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Thursday, November 10, 2011

Taylor Swift Wins Second Entertainer of the Year Trophy

taylorswift wins
It was a mix of old favorites and new blood at the 45th Annual Country Music Association Awards, as many acts on the show claimed their first trophies. The first award of the night was proof of this, as Republic Nashville's The Band Perry, the biggest winner of the night, notched its first-ever win in the single of the year category for the multiformat hit "If I Die Young." The tune also won song of the year honors for lead singer Kimberly Perry. But their night was far from over. The trio had one more speech to make, winning the new artist of the year award. Jason Aldean shocked many by walking away with album of the year for My Kinda Party. It was also the first major win for Broken Bow Records, Aldean's label.

Not all the winners were first-timers, however. Sugarland claimed its fifth straight win in the vocal duo of the year category. Lady Antebellum won the vocal group of the Year for a third straight year, and it was a repeat in the male and female vocalist categories with husband and wife Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert reigning in their respective categories for a second straight year.

Reprising her win in 2009, Taylor Swift won the evening's biggest prize -- the entertainer of the year trophy.

"One of my favorite things this year is the camaraderie of these artists," she said in her speech, alluding to the fact that acts such as Ronnie Dunn, Kenny Chesney and Tim McGraw joined her on the concert stage at various times this year.The awards kicked off in exhilarating fashion with Shelton performing the 1980s classic "Footloose" with the song's original performer, Kenny Loggins. Shelton recorded the song for the recent theatrical remake.

Other highlights of the night performance-wise were Lambert's fiery take on her funk-filled hit "Baggage Claim," the Zac Brown Band's stirring rendition of the classic "Georgia on My Mind," with special guest Gregg Allman, as well as Vince Gill, Brad Paisley and Keith Urban's tribute to Glen Campbell, who is in the midst of his farewell tour.

Speaking of tributes, in his first CMA appearance in a quarter-century, Lionel Richie performed a medley of his hits with Darius Rucker ("Stuck on You"), Rascal Flatts ("Dancing on the Ceiling") and the same song he performed with Alabama in 1986 -- "Deep River Woman," with Little Big Town. The R&B legend will release Tuskegee, a duets album in March.

The night was also a return to the CMA stage for Faith Hill, who performed her just-released single "Come Home."

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