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Watch now: Brett Young on his "fairy-tale" wedding, "fantastic" honeymoon and "validating" CMA nomination

ABC/Image Group LABrett Young married his longtime girlfriend Taylor Mills earlier this month in California, but he's returned from his honeymoon in enough time to attend the CMA Awards on Wednesday, where he's up for New Artist of the Year.  He tells ABC Radio his wedding couldn't have gone better -- thanks to Taylor.

"She did such a good job planning the wedding...I'm glad I stayed out of it as much as I did, 'cause it was a lot of fun surprises for me throughout the day," he laughs. 

The wedding day, which featured 81 degree weather, sunshine and a waterfall, was "just literally fairy-tale and perfect," says Brett.

Adding to the festivities were performances by Luke Combs, Lee Brice and Gavin DeGraw.  Brett sang too, but he admits, "I got super-emotional and forgot lyrics and screwed up the song...it was just a nightmare!"  Luckily, everyone was still talking about how great Luke, Lee and Gavin were so, he says, nobody really noticed.

The couple's honeymoon was almost a nightmare, too -- until they made a bold move.

"We went to the Virgin Islands and it rained for three days straight!" Brett tells ABC Radio.  "We finally went, 'O.K., we just gotta go somewhere where it's sunny.' So I found a non-stop flight from St. Croix to Miami...and we ended up having three amazing days on the beach...it was fantastic!"

Also fantastic? Brett's nomination, which he says has given him "a sense of validation."

But, he notes, "When you're up against so much talent, it's one of those things where if you actually do sneak away with [the award], it feels like you stole one, a little bit!"

Tune in to see if Brett steals the award Wednesday night at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

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Watch now: CMA nominee Lauren Alaina looks back on her "crazy" year of "pinch-me" moments

ABC/Image Group LALauren Alaina is the only female artist nominated in the Best New Artist category at this Wednesday night's CMA Awards.  While she'd like to win, she thinks she doesn't have much chance, especially against one particular nominee in her category.

"I got to tour all summer with Luke Combs and the force that is Luke Combs is unstoppable," Lauren tells ABC Radio. "And I just got to witness what he's done first-hand every night.  I would obviously love to win but I'm really proud to represent the ladies, and just to be nominated at all.  It's been a really amazing year."

And what are some of the things Lauren's done that have made this year amazing?

"I was able to go out on the road and feel the difference, to see it first-hand with the fans, and to feel the impact that we've had. And I got engaged!" she laughs. "It's just been a lot of pinch-me moments.  And then winning the ACM and now to be nominated as [CMA] Best New Artist, I'm just really proud. It's been really crazy."

But while Lauren's thrilled to be nominated there's something she says she'd like to see next year.  "How amazing would it if next year, in the [New Artist] category, there's one male and four females?" she asks.

Even if she doesn't win Wednesday night, Lauren's got a few more things to celebrate: Her duet with Kane Brown, "What Ifs," has just gone quadruple platinum, and Kane recorded a song she co-wrote for his new album, Experiment.

"That's a big moment for me!" she laughs. 

Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

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Watch now: CMA nominee Lauren Alaina looks back on her "crazy" year of "pinch-me" moments

ABC/Image Group LALauren Alaina is the only female artist nominated in the Best New Artist category at this Wednesday night's CMA Awards.  While she'd like to win, she thinks she doesn't have much chance, especially against one particular nominee in her category.

"I got to tour all summer with Luke Combs and the force that is Luke Combs is unstoppable," Lauren tells ABC Radio. "And I just got to witness what he's done first-hand every night.  I would obviously love to win but I'm really proud to represent the ladies, and just to be nominated at all.  It's been a really amazing year."

And what are some of the things Lauren's done that have made this year amazing?

"I was able to go out on the road and feel the difference, to see it first-hand with the fans, and to feel the impact that we've had. And I got engaged!" she laughs. "It's just been a lot of pinch-me moments.  And then winning the ACM and now to be nominated as [CMA] Best New Artist, I'm just really proud. It's been really crazy."

But while Lauren's thrilled to be nominated there's something she says she'd like to see next year.  "How amazing would it if next year, in the [New Artist] category, there's one male and four females?" she asks.

Even if she doesn't win Wednesday night, Lauren's got a few more things to celebrate: Her duet with Kane Brown, "What Ifs," has just gone quadruple platinum, and Kane recorded a song she co-wrote for his new album, Experiment.

"That's a big moment for me!" she laughs. 

Copyright © 2018, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.

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