It's official: the 2013 CMA Awards nominations are in, and Brett Eldredge and Kip Moore are counted among the country stars who have a reason to celebrate. This year, Eldredge and Moore were honored with their first ever CMA nominations.

Both Eldredge and Moore have been nominated for New Artist of the Year.

For Eldredge, the honor came as quite a shock -- especially because he awoke to tons of congratulatory text messages from friends and family before he actually learned the big news.

“I just woke up to a ton of texts that said ‘Congrats!’ I thought that they were telling me how awesome I slept,” Eldredge recalls. “Turns out I was nominated for New Artist of the Year. What? Wow! Thank you CMA!"

Perhaps Eldredge was so exhausted because he's been out on the road doing tons of live performances. The 'Don't Ya' hitmaker recently appeared on 'Late Night With Jimmy Fallon,' 'Live With Kelly & Michael' and the 'Today' show. Plus, his single 'Don't Ya' has climbed to No. 1 on the country charts.

Moore's nomination for New Artist of the Year comes on the heels of his third No. 1 hit from 'Up All Night,' his first studio album. Last year, 'Up All Night' was the top-selling debut country album.

"It’s been a long road. I think back on the thousands of hours of songwriting and hundreds of thousands of miles we’ve logged on the road … I wouldn’t trade any of that for the quick and easy route," Moore dishes. "I’ve learned so much, and I’m truly honored to be up for the CMA’s New Artist of the Year award. I have to admit … this is also a little extra inspiration for us as we finish up the next album!"

Eldredge and Moore are joined by fellow New Artist of the Year nominees Florida Georgia Line, Kacey Musgraves and Lee Brice. We'll find out who takes home the coveted trophy when the 2013 CMA Awards air live on Nov. 6 on ABC at 8PM ET.

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