By Mary Whitfill
Features Editor
The 44th annual CMA Awards were last night, making for a big night in country music and a debut for a favorite Iron Man Actress.
The awards were hosted by country music starts Brad Paisley and Miranda Lambert, both of whom have won many awards in the past and took home big titles this year. The winners of the Awards can be found below, but perhaps the most surprising event of the evening was music performance by Gwyneth Paltrow who took over the stage in her first live country performance. She performed the song “Country Strong,” the theme song of her upcoming film in which she plays an up and coming country music star.
The other big performance of the night came from country music sensation Taylor Swift. While Swift didn’t win any awards because her newest album, Speak Now was released too late for consideration, she put on an interesting performance with “Back to December.” Accompanied by a string section, she spent her performance hunched over the piano.
The winners of the coveted CMA’s are as follows:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Carrie Underwood
Kenny Chesney
Toby Keith
Brad Paisley
George Strait
Taylor Swift
Keith Urban
Zac Brown Band
TOP MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Brad Paisley
Kenny Chesney
Darius Rucker
George Strait
Keith Urban
TOP FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Miranda Lambert
Reba McEntire
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood
Lee Ann Womack
TOP VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Randy Rogers Band
Rascal Flatts
Zac Brown Band
TOP VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Brooks & Dunn
Joey + Rory
Montgomery Gentry
Steel Magnolia
Sugarland
TOP NEW SOLO VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Luke Bryan
Jamey Johnson
Chris Young
TOP NEW VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Joey + Rory
Bomshel
Steel Magnolia
TOP NEW VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Gloriana
Eli Young Band
The Lost Trailers
TOP NEW ARTIST
Luke Bryan
Gloriana
Joey + Rory
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Revolution — Miranda Lambert
American Saturday Night — Brad Paisley
Lady Antebellum — Lady Antebellum
Play On — Carrie Underwood
The Foundation — Zac Brown Band
SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR
“Need You Now” — Lady Antebellum
“People Are Crazy” — Billy Currington
“Red Light” — David Nail
“Toes” — Zac Brown Band
“White Liar” — Miranda Lambert
SONG OF THE YEAR
“Need You Now” — Lady Antebellum
“Cowboy Casanova” — Carrie Underwood
“People Are Crazy” — Billy Currington
“White Liar” — Miranda Lambert
“You Belong With Me” — Taylor Swift
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
“White Liar” – Miranda Lambert
“Boots On” – Randy Houser
“Need You Now” – Lady Antebellum
“Welcome To The Future” – Brad Paisley
“You Belong With Me” – Taylor Swift
VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
“Hillbilly Bone” — Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins
“Honky Tonk Stomp” — Brooks & Dunn featuring Billy Gibbons
“I Told You So” — Carrie Underwood featuring Randy Travis
“I’m Alive” — Kenny Chesney with Dave Matthews
“Seeing Stars” — Jack Ingram featuring Patty Griffin
