She’s the reigning CMA Female Vocalist of the Year, and her career is hotter than ever, but Miranda Lambert has had her years as an award-show bridesmaid — and whether or not you walk away with a trophy, Miranda says there’s a sense of camaraderie and family in the country community that make it a great place to be making music. (AUDIO INFO BELOW)

• Speaking of Miranda’s red-hot career, her new album, Four the Record, is available NOW!!!! Featuring the first smash single, “Baggage Claim,” the album is raking in amazing reviews from all over! Look for it everywhere you find great music! It’s also available in a limited edition physical Deluxe version (with a bonus track and DVD with Miranda talking about the songs), and you can find the digital Deluxe version right , on iTunes!
• Look for Miranda on this Saturday’s episode of Austin City Limits! For more info on the episode, also featuring actor/musician Jeff Bridges, visit the ACL website here, and click here to check PBS showtimes in your area!  
• Miranda is a performer and a double-nominee for next week’s CMA Awards! She’s up for Female Vocalist of the Year and Musical Event of the Year for “Coal Miner’s Daughter” with Sheryl Crow and the incomparable Loretta Lynn. Catch the show November 9, at 8pm, ET, on ABC!
• Happy birthday, Miranda! Her birthday is next Thursday, November 10th — one day after the CMA Awards show!
• Miranda recently shared her favorite “Revenge Songs” for a feature in Rolling Stone, and two of her Top 10 favorites included Loretta’s classic “Fist City” (which Miranda says she performs at shows with Pistol Annies) and Carrie Underwood‘s “Before He Cheats” (which she told Rolling Stone she sang together with Carrie not long ago). A few other “revenge” highlights included Tammy Wynette‘s “Your Good Girl’s Gonna Go Bad” and Pistol Annies’ very own “Trailer for Rent.” 
• Catch Miranda on this week’s GAC Top 20 Country Countdown! Look for her in the episode premiering this Friday, November 4th, at 8pm, ET, with additional airings Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Click here for complete airtimes!

  Miranda Lambert says that the country music community, at awards time or anytime, really is like a family. (1:31)
“I have a kindred spirit with other artists because I know what they’re goin’ through, and they know what I’m goin’ through, and that’s I think why a lot of us get along, with Hillary Scott and with Pistol Annies and with Carrie — we don’t hang out that much, but you know, I really respect her, and…guys, too! I mean, I just feel like if it’s great, there’s room for all of it. I don’t feel like that you can compare oranges and apples (laughs), you know? I’m way different than Lady Antebellum, and I’m way different than Taylor, and she’s way different than Martina. There’s so many great, talented people, and I think people should have welcoming arms and realize that the bigger the star gets that wins awards and things like that is…of course, we want to win, you know, there’s the disappointment. For a while there, I was gettin’ beat out every year (laughs) by Taylor and Carrie — I’m like, ‘Okay, when’s my turn comin’?’ You know? But my turn has come, and when it’s somebody else’s turn, I want to be as gracious as they…especially Carrie was to me when I won, you know? It’s not a competition — it’s a family. Country music really has a family atmosphere, overall. I think it makes music better, too, because I think that when your peers give you a compliment — I mean, Kenny Chesney took me on tour, and when I first went to one of my first award shows, he was like, ‘I love your stuff,’ and so nice, and it was like, when you know someone’s payin’ attention, you’re like, okay, I want to keep creating things that some of these heroes of mine are liking. You know? It makes you feel really good, feel validated.”