(TM)." "The 46th Annual CMA Awards," hosted for the fifth year by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood, will air live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 1 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network.

Aldean holds the current title for CMA Album of the Year for "My Kinda Party," and Musical Event of the Year for "Don't You Wanna Stay" with Clarkson. This year he picked up nominations for Entertainer, Male Vocalist and Single of the Year for "Dirt Road Anthem," produced by Michael Knox.

There was no place like "Home" for Bentley. He received three nominations for Album of the Year for "Home," produced by Brett Beavers, Luke Wooten and Jon Randall Stewart; Single of the Year for "Home," produced by Beavers and Wooten; and Song of the Year for "Home," written by Bentley, Beavers and Dan Wilson, lead singer of Semisonic.

Clarkson, who shares the current CMA trophy for Musical Event of the Year with Aldean, makes her debut in the Female Vocalist of the Year category this year. Clarkson has a previous nomination for Musical Event of the Year with Reba McEntire for "Because of You" in 2007.

Little Big Town made a splash with "Pontoon" in 2012. The popular group was nominated for Vocal Group of the Year in addition to capturing nominations for Music Video and Single of the Year for "Pontoon," directed by Declan Whitebloom and produced by Jay Joyce, respectively. Joyce has produced albums by a diverse roster of artists including Audio Adrenaline, Cage the Elephant, Patty Griffin, Emmylou Harris, John Hiatt, The Wallflowers and The Whigs.

Winners of "The 46th Annual CMA Awards" will be determined in a final round of voting by eligible voting members of the Country Music Association. CMA Awards balloting is officiated by the international accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP. The third and final ballot will be emailed to CMA members Thursday, October 4. Voting for the CMA Awards final ballot ends Monday, October 22 (5:00 p.m., CT).

Tickets for "The 46th Annual CMA Awards" go on sale to the public Saturday, September 29 (10:00 a.m., CT). Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com or Ticketmaster outlets; by calling (800) 745-3000; or at the Bridgestone Arena Box Office, located at 501 Broadway (corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, Nashville). Ticket prices for the CMA Awards start at $110 for Upper Level seating. Ticket prices include tax, but exclude applicable service fees. Purchase tickets early for the best available seats. The CMA Awards have sold out in advance the past three years.

Full 2012 CMA Awards details, including nominations and performers, are available at CMAawards.com, which also includes CMA Awards history, a searchable database of past CMA Awards nominees and winners, host information and much more. Fans can connect with CMA online at Facebook.com/CMA, Twitter.com/CountryMusic (#CMAawards), YouTube.come/CountryMusicAssoc and Pinterest.com/CMAworld.

The CMA Awards nominees and winners are determined by the 11,000 industry professional members of CMA, which was formed in 1958 as the first trade organization to promote an individual genre of music. The first "CMA Awards Banquet and Show" was held in 1967. The following year, the CMA Awards was broadcast on NBC television for the first time - making it the longest-running annual music awards program on network television. The Awards aired on NBC through 1971 and on the CBS Television Network from 1972 through 2005. The CMA Awards moved to ABC in 2006, where it will remain through 2021.

"The 46th Annual CMA Awards" is a production of the Country Music Association. Robert Deaton is the executive producer, Paul Miller is the director and David Wild is the writer. The special will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HDTV format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.

Chevrolet(TM) is the Official Ride of Country Music. American Airlines is the Official Airline of the CMA Awards.