ABC/Mark LevineBrad Paisley gets a little coy when asked about the clever title of his ABC variety outing, Brad Paisley Thinks He’s Special, which premieres tonight.

“That’s a good question,” he tells ABC Audio. “I really fully expected this to be The Brad Paisley Special, and I have no idea where ‘thinks he’s’ got added to that sentence. But hey, I’ll take it.”

Brad jokes it may have something to do with his collaborations with guests Jonas BrothersDarius Rucker and Hootie & the Blowfish, and Kelsea Ballerini.

“I do a song with anybody that’s on the show… musically, we play together,” Brad explains. “That’s the whole ‘thinks he’s special’ part of it, gets to play with everybody.”

You can expect to see Brad showing off his trademark sense of humor with his guests as well.

“They also were up for doing other things,” he adds. “I mean, several of ’em, Peyton and the Jonas Brothers and Darius and everybody, they just had a great demeanor about being up for my wacky ideas and being a part of having fun.”

Brad admits a particular admiration for football great Peyton Manning, who stars alongside him in the pair’s Nationwide Insurance commercials.

“Anything I can do with him is really thrilling to me,” Brad says. “We have great chemistry, but that man has so much talent for comedic timing and just charisma… It’s a ridiculous thing. It’s not normal.”

“There’s not many guys that go from being an athlete to being that funny,” he continues. “I mean, it’s really something normally you have to work and spend your your life honing. And he just stepped into it like it was nothing.” 

Watch for Tim McGrawCarrie Underwood and more when Brad Paisley Thinks He’s Specialpremieres tonight at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

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