NASHVILLE – Before Taylor Swift even enters her 20s, she adds four CMA Awards to her collection, winning Entertainer, Female Vocalist, Album and Music Video of the Year at “The 43rd Annual CMA Awards,” which aired live on the ABC Television Network and before a sold-out crowd at the Sommet Center in Downtown Nashville.
By winning Entertainer of the Year, 19-year-old Swift is the youngest performer to ever win the honor and the first female to win since Shania Twain in 1999. “I’ll never forget this moment,” an emotional Swift said, “because at this moment everything that I have ever wanted just happened to me.”
Accepting the Female Vocalist Award, Swift poked fun at her famed Kanye West interruption experience: “I want to thank every single person here tonight for not running up on stage during this speech.”
Fearless , Swift’s five-time Platinum sophomore release, produced by Swift and Nathan Chapman, was named Album of the Year, “This album is my diary, and so for all the people who voted for it, thank you for saying you like my diary,” Swift said. “The fans, you made this album into what it is.”
In the pre-telecast ceremony, Swift picked up the Music Video of the Year Award for “Love Story,” her Jane Austen-inspired fairytale directed by Trey Fanjoy.
Swift kicked off “Country Music’s Biggest Night” with “Forever & Always” from Fearless. Later in the broadcast, Swift, with only her guitar and surrounded by former classmates, performed new current single “Fifteen.”
Second-time hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood summed up the night in their opening remarks: “What makes Country Music the biggest and best music in the world,” asked Underwood. “Well, Carrie, it’s the songs,” Paisley replied.
Top nominee Paisley picked up his third consecutive Male Vocalist Award and fourth Musical Event of the Year for “Start A Band” with Keith Urban. Those Awards bring Paisley’s career CMA Awards total to 13. He performed his recent No. 1 hit “Welcome to the Future” from his nominated album American Saturday Night.
After winning New Artist of the Year in 2008, Lady Antebellum’s momentum didn’t slow down in 2009. The trio picked up two Awards, the Vocal Group and Single of the Year for “I Run To You,” produced by Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley. “I’d like to thank my two best friends I get to do this with every day of my life,” Hillary Scott said about her partners Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood. “That was a complete shock, that was not expected,” Kelley said
backstage. “We’ve got a lot left to prove.” The group performed “Need You Now,” from their forthcoming sophomore album.
Sugarland picked up their third consecutive Vocal Duo of the Year Award, giving thanks to 14-time Vocal Duo Brooks & Dunn, who announced they were disbanding in 2010. “Thank you for what you’ve done for us and thank you for what you’ve done for Country Music,” Sugarland’s Jennifer Nettles said to Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn. “It’s an honor to be nominated in your category.”
Soon after Sugarland performed the poignant ballad “Keep You,” Brooks & Dunn tore the place down with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top performing “Honky Tonk Stomp.”
Winning the coveted New Artist of the Year, Darius Rucker thanked the people who “took a chance on a pop singer from Charleston, S.C. God bless y’all for that.” Earlier, Rucker performed “Alright,” his third consecutive No. 1 hit from his debut Country album Learn to Live.
Jamey Johnson picked up his second CMA Song of the Year Award for “In Color” co-written with James Otto and Lee Thomas Miller. “I never thought y’all would even let me come to stuff like this,” Johnson joked. “Thank you for listening to my music and letting me do what I do.” Johnson won Song in 2007 for George Strait’s “Give It Away” with Bill Anderson and Buddy Cannon. Johnson teamed with Kid Rock to perform “Between Jennings and Jones.”
Urban, who won his first Musical Event of the Year Award with Paisley in the pre-telecast ceremony, offered the pensive new single, “’Til Summer Comes Around.” Four-time nominee Strait performed his latest hit, the title track from his Album, Twang.
Country Music Hall of Fame 2009 inductee and two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year Barbara Mandrell was feted by Female Vocalist nominee Martina McBride and Strait, who dueted on Mandrell’s signature hit “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool.”
The Female Vocalist nominees proved that the ladies of Country Music are some of the strongest performers in all music. Miranda Lambert offered “White Liar” off of her third album Revolution, and Reba McEntire performed “Consider Me Gone” from her latest album Keep on Loving You. Underwood, who currently has the No. 1 album and single in the nation, performed that single “Cowboy Casanova” with a bevy of back-up dancers.
In one of the many exciting collaborations of the evening, rock band Daughtry was joined by 18-time CMA Awards winner Vince Gill for a stripped down performance of “Tennessee Line” from Daughtry’s album Leave This Town.
Four-time Entertainer of the Year Kenny Chesney performed the duet “I’m Alive” with Dave Matthews.
Other noteworthy performances included Jason Aldean with his No. 1 “Big Green Tractor” and superstar Tim McGraw’s return to the CMA Awards stage after four years, performing “Southern Voice,” the title track from his latest album. Multiple-nominee Zac Brown Band did a rousing rendition of Charlie Daniels Band’s “Devil Went Down to Georgia.”
Fellow Georgian Billy Currington performed the Single and Song of the Year-nominated “People Are Crazy.”
CMA Awards presenters included Dale Earnhardt Jr.; stars of ABC’s “The Middle” Neil Flynn and Patricia Heaton; Faith Hill and husband McGraw; Julianne Hough; nominee Randy Houser; nine-time Awards winners The Judds; Kid Rock; Country Music Hall of Fame member Kris Kristofferson; nominee Jake Owen; Kellie Pickler; LeAnn Rimes; ABC News’ Robin Roberts, co-anchor of “Good Morning America”; and six-time CMA Awards winner Lee Ann Womack. Love and Theft hosted the Pre-Telecast Awards.
The winners of “The 43rd Annual CMA Awards” are:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Taylor Swift
MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Brad Paisley
FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Taylor Swift
VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady Antebellum
VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Sugarland
NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Darius Rucker
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Fearless
Taylor Swift
Produced by Nathan Chapman and Taylor Swift
Big Machine Records
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
“I Run To You”
Lady Antebellum
Produced by Victoria Shaw and Paul Worley
Capitol Records Nashville
SONG OF THE YEAR
“In Color”
Written by Jamey Johnson, Lee Thomas Miller and James Otto
MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
“Start A Band”
Brad Paisley (duet with Keith Urban)
Arista Nashville
MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR
“Love Story”
Taylor Swift
Directed by Trey Fanjoy
MUSICIAN OF THE YEAR
Mac McAnally – Guitar
In 1958, CMA was the first trade organization formed to promote a type of music. Its membership includes nearly 6,000 companies and music industry professionals around the globe.
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