Paisley, Lambert are big winners at CMA Awards

NASHVILLE - It took five years, but Brad Paisley is finally the CMA's entertainer of the year.

Paisley won the coveted trophy at the awards show Wednesday night. He had been nominated every year for the award since 2005 but had always come away empty-handed.

Wednesday night, a tearful Paisley compared himself to a turtle on a fence post.

Paisley won in a category that featured two of the night's big winners. Miranda Lambert won three trophies, while Lady Antebellum won two. Keith Urban and the Zac Brown Band were also up for the award.

Paisley also served as the host of the evening's ceremony with Carrie Underwood.

Blake Shelton won the Country Music Association's male vocalist of the year, ensuring a sea change in a genre that's been dominated by very familiar faces.

"Ooooh, shake it up, CMA," Sugarland's Jennifer Nettles said as she watched Shelton hug fiancee Lambert on his way to the stage.

Country's "it" couple this year after their spring engagement, Lambert and Shelton both won multiple awards. Lambert was named female vocalist of the year, won album of the year for Revolution, and video of the year for "The House That Built Me," which also scored song of the year for songwriters Tom Douglas and Allan Shamblin.

Shelton won music event of the year for the chart-topping song "Hillbilly Bone" with Trace Adkins before ending Paisley's string of three straight male-vocalist awards.

"After the night that Blake and Miranda are having, I think we can expect a baby in about nine months," Paisley joked.

Shelton, who has long felt like an outsider in Nashville, gave Lambert a bear hug, then stomped on each step as he walked up to the stage. Reba McEntire, wife of Shelton's manager, Narvel Blackstock, openly cried as Shelton made his way to the stage.

"It's about 34 years' worth of steps right there for me, y'all," Shelton said. "This is a really big deal for me."

Hailed by critics and musicians as the best album of the year, Revolution completed a sweep of major country music awards on Lambert's 27th birthday.

"Revolution truly has caused a revolution in my life this year," Lambert said.

She has been front and center in Nashville since appearing on Nashville Star in 2003, finishing third, and her previous albums, Kerosene and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, were well-received. But Revolution, released in September 2009, took her to a different level.

She landed her first No. 1 songs, "White Liar" and "The House That Built Me," took three trophies at the Academy of Country Music Awards in April, including album of the year, and recently reached one million in sales.

Critics loved the album, but so did her fellow musicians. That led to a record for the most nominations for a woman in the 44-year history of the CMAs and the second most overall.

Lady Antebellum had nothing to be blue about, riding their hit "Need You Now" to wins for single of the year and vocal group. The hit song about late-night hookups helped Lady A sell three million albums so far this year.

The Zac Brown Band won new artist of the year, and Sugarland took vocal duo of the year.

In the battle for entertainer of the year, Paisley was nominated with Lambert, former winner Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, and Zac Brown Band, which was the first act nominated for both entertainer of the year and new artist since Ricky Skaggs in 1982.