Brad Paisley took home the award for Entertainer of the Year when ABC aired the 44th annual Country Music Awards on Wednesday Nov. 10. Paisley co-hosted the event with female star Carrie Underwood.
Top winners included Miranda Lambert and Lady Antebellum. Lambert dominated the categories of Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Music Video of the Year. Along with a performance, Lambert was one of the most popular stars of the evening. Lady Antebellum won Vocal Group of the Year along with Single of the Year.
Newlyweds Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton won Top Female and Male Vocalist of the Year. Lambert beat out Taylor Swift for the award, which came as a shock and disappointment to millions of Swift fans.
Carrie Underwood made the first of 20 performances, along with Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban.
Sugarland performed its hit song “Stuck like Glue.” Junior Kevin Mahoney found it to be a little unusual.
“I don’t know much about Sugarland, but after this performance, I don’t want to know more,” Mahoney said.
Another unusual performance included one by Reba McEntire. McEntire performed a cover of Beyonce’s hit single, “If I Were a Boy,” giving a country spin to the popular song.
Junior Tara Macula was not impressed with McEntire’s skills.
“Reba’s performance wasn’t particularly one of my favorites. I felt like it didn’t fit her usual style,” Macula said.
Although she was nominated for two awards, Swift walked away emptyhanded from the CMA’s. It has been a big year for Swift with her newly released album.
Junior Julie Abott was disappointed that Swift didn’t win, but noted that her performance of “Back to December” was one of the most memorable of the night.
“I thought that her performance was amazing because her voice was perfectly in tune. I thought it was the best performance I have seen her sing live on television,” Abott said. “I was really surprised she didn’t win Top Female Vocalist of the Year and was surprised she wasn’t nominated for more.”
Sheryl Crow’s and Miranda Lambert’s collaboration as a tribute to Loretta Lynn was a memorable performance that old-fashioned country fans could enjoy.
Another memorable performance was Gwyneth Paltrow’s debut solo performance. Paltrow sang the theme song from her new movie, “Country Song.”
