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Eric Church tops the list of nominees for the 46th Annual Country Music Association Awards with five nominations, including Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year (for last year's Chief), plus three for his smoking hot single "Springsteen." Church, who received his first-ever CMA nomination just last year, is running with a pack that also includes Dierks Bentley, Blake Shelton and Lady Antebellum, among others.

Can he keep up? No doubt Church is red-hot at the moment, but can his new hit hold off the double whammy that is Miranda Lambert's "Over You," cowritten with her husband, Blake Shelton? That blissful couple comes in with four nominations apiece, including a shared one in the Song of the Year category.

The country community is a welcoming one, so it's no surprise that Lionel Richie was nominated in the collaborative category, Musical Event of the Year, for his "Stuck on You" duet with Darius Rucker. But Kelly Clarkson getting a nod for Female Vocalist of the Year? Did we miss something, or did Clarkson get the nomination solely on the strength of her chart-topping duet on Jason Aldean's "Don't You Wanna Stay"? Those two took home CMA Awards last year for that performance in the aforementioned Musical Event of the Year category, but this seems to be stretching things a bit. Interestingly enough, Clarkson's nod pits her against another American Idol alum, Carrie Underwood. That could be interesting.

The awards will be held November 1 in Nashville, and will be hosted by Underwood and Brad Paisley for the fifth time. Tune in on ABC to find out who takes home the hardware!