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November 13, 2009

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Swift quickly becomes country music entertainer of the year

ALL four of the guys who lost to Taylor Swift for entertainer of the year at the Country Music Association Awards made a tactical error: They asked the crossover sensation to open for them in their concerts.

Swift quickly shed her opener status and shook up the music world with an incredible year that included the best-selling album, a concert tour that sold out almost immediately and, now, a historic night at the CMAs in Nashville, Tennessee, that included becoming the youngest winner of the association's highest honor.

"Yeah, next year we're not going to take any opening acts out," joked Brad Paisley, one of the male artists Swift beat to the gong.

The CMA's more than 5,000 members - often cited as a conservative bunch - seemed as taken with Swift as the rest of the music world has been. She won all four awards for which she was nominated, snapping Kenny Chesney's streak of four entertainer wins in the last five years and Carrie Underwood's three-year run as top female vocalist.

"She has taken the music world by storm," Paisley said. "She's the biggest artist in music right now, by far. It's hands down."

Association members didn't stop with Swift, making interesting choices in most of the 12 categories. Darius Rucker became the second black performer to win a major individual award when he took new artist, joining Charley Pride, who took entertainer of the year in 1971 and male vocalist in 1971-72.

"I just thought I was a guy making a country record until my first song went top 20 and people started talking about it," said Rucker, whose "Learning to Live" sold 1 million copies this year.

"I'm proud of that, I'm proud of being that guy who has taken up where Charley Pride left off."

Swift called her band on stage to collect the award. "I'll never forget this moment because in this moment everything that I have ever wanted has just happened to me," Swift said through tears.


 

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