ACM Awards: Taylor Swift gets soaked, Kenny Chesney wins big

Parting thoughts: Kenny Chesney won the top prize at the annual Academy of Country Music Awards, held Sunday night (May 18) in Las Vegas. For the fourth straight year, Chesney took home the entertainer of the year trophy, but he lost out to up-and-coming country star Miranda Lambert in the album of the year field.

Lambert, who last year at the ACMs took home the best new female artist prize, was recognized for her 2007 release, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." The rock-leaning singer also performed the album's "Gunpowder and Lead" on the telecast. It's the second year running that a country woman won album of the year, as last year's show saw the honors go to award-show staple Carrie Underwood.

Underwood, who opened the ACMs with her "Last Name," giving it an amped-up production under neon lights, took home top female vocalist. Duo Sugarland also fared well, winning single record of the year and song of the year for heartbreak single "Stay." The act performed new song "All I Wanna Do," tipped as the first single from the its upcoming release.

Fast-rising star Taylor Swift, however, will probably walk away with the most talked-about moment on the show -- certainly the most bizarre. While she won top new female vocalist, the award was overshadowed by her water-soaked rendition of "Should've Said No." Toward the end of the cut, a makeshift waterfall was dumped on the star -- a scene more fitting for Nickelodeon than the ACMs -- and the singer did her best to maintain her composure.

Top new male vocalist went to Jake Ingram, and top female vocalist went to Kellie Pickler. The latter unveiled her new single, "Don't You Know You're Beautiful." A list of winners, and instant reactions to the show, is below.

8:01 p.m.: Click here for a list of winners

7:57 p.m.: Reba closes the show by saying, "Don't end up doing anything that ends up on YouTube." This message needs to get to Madonna. 

7:55 p.m. Entertainer of the year: Kenny Chesney, of course. Fourth year in a row. Chesney thanks his mom and dad "for having sex." And declares this one "special" because it was the first-time the award was voted upon by the fans. Ho-hum --  the fan-voting thing is an award-show stunt that's worth little more than a press release. It certainly doesn't bring any more tension to the proceedings, as stakes aren't exactly raised, and Chesney has these sorts of award locked up, thanks to his superstar status and constant touring. Chesney has also nabbed the entertainer of the year title for a few years running over at the CMAs, and it's high time producers make an effort to mix things up a bit -- those who win the award should be ineligible the following year.

7:45 p.m.: Top female vocalist: Carrie Underwood. Carrie's been on an award-show tear the past few years, but Grammys' best new artist hasn't bothered to change her winning speech, thanking her agent, her manager, all the folks involved with "American Idol" and a last-minute toss-in to fans. She'll surely get some more chances on the podium later this year at the 2007 CMAs, and here's hoping she hires some speechwriters by then.

7:34 p.m.: Top male vocalist: Brad Paisley.

7:28 p.m.: Kellie Pickler, one of the big winners at the recent CMT Awards, sings "Don't You Know You're Beautiful," tipped as the first single from her upcoming album. It's a slow-moving self-esteem booster, and it will start to get a big push after the awards, no doubt. But it sounds all a bit forced, and comes across -- on first listen -- like an advertisement for an anti-depressant. CMT co-host Miley Cyrus did a better job at this type of thing with "Nobody's Perfect," and you can dance to that one.

7:20-something p.m. diversion: Taylor Swift vs. Tinker Bell (see 6:20 p.m.)

7:22 p.m.: Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley give a warm tribute to Eddy Arnold by performing a spare and lovely "Make the World Go Away." Credit the ACMs for not going the montage route.

7:17 p.m.: David Spade introduces Rascal Flatts, who perform "Every Day." The band is accompanied by a string section, one that's barely audible above the band's high-pitched melodies.

7:15 p.m.: Keith Urban performs "Tu Companía" in the round, a diverting little campfire of a number that would make Jack Johnson proud.

7:11 p.m.: Top vocal group: Rascal Flatts. They thank God and air-conditioning.

7:06 p.m.: Brooks wraps up at nearly the 10-minute mark with "Ain't Goin' Down (Til the Sun Comes Up)." The effect was like listening to all the 30-second clips on one of Brooks' greatest hits sets on Amazon.com.

6:57 p.m.: Garth Brooks. The country legend was awarded something called the "crystal milestone" award. Now we're getting a medley of all of Brooks' major hits. Eight minutes in, and he's still going.

6:47 p.m.: Top vocal duo: Brooks & Dunn.

6:43 p.m.: Wait. OK. So for the last verse in Taylor Swift's song, she performed under a makeshift waterfall, falling to the floor and letting herself get soaked. Because you can't get mad at someone for being off-key when they're drenched? Not sure if this was supposed to be sexy or meaningful (some sort of play on her no longer wearing the hoodie). Either way, it didn't work, and was simply bizarre.

6:39 p.m.: Taylor Swift pulls an Avril Lavigne, dirtying up her perfectly blond image with a black hoodie and jeans. Or, as a co-worker remarked, "She looks like a Sith Lord." Oh, that didn't last long, she's back to wearing a prom dress singing "Should've Said No."

6:32 p.m.: Song of the year: Sugarland's "Stay." This gives Sugarland wins in both song of the year and single record of the year for the tearjerker.

6:28 p.m.: Brooks & Dunn sing their cuddly little rocker "Put a Girl in It." Sample lyric: "If you're ridin' in your truck, put a girl in it." Nothing charms the ladies more than viewing them as accessories.

6:20 p.m.: Album of the year: Miranda Lambert's "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend." Bit of a surprise there, but absolutely warranted. "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" was one of 2007's best albums. If I pegged anyone to upset Chesney, I would have gone with the seemingly unstoppable Taylor Swift, but Lambert (below) has a rock 'n' roll soul and a dozen pint-raising hooks. And her bad-girl image is absolutely devious compared to Swift -- the music equivalent of Tinker Bell.

6:18 p.m. Sugarland sings new, as yet unreleased single "All I Wanna Do." It's light, a bit goofy, and it's "whoo-woos" surely hint at a crossover hit. It also does kinda sound like the similarly titled Sheryl Crow song.

6:09 p.m. Now we get both Strait and Chesney performing their nominated "Shiftwork." It's shuffling beat teases with picking up, but it never quite does. Instead, the song rides a relaxed groove, playing up its everyday thrills -- relaxing with a beer and peeling off without paying for gas.

6:02 p.m.: George Strait, performing on his birthday, says Reba. He sings his latest single, "I Saw God Today." It's a simple, pretty song, and it's good-natured commonality never sounds forced. The giant baby pictures in the background were a bit Hallmark-ish, however.

5:59 p.m.: The man who's probably going to win entertainer of the year, Kenny Chesney, performs "Better as a Memory." It's Chesney's third country award show performance in seven months, and he does it right, offering a different song each time, even though this ballad is a bit of a snoozer.

5:50 p.m.: Jake Ingram wins top new male vocalist. He punctuates his win with a video game slogan: "Live it. Own it. Dreams come true." It's in the game.

5:48 p.m.: Rodney Atkins is taking the Las Vegas location a bit too seriously, performing a medley. A medley? He touched on "These Are My People" and "Cleaning This Gun (Come on in, Boy)," No medley's under the age of 60, and especially if you've only released a couple albums.

5:43 p.m.: Country award fatigue? The only thing wrong with Lambert singing "Gunpowder and Lead" was that she performed it last November at the CMAs.

5:39 p.m.: Lady Antebellum wins top new duo or vocal group.

5:36 p.m.: Lambert, singing her rant to an unfaithful ex, "Gunpowder and Lead." Would have loved to hear Miranda break out a newer single, but nothing wrong with this tune. She's headbanging to a waterfall of fireworks, and her band is breaking out some arena-worthy guitar solos. The key to this song: It's not until after Lambert loads her shotgun that she drops the kicker of a chorus: "He ain't seen me crazy yet."

5:34 p.m. Blake Shelton, or "pure BS," in the words of host Reba, introducing country spitfire Miranda Lambert.

5:30 p.m. Taylor Swift wins top new female vocalist.

5:26 p.m.: Paisley sings his absolutely horrific "I'm Still A Guy," a song that was already discussed in our last country awards show live blog. But Paisley, if you show up in Las Vegas with a shiny shirt, you can't really mock "feminized men." Also, looks like CBS had Paisley change a lyric or two. Gone was the "copped a feel" line.   

5:22 p.m.: Brad Paisley's pal Jason Alexander. The former "Seinfeld" star says he forgot his Bedazzler. He makes a quick joke about country musicians as "people of faith, religious people," claiming it to be a myth. Says Alexander: "I did not see any one of you people in a synagogue."

5:19 p.m.: Looks like Carrie stole Taylor Swift's Bedazzler for her microphone.

5:15 p.m.: Sugarland's "Stay" won for single record of the year.

5:12 p.m.: The ACM Awards are already making an effort to separate themselves from all the other award shows out there. Toby Keith is performing "She's A Hottie." Haven't heard that recently.

5:12 p.m.: A list of nominees are after the jump, and winners will be updated as they're announced on the CBS telecast.

5:07 p.m.: Reba McEntire, hosting the show for the 10th time. Referencing how times-have-a-changed since she first hosted the awards, McEntire jokes: "Back then, Roger Clemens wasn't even interested in country music ... I don't care you who you are, that's funny." Nothing beats jokes about adultery.

5:04 p.m.: Running a little late getting started on the ACM Awards (blame all the "Indiana Jones" news today). But now we're off and running. "American Idol's" Carrie Underwood opened the show, giving a version of "Last Name" that was fit for a Super Bowl halftime show, complete with a giant "C" in the background. A bit bluesy, and more rock 'n' roll than country, Underwood was certainly playing up the Las Vegas glitz rather than Nashville twang.

Winners in italics 

Entertainer of the Year

Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
Rascal Flatts
George Strait
Keith Urban

Top Male Vocalist

Rodney Atkins
Kenny Chesney
Brad Paisley
George Strait
Keith Urban

Top Female Vocalist

Miranda Lambert
Martina McBride
LeAnne Rimes
Taylor Swift
Carrie Underwood

Top Vocal Group

Diamond Rio
Eagles
Emerson Drive
Little Big Town
Rascal Flatts

Top Vocal Duo

Big & Rich
Brooks & Dunn
Halfway to Hazard
Montgomery Gentry
Sugarland

Top New Male Vocalist

Luke Bryan
Jack Ingram
Jake Owen

Top New Female Vocalist

Sarah Buxton
Kellie Pickler
Taylor Swift

Top New Duo or Vocal Group

Carolina Rain
Lady Antebellum
The Wreckers

Album of the Year

Brad Paisley, “5th Gear”
Miranda Lambert, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend”
Kenny Chesney, “Just Who I Am: Poets & Pirates”
Rodney Atkins, “If You’re Going Through Hell”
Taylor Swift, “Taylor Swift”

Single Record of the Year

Kenny Chesney, “Don’t Blink”
Miranda Lambert, “Famous in a Small Town”
Big & Rich, “Lost in This Moment”
Sugarland, “Stay”
Gary Allan, “Watching Airplanes”

Song of the Year

Kenny Chesney, ‘Don’t Blink”
Big & Rich, “Lost in This Moment”
Sugarland, “Stay”
Emerson Drive, “Moments”
Rodney Atkins, “Watching You”

Video of the Year

Kenny Chesney, “Don’t Blink”
Big & Rich, “Lost in This Moment”
Brad Paisley, “Online”
Sugarland, “Stay”
Rodney Atkins, “Watching You”

Vocal Event of the Year

Reba McEntire’s “Because of You” with Kelly Clarkson
Tracy Lawrence, Tim McGraw and Kenny Chesney, “Find Out Who Your Friends Are”
Kenny Chesney and George Strait, “Shiftwork”
Bon Jovi “Till We Ain’t Strangers Anymore”
Vince Gill, Sheryl Crow, “What You Give Away”

Photos of Carrie Underwood, Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert from Getty Images

Tinker Bell  from Walt Disney

Comments

[Michele]

I was so disappointed in the ACM Awards tonight. The sound was so very horrible. I would think with a huge event like this, the sound would be perfect! It really made the performers sound, well, really not that good. I hardly recognized the songs they sang!! I am not a 'music' person and most techinal things get by me, but this was so obvious, not only did I comment on it, but so did my husband and our 12 year! On a positive note (I suppose one could look at it this way) the artists can view this as, 'at least they all sounded...not so good' and it wasn't the artist themselves?!?! Better Luck Next Year IF it is held at the same place!!!

[Wes]

Actually Paisley DID sing the 'copped a feel" line on the first verse, but changed the second verse to the same line Hank Jr. had used during their duet of the song on the CMT awards.

Was it a mini-homage to Hank Jr.?

[eve]

Taylor Swift sounded decent under the waterfall and didn't get electrocuted because she was lip-synching at the end. lol. The rest of the performers sounded pretty bad - some by song choice - Toby's "She's a Hottie" and Sugarland's new atrocity, but others, you couldn't hear like "Kellie Pickler." Not a good night for country music.

[Jamie L.]

I beleive Taylor Swift won best new femal not Kellie Pickler? You have it both ways in the above.

[Todd Martens]

Yep, Jamie, you're correct. Had it right in the text and wrong in the list. Fixed now. Sorry about that.

[AllisonKraussFan]

Carrie Underwood was outstanding-- especially on the duet with Brad Paisely. She also nailed the opening number- Last Name- it was HOT! I loved Kenny, Keith, Brad and Rascal Flats' performances- but what in the WORLD was Taylor Swift thinking with that shower a/k/a wet tshirt contest??? Talk about inappropriate. Maybe it was to hide her bad vocals.....if so-- it didn't work.

[Cindy]

Regarding your statement that Chesney has nabbed the entertainer award for a few years running at the CMAs -- Don't forget that Keith Urban won the CMA Entertainer Award in 2005 and, personally, after reading all the phenomenal reviews of his tour this year, I'm amazed he didn't get it this year.

[Maureen McCole]

Agree that this year's ACM Awards stunk.
I watched it only to see my favorite, King George.
Taylor's performance was awful.

[Mark Hill]

The bad sound come from the big venue it distorts the sound.

[Jen]

Only Miranda and Keith Urban had performances that were enjoyable. The rest were either boring or off-key. I do not like the fan voting and I give Kenny a lot of credit for coming out and saying exactly what he thought of the silly fan voting.

[Jen]

Only Miranda and Keith Urban had performances that were enjoyable. The rest were either boring or off-key. I do not like the fan voting and I give Kenny a lot of credit for coming out and saying exactly what he thought of the silly fan voting.

[Cyn]

Taylor was lip syncing the whole song, all you have to do is go back and rewatch the video. What a thing to do at the ACM's.

[Cyn]

Taylor was lip syncing the whole song, all you have to do is go back and rewatch the video. What a thing to do at the ACM's.

[Wes]

Brad Paisley's "I'm Still A Guy" was just 'horrific' enough to make it to the top of the Country charts faster than any of his ten previous #1 hits!

[meg]

jen and cyn...taylor was not lip syncing the whole performance...you can see the mic switch she only lip synced under the waterfall, there was no other way to do a performance with water pouring on her, any electrical device would not work under water....personally i think it was the best performance of the night! nothing about it was innapropriate like many were saying...she wasnt taking a damn shower under the rain it was a 'storm' scene displaying the darkness of the feelings the character in the song was feeling!

[Kelly]

Evidently, alot folks don't agree with your comments on Taylor Swift's vidio....it sure plays on CMT and GAC alot...I realize she was off at first, but the video was fresh (yes, even Garth like) as opposed to standing around in yourr boots singing.barely moving..trying to cover up the fact that you can't dance...

[johnny]

Taylor wasnt lipsynching the whole video, only the very end when she went under the water. I think it was a decent preformance!