Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood Win 2011 Taste of Country Award for Song of the Year

Voting for the 2011 Taste of Country Song of the Year award went down to the final hours, with three of the five songs nominated shuffling for top honors. Once midnight struck on Jan. 2, however, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood's 'Remind Me' was left as the winner, receiving over 26 percent of the total votes.

The two friends and CMA co-hosts recorded the song for Paisley's 'This is Country Music' album, and fans were itching to hear it on the radio from the day the project was released in May. The steamy ballad led to an equally hot -- literally, they filmed it in the desert -- video. While the couple's relationship has never been anything but platonic, they did a nice job of convincing fans otherwise during this song. 'Remind Me' was one of the highlight performances of the 2011 CMA Awards in November as well.

Taylor Swift made a late push in an attempt to win a fifth Taste of Country award in this category, but 'Mean' ultimately fell short. 'Country Girl (Shake It for Me)' by Luke Bryan held the lead at various times during the month long voting period, but finished third, about two percentage points behind 'Remind Me.' 'Honey Bee' by Blake Shelton and 'Cost of Livin'' by Ronnie Dunn rounded out the voting.

Congratulations to Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood. May this be only the beginning of an award winning run for this beautiful ballad.