Taylor Swift’s opener for the Country Music Association Awards show on Wednesday was a winning performance. However, the 19 year old country singer had to wait for the end of the telecast to receive her biggest award as Entertainer of the Year.
Swift, the youngest singer to ever win the top trophy for the CMA, sobbed on her way to the Sommet Center stage in Nashville and called on her band to join her up onstage.
She said, I won’t ever forget this moment. This moment everything that I have wanted just happened for me.
The night was monumental for Swift. She received a total of four awards. They included Album of the Year (Fearless) and Female Vocalist of the Year, upsetting the co-host for the night, Carrie Underwood.
Although Underwood got shut out Brad Paisley, her co-host, had a very good night, winning his third Male Vocalist of the Year in a row. Sugarland also won their third Vocal Duo award in three years as well.
Another early winner for the night was Lady Antebellum. The group’s single “I Run to You,” was awarded Single of the Year. The trio also won Vocal Group of the Year, ending Rascal Flatts winning streak of six years in the category.
Charles Kelley very graciously paid tribute to Rascal Flatts during his acceptance speech, saying the band had been an inspiration of theirs for a long time.
The country community gave Darius Rucker, the crossover artist, a very warm welcome with the New Artist of the Year award. Last year the award went to Lady Antebellum. Rucker, after his long acknowledgements list, recognized the audience. He thanked the fans for accepting him.
The telecast was performance heavy, with rock stars such as Kid Rock and Dave Matthews teaming with Janey Johnson and Kenny Chesney. The evening was launched by Swift with a very spirited rendition of her hit “Forever and Always,” a song about stormy relationships.
Her performance appeared to be a nod to all the feverish attention that has been paid recently to her dating. Swift has been linked with Joe Jonas and recently Taylor Lautner. A taped interview started her performance that was between Swift and Nancy O’Dell of Access Hollywood.
In the taped interview Swift quipped that guys who don’t want me writing bad songs concerning them should not do bad things. The action then cut back to the stage. Swift slid down a pole, threw furniture and wildly tossed her hair.
Paisely and Underwood anchored the three hour long telecast, bringing the proceedings a sense of humor. Several times they poked fun at Kayne West through songs and also ribbed each other constantly throughout the entire show.
