The Country Music Association honored Kenny Chesney with the Entertainer of the Year award for the third time during a ceremony Wednesday.

The 39-year-old country singer previously won the award in 2004 and 2006 and said last night: “I love country music and I love doing what I do. I want to thank the fans and country radio and everybody.” His fans obviously love what he does too, as more than 62 million people attended his summer tour this year.

Chesney was also awarded for Musical Event of the Year along with Tracy Lawrence and Tim McGraw for “Find Out Who Your Friends Are.”

Chesney’s eleventh studio album, “Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates,” was released in early September and debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200, with 387,000 copies sold in its first week.

Accepting the entertainer award, Chesney said: “I can't believe that I get to stand on the stages I stand on every summer and get to sing the songs that I sing. I want to thank George Strait for paying for dinner last night. My band, my crew ... my mom's with me tonight and I want to thank her for coming ... for everybody who made this happen.”

Another victor last night at the 41st annual CMA Awards in Nashville was young “American Idol” winner Carrie Underwood, who won both the Female Vocalist of the Year and Single of the Year awards, the latter for “Before He Cheats.”

The Grammy winner won the top vocalist honor last year as well. Underwood also released her second studio album, “Carnival Ride,” two weeks ago; it opened at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, with first-week sales of 527,000 copies.

Brad Paisley was named Male Vocalist of the Year for the first time in his career and was overwhelmed with the honor. “I can't tell you what this means to me,” the 34-year-old singer said. “I've always wanted to win this award at least once.”

He left the ceremony with an award for Music Video of the Year as well, for “Online,” directed by Jason Alexander.

George Strait’s “It Just Comes Natural” received the Album of the Year trophy, along with producer Tony Brown.

Country pop band Rascal Flatts was named Vocal Group of the Year for the fifth consecutive year. This comes on the heel of their chart success with “Still Feels Good,” their fifth studio album released in late September.

George Strait’s “Give It Away” earned the song’s writers, Bill Anderson, Buddy Cannon and Jamey Johnson, the Song of the Year award, while Sugarland, made up of Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush, received Vocal Duo of the Year honors.

The Horizon Award went to 17-year-old Taylor Swift, recommending her as an up-and-coming singer. “I can't even believe that this is real,” the teenager told the crowd. “This is definitely the highlight of my senior year.”