What do Taylor Swift, Darius Rucker (ex-Hootie and the Blowfish), ZZ Top and Chris Daughtry have in common?
They were all in the spotlight at the Country Music Association’s 2009 CMA country music awards ceremony on Wednesday.
The 43rd edition of the awards ceremony was filled with firsts, including the first time that a black performer has ever won the New Artist of the Year award.
The honor went to Darius Rucker, better known as the lead singer of soft-pop act Hootie and the Blowfish (he still doesn’t want to be called Hootie, but we still don’t care). Hootie’s new career as a country singer has come as something as a surprise to fans, but they’ve happily embraced his new direction, perhaps in part because they’re happy he’s not singing that song about crying about dolphins anymore.
Taylor Swift proved once again that she’ll accomplish more before she’s old enough to drink than Kanye West will manage if he lives to be 1,000.
The 19-year-old singer became the youngest star to take home the coveted Entertainer of the Year award. The win put an end to the winning streak of Nashville’s answer to Jimmy Buffet, Kenny Chesney, who had won the top prize two years in a row.
The record for most Entertainer of the Year awards is shared by Chesney and Garth Brooks, with four wins apiece.
Swift won four awards over the course of the evening; with all of those acceptance speeches to deliver, by the end of the night she might’ve been hoping host Brad Paisley would pull a Kanye and take the spotlight off of her for a second, but no luck.
Among the night’s strangest events were the musical performances which paired Dave Matthews with Kenny Chesney, Kid Rock with Jamey Johnson, Billy Gibbons (ZZ Top) with Brooks & Dunn, and American Idol’s Daughtry with Vince Gill.
List of 2009 CMA winners:
Taylor Swift
Entertainer of the Year
Fearless-Taylor Swift
Album of the Year
Taylor Swift
Female Vocalist of the Year
“Love Story” -Taylor Swift
Music Video of the Year
“In Color”-Jamey Johnson
Song of the Year
“I Run to You”-Lady Antebellum
Single of the Year
Lady Antebellum
Vocal Group of the Year
Darius Rucker
New Artist of the Year
Sugarland
Vocal Duo of the Year
Brad Paisley
Male Vocalist of the Year
Brad Paisley and Keith Urban
Musical Event of the Year
Mac Macanally
Musician of the Year
