CBS/AP/ April 18, 2010, 6:16 PM

Carrie Underwood Wins Entertainer of the Year

Updated 11:45 p.m. EST

Carrie Underwood made history at the Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday night, becoming the first woman to win entertainer of the year twice.

Underwood won the show's top honor last year. This year, she beat out Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, the Zac Brown Band, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, George Strait and Keith Urban.

"I think I just got makeup all over Brad Paisley," an excited Underwood said as she went onstage to accept her trophy. "Thank you, God, praise the Lord."

Photos: ACM Awards Red Carpet 2010
Photos: Scenes from the ACM Awards
Photos: ACM Winners' Circle 2010

Underwood also was recognized earlier in the evening with special trophy for "triple crown" of ACM wins - entertainer of the year, top female vocalist and top newcomer - in the course of her career.

Top-selling trio Lady Antebellum was the dominant winner though, grabbing five trophies. And the trio's good friend, Miranda Lambert, won three awards.

Lady A, the top-selling trio that includes Hillary Scott, Charles Kelley and Dave Haywood, was the lead nominee, entering the show with seven. They snapped Rascal Flatts' seven-year run as best vocal group and won song and single record of the year for the crossover hit "Need You Now" (they got two trophies for their single record of the year win because they also produced the record, and also got two trophies for their song of the year win
because they composed it).

"It's just wild, man," Kelley said. "You never know where a song can take you, and tonight is probably the pinnacle of our career."

Adding to the emotion of the night for the group was wins by good friends Lambert and Luke Bryan. The trio broke into cheers backstage when Lambert won top female vocalist. A stunned Lambert hugged Underwood as she made her way to the stage, then read off the names of the other nominees - Underwood, Swift, Reba McEntire and Lee Ann Womack.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said.

She also won album of the year for "Revolution," an award Lady A openly lobbied for her to win, and video of the year for "White Liar."

Lady A also could help celebrate the win of one of the night's other winners, Luke Bryan, who nabbed top new artist. Lady A's Kelley and Haywood helped their good buddy write his hit, "Do I."

"Everything about tonight was honestly just so fun," Kelley said. "If we could've gone down the list and scripted it..."

Lambert also won top female vocalist, snapping Carrie Underwood's three-year run in that category.

Paisley, after a performance of his single "Water" where he fell backward into a pool of water on stage, won top male vocalist of the year for the fourth consecutive time.

And Brooks & Dunn, who are retiring after a summer tour, won best vocal duo for the 10th time in their two-decade long career.

"We are currently in therapy with Brett Favre trying to figure out how to waffle on this," Kix Brooks joked after the win.

The show was heavy on performances. It kicked off with Underwood and Lambert, joined on stage later by Paisley, Charlie Daniels and John Fogerty, who ripped through a rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Travelin' Band."

"That's how you start a television show, son!" shouted Daniels, who recently recovered from a stroke.

Swift, who won album of the year last year, was shut out this year, despite being nominated for five awards; it might have been the first awards show since her pop superstardom where she didn't take home a trophy. But she had a big performance: She began her rendition of "Change" while soaring over the crowd on a platform. She ripped off her white dress and reveal a black outfit underneath, made her way through the crowd and joined the Tritones, a college a capella group on stage for a spirited chorus. She then fell backward into a crowd of fans.

The Zac Brown Band - one of eight nominees for entertainer of the year - wasn't able to make a show because of a USO tour in the Middle East. But the band sent video of a performance of "Chicken Fried" from overseas that included altered lyrics aimed at the military.

Toby Keith hit an emotional note with a performance of "Cryin' For Me (Wayman's Song)," dedicated to his late friend, jazz artist and former basketball star Wayman Tisdale, who died last May.

The show also had its share of non-country celebrities, including LL Cool J, Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn and Las Vegas staple Cher, who goofed when she announced that Blake Shelton had already won a CMA Award - instead of an ACM - the previous evening.
© 2010 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
12 Comments Add a Comment
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CRZYSTLL2DAY says:
CARRIE UNDERWOOD IS SOOO OVERRATED..SHE IS RIGHT THERE IN THE SAME CATEGORY AS LADY ANTEBLLUM AND TAYLOR SWIFT...ALL THEIR SONGS GO #1,NO MATTER HOW IT SOUNDS...THEY COULD HUM KUM BA YA AND IT WOULD GO #1...THEIR ARE OTHERS OUT THERE WHO DESERVE AS MUCH RECOGNITION,IF NOT MORE,BUT THEY DONT GET IT!!!....AS FOR AMERICAN IDOL...CARRIE ISNT EVEN THE 2ND BEST IDOL...KELLY CLARKSON AND DAUGHTRY ARE BOTH BETTER!!!!!!
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edgy44 says:
Amazing! I've never heard a song of hers on the radio. Sort of like Spears. You hear a lot about them, but they don't get any airtime.
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rb3docwriter says:
Wasn't Keith Urban suppose to perform at the 2010 ACM Awards show. I remember seeing and hearing the announcer say something about Keith Urban performing in 4 minutes. Then they went to commercials and when they got back to the show Taylor Swift started performing. What happened to Keith Urban's performance?
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tsigili says:
Normally, I don't pay much attention to celebrities, or entertainment, as there is entirely too much "worship" bestowed on such people, but I will admit that I am not disappointed to hear that Carrie won this.

Just hope she continues to keep her soles somewhere near the ground, and realize that it can all disappear, just as quickly as it came.
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td1138 says:
Carrie Underwood is truly an American Idol, both in accolade and in action. I'm not a full-time county music fan, but I love watching Ms. Underwood perform and love listening to her sing. She'd be a super star in any genre.

(I also have the same problem as Cher - I can't keep straight which is ACM and which is CMA.)
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Dr Newel says:
At best the t.v. show American Idol is a karaoke contest. Sure after 10 years one singer might emerge. There are something like over 100,000 singer/ songwriters in Memphis, and out of those, one shows up to an audition for American idol, yet she was an not a pro at the time of her audition. So there are still the same 100,000 singer/ songwriters in Memphis all still trying to be Elvis. Does any one ever play a musical instrument on American Idol - no. Does any one perform original songs on American Idol - no. It is not American Bandstand, American Idol is something else, from the creation of an English foreign national who does not have the best interests of America in mind, or the best interests of music in mind, or singing or anything at all. American Idol was created by a nobody in music, and lets face it is nothing but a punk karaoke show. Has the creator of American Idol won any awards in music, before the creation of the show - why is he an expert in karaoke, or music?
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mari1963 says:
Is there no one else who can host this thing besides Reba McIntire. The woman is such a phony, she makes me gag! Why won't she act her age? She and Mariah Carey need to face reality - they're not 25 anymore! And can someone PLEASE find a big girl dress for Gretchen Wilson to wear for special occasions. I have never seen that woman in anything except torn blue jeans. Does she wear them to church too? She needs a stylist badly !!!!
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CRZYSTLL2DAY replies:
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YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY NOT A COUNTRY FAN..I'D RATHER SEE GRETCHEN IN HER BLUE JEANS THAN CARRIE IN HER "LOOK AT ME,I'M A DIVA" DRESSES...REBA IS THE BEST HOST IN THE HISTORY OF THE SHOW AND AS FOR CARRIE AND THE ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR AWARD..THATS AS BIG A JOKE AS TAYLOR SWIFT WINNING IT THE YEAR B4..CMA'S AND THE ACM'S NEVER RESPECT KENNY CHESNEY OR TOBY KEITH...COUNTRY IS STILL MY FAV MUSIC,BUT IT HAS GONE DOWN HILL LATELY!!!
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JustYourAverageReader says:
*** banned82times, "Yes, but what did Tiger eat for lunch today? Is Brittany feeling sexy or depressed and wanting to take Quaaludes? Is Lindsay feeling good about herself, or about to go off the deep end again?"

LOL! We need a national movement to permanently export Britney and Lindsay to Zimbabwe.
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larrryshrine replies:
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Banned, how in the world did you get on this forum? I'm used to disagreeing with you on everything on the political boards:) Be well.
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John_Merritt says:
How cool is that? I am not a 'American Idol', but must admit I watched the year she was on and knew the first time I saw her, she was something very special. I watched that entire year her performances and was blown away by the girl who grew into a woman in one full year.

Haven't watched it since, but I still enjoy Carrie's atrributes, attitude and style. Good luck in her career, marriage and congratulations Carrie, 2010 is yours for the making.
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CRZYSTLL2DAY replies:
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OK SO WHAT..SHE WON AMERICAN IDOL...SO DID KELLY CLARKSON(THE MORE TALENTED OF THE TWO)...WINNING ISNT ALWAYS THAT IMPORTANT..ASK DAUGHTRY!!!..CARRIE IS GOOD,BUT SHE GETS MORE ACCOLADES THAN SHE DESERVES..SHE IN NO WAY DESERVED ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR..BEATING OUT KENNY CHESNEY,WHAT A JOKE...HECK,THE GIRL ISN'T EVEN COUNTRY...EVER SEEN HER IN BLUE JEANS AND A T-SHIRT?..NO U HAVENT...SHE IS ONE OF THE MOST OVERRATED SINGERS EVER...AND DONT EVEN GET ME STARTED ON TAYLOR...I SWEAR THEY BETTER NOT RIP OFF MIRANDA LAMBERT THIS YEAR FOR CARRIE OR TAYLOR!!!!...AND GO JASON ALDEAN,HE DESERVES MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR!!!
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