Lady Antebellum on Wednesday, March 10, 2010 at the Ryman Autitorium in Nashville. Photo courtesy of The Greenroom.

When the nominees for the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards were announced in March, Lady Antebellum found itself at the top of the list with seven total nominations.

As country music’s leading artists gather in Las Vegas this weekend for Sunday’s telecast, the band is feeling a real sense of acceptance. It’s barely two years since the trio released its self-titled debut album, and the enormously positive feedback by industry peers is flattering, to say the least.

“We were, of course, blown away by the ACM nomination news,” Dave Haywood says. “I think the ACMs hold a real special place in our heart. The first time that we ever won an award for anything was in Las Vegas two years ago for Best New Group, but it’s exciting. It’s no doubt a big shock to us that we got that many.”

The 2010 trophies are intended to recognize the industry’s best during 2009. Since Lady A’s sophomore album, Need You Now, wasn’t released until January, it was not eligible for this year’s ballot. But the title track — which peaked at No. 1 in November — is still up for Single Record, Song and Video of the Year.

“A lot of [the nominations] are for ‘Need You Now,’ so a lot of people I guess are responding to our new music, our new record,” Dave observes. “So that’s a really big pat on the back, and we’ve made a lot of great friends in the industry.”

Because the Lady Antebellum album held such a strong position in the marketplace last year, it’s in the running for Album of the Year, even though it’s now two years old. Still, Lady A has practically conceded the award already to one of their industry friends. Dave and Charles Kelley co-wrote “Love Song” with Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton, and it appears on Miranda’s new project, which is one of the ACM’s five nominated albums.

“I will put money that Miranda takes home Album of the Year,” Charles says. “Revolution is the best record that’s come out in the past five years.”

Miranda, Blake and Lady A are all slated to perform during the ACMs, along with Toby Keith, Billy Currington, John Fogerty, Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Keith Urban, Taylor Swift and Reba McEntire, among many others. The awards air live on CBS beginning Sunday at 8 p.m. ET — but you can watch our LIVE streaming coverage of the ACM Orange Carpet beginning Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET!

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