Lady Antebellum photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

When Lady Antebellum wrote “Need You Now” in 2009, the band had no idea that the song was going to vault them into the same pop world inhabited by the other lady — Lady Gaga — in 2010.

In fact, a lot of songwriters in Nashville thought “Need You Now” was a bold song — it was built around a drunken booty call, and since country radio stations are very attuned to offering family-friendly material, many Music Row writers were a bit shocked when the song caught on. And it caught on very quickly. Not only was it a multi-week No. 1 single at the end of ‘09, it also got picked up by pop stations who played it frequently throughout 2010, aiding a jump for the oddly-named trio into music’s big leagues.

Lady Antebellum’s ascent ranks at No. 4 as GAC counts down the dozen biggest stories of country music from 2010.

“Need You Now” became the title track for Lady A’s sophomore album, released in January 2010, and the complete collection held its own throughout the year, ranking as the best-selling country album for the year and finishing at No. 3 on the year-end Billboard 200 list, topped only by Susan Boyle and Eminem.

But that’s just one of numerous events and accolades that occurred for Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood in 2010. They won twice during the Country Music Association Awards, appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show,” sang the national anthem during the World Series, got a triple-platinum sales award for Need You Now, launched their first headlining tour and closed the year with six Grammy nominations.

So much has happened in such a short period of time that the band can’t really grasp its good fortune as it’s occurring.

“You can’t really process the big moments,” Hillary says. “Like you’re at Oprah, you know, you’re there and you’re talking to her, but it doesn’t really hit you. It’s in those quiet moments like when you’re on a plane, or in the van or at home havin’ dinner with your family. There’s just different moments. I think when I really … get overcome with that emotion of really doin’ it is in those quiet moments when I let myself breathe and think and just stop because so much of what we do is just constant moving. So whenever you have a chance to just stop, it’s like, ‘Oh, OK. Yeah, this really has all happened. We’re not just dreamin’ it.’”

The 2011 calendar already promises at least one new horizon for Lady A: The group will tour Australia for the first time, opening for Keith Urban in April.

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Lady Antebellum photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving? On GAC’s Top 20 Country Countdown, our gratitude includes an appreciation for all the country stars who’ve embraced the show, and in this weekend’s edition, the countdown will feature some of the best interview clips with Nan Kelley and Suzanne Alexander from 2010, including guest visits from the likes of Lady Antebellum, Kenny Chesney, Jeff Bridges and Reba McEntire.

It’s been a big year for many of the guests in the highlights episode. Trace Adkins released his first album after joining Toby Keith’s record company, Little Big Town snared a No. 1 country album, Blake Shelton picked up his first-ever Country Music Association awards and Taylor Swift sold 1 million copies of her new album in a single week.

For Lady A, 2010 has included the band’s first headlining tour, a big pop crossover hit with “Need You Now” and a pair of CMA trophies. The trio also appeared on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” and — of course! — the Top 20. In addition, Entertainment Weekly has reported that a Lady A song will be used in an episode of “Glee” that airs in February on the heels of the Super Bowl. Still, there’s one major TV spot the band hasn’t conquered that remains on its wish list: “Saturday Night Live.”

“Being backstage and hopefully havin’ conversations with a couple of those actors that are so hysterical and their timing is so great would be a lot of fun,” Hillary Scott says. “Not to mention everybody watches it!”

“SNL” has lampooned Faith Hill, Miley Cyrus and Reba this year amidst appearances by Rihanna, Kanye West, Jude Law, Ashton Kutcher and Betty White.

“If a Golden Girl can do it,” Hillary winks, “Lady A can do it!”

Top 20 Country Countdown counts down the week’s top country videos from No. 20 to No. 1 as voted by viewers on each week on GACTV.com. A new countdown premieres every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on GAC and airs again Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. ET; Sundays at 1 p.m. ET; and Mondays at 10 a.m. ET. Viewers can vote for their favorite videos, as well as purchase Top 20 artists’ albums and ringtones at GACTV.com.

THIS WEEK’S CHART:

1. Carrie Underwood “Mama’s Song”
2. Jason Aldean “My Kinda Party”
3. Blake Shelton “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking”
4. Bo Bice “You Take Yourself With You”
5. Zac Brown Band featuring Alan Jackson “As She’s Walking Away”
6. Sara Evans “A Little Bit Stronger”
7. Keith Urban “Put You In A Song”
8. Lady Antebellum “Hello World”
9. Reba McEntire “Turn On The Radio”
10. Loretta Lynn, Sheryl Crow & Miranda Lambert “Coal Miner’s Daughter”
11. The Band Perry “If I Die Young”
12. Miranda Lambert “Only Prettier”
13. Chris Young “Voices”
14. Taylor Swift “Mine”
15. Toby Keith “Bullets In The Gun”
16. the JaneDear girls “Wildflower”
17. Sugarland “Stuck Like Glue”
18. Trace Adkins “This Ain’t No Love Song”
19. Joey + Rory “That’s Important To Me”
20. Steel Magnolia “Just By Being You (Halo And Wings)”

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Sugarland photo courtesy of UMG Nashville.

Sugarland, the Country Music Association’s Vocal Duo of the Year, is helping Oprah Winfrey do a two-fer Christmas edition of her show, one of several acts performing live for the first time with another artist.

Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush appear Monday on “The Oprah Winfrey Show” with Jennifer Hudson. Mary J. Blige duets with Andrea Bocelli, and Tim McGraw shares the stage with Alicia Keys for a version of John Lennon’s “Happy Xmas (War Is Over).”

It’s the second time this year that Sugarland has been featured on the daytime queen’s show.

“The only thing better than having appeared on ‘Oprah’ in February and getting her phone number,” Kristian says, “would be that her phone number pops back up on your phone and she says, ‘Would you come back and be on my show again?’”

The duo is not alone among country stars who’ve graced Oprah’s schedule twice this year. Martina McBride was featured in October and again in November. Wynonna Judd, meanwhile, showed up last Tuesday.

Sugarland will also tape TNT’s annual “Christmas In Washington” Dec. 13 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. The performance for President Barack Obama airs Dec. 20.

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