American Country Awards 2012: Luke Bryan scores big in Las Vegas
Updated 10:13 p.m. ET
Luke Bryan dominated the fan-voted American Country Awards Monday night, taking home nine honors, including artist of the year, male artist of the year and album of the year for "Tailgates and Tanlines."
During his acceptance speech, Bryan gave a nod to his fans, adding, "I want to thank my wife. I love you baby. This is crazy, wow." He went on to thank his record label, management and road crew before getting cut off due to time constraints.
The evening's other big winners included Miranda Lambert, Carrie Underwood and Lady Antebellum.
Kristin Chenoweth and Trace Adkins returned as hosts for the second consecutive year. They kicked the night off poking fun at their respective sizes in a taped sketch. The towering Adkins then hit the stage carrying his pint-sized co-host. During their opening, they called out Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott, who recently announced her pregnancy and also referenced Taylor Swift's massive hit, "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together." Later on in the evening, Chenoweth dressed up as reality child star "Honey Boo Boo" and also donned a Christmas-themed outfit.
The evening's first award, group of the year, went to Lady Antebellum. The trio, which also won single of the year for a group, announced it would have new music for fans in the early part of 2013.
Lauren Alaina scored the favorite new artist honor, taking home a guitar trophy. When she took the stage, Alaina appeared overwhelmed, saying, "I can't breathe." She thanked her fans and "American Idol" for the support.
Jake Owen, meanwhile, scored the breakthrough artist of the year honor. "I really appreciate this, fans," he said, later adding, "I just had the most beautiful baby girl two weeks ago. Just when you don't think things can get better, it just keeps rolling along."
The female artist of the year recognition went to Underwood, who set a record by winning her 11th ACA, the most in the show's three-year history. "I know that I'm one of the most luckiest people, just blessed people," she said onstage.
While accepting the female single of the year for "Over You," Lambert gave a shout-out to her husband, Blake Shelton, who was in the midst of a live episode of "The Voice." Lambert said she hoped he had set his TiVo for the ACAs and noted she couldn't wait to see what happened on "The Voice."
The special, which aired live on Fox from The Mandalay Bay & Casino, featured a slew of performances, including Dierks Bentley, Rascal Flatts, Kip Moore, Little Big Town and Lady Antebellum. Adkins teamed up with Lynyrd Skynyrd for a performance of "What's Your Name."
The two-hour event also featured appearances by Eli Young Band, Lindsey Buckingham of Fleetwood Mac, Carmen Electra, Florida Georgia Line, Gloriana, Love and Theft, Penn & Teller, Natasha Bedingfield, Scotty McCreery, LeAnn Rimes, Lee Brice, Jana Kramer, Dustin Lynch, Ron White and Chris Young, among other stars.
Going into the night, Lady Antebellum and Zac Brown Band followed Bryan's lead with six nominations each, and Taylor Swift and Eric Church had five nods apiece.