Taylor Swift makes for memorable CMT Music Awards

Live performances from our favorite country music performers, priceless. Seeing our favorites win awards for the best country music videos of the year, priceless.

Watching the opening skit about dreams with Taylor Swift and host actor/comedian Bill Engvall for the 2009 CMT Music Awards on Tuesday night in Nashville – hilarious.

Swift really brought this year’s awards show to a whole new water-cooler level. Her Star Trek skit (especially when she vaporized Engvall and asked Spock about MySpace and Twitter) was fantastic. As if that couldn’t be topped, her rapping video skit with rap star T-Pain called “Thug Story” was an awesome play on her “Love Story” song and Swift really played the part. Swift is the “It Girl” of country music right now, but at the same time comes across so sweet and modest, and always seems grateful for her fans.

Besides bringing comic relief to the show, Swift also won two awards ¬— video of the year for “Love Story,” which also won female video of the year.

But that’s not all. Swift performed “You Belong With Me” with a whole slew of cheerleaders on stage (similar to her video for the song) and closed the show with Def Leppard in a collaboration of the band’s mega hit from the ‘80s, “Pour Some Sugar on Me.” She worked with Def Leppard recently on a CMT “Crossroads” special.

In her acceptance speech for female video of the year, she thanked CMT.

“I want to thank CMT for letting me live so many of my dreams this year. I got to sing with my heroes. Def Leppard. I love you guys so much.”

Swift also gave credit to singers who came before her – including Shania Twain and Garth Brooks.

"I want to thank Shania Twain for always making such theatrical videos, and Garth Brooks for always putting the fans first. I take my cues from you," Swift said when she accepted the video of the year award. "I thank the fans for giving me video of the year when my whole family is here watching."

Trey Fanjoy, who directed Swift's award-winning "Love Story" video, was named video director of the year.

Also having a big night at the 2009 CMT Music Awards was Brad Paisley, who won best male video for “Waitin’ on a Woman,” which featured the appearance of veteran actor Andy Griffith. During his acceptance speech, Paisley expressed how proud he was to work on “Waitin’ in a Woman” with director Jim Shead and Griffith.

“Jim and I agree that this was the perfect man to pass wisdom,” Paisley said. “He has passed wisdom his whole life to us….”

Paisley also shared the collaborative video award with Keith Urban for “Start a Band.”

Both Paisley and Urban joked on stage to young guys everywhere. Urban told guys to “learn guitar, kids. Get the real thing.”

Paisley added, “Rock Band never got anybody a date. Never.”


For the CMT performance of the year award, Paisley was honored along with Dierks Bentley, Alan Jackson and George Strait for their “Country Boy” performance during the TV special “CMT Giants: Alan Jackson.”

Jackson accepted the award with Paisley and Bentley.

Paisley also performed his current hit, "Then" during the show.

Sugarland’s “All I Want to Do” won a CMT award for duo video of the year. Sugarland also performed the B-52’s “Love Shack” during the show — surprising the audience by having the B-52’s join them on stage to finish the song.

Rascal Flatts won the group video award for “Every Day,” and performed “Summer Nights” from their latest album.

Kid Rock won the Wide Open Country video award for “All Summer Long,” while The Zac Brown Band took home the USA Weekend breakthrough artist of the year award for their first big hit, “Chicken Fried.”

Urban performed current hit “Sweet Thing” and joined Jasons Aldean on “She’s Country.” Other performances included Kellie Pickler (“Best Days of Your Life”), Toby Keith (“God Love Her”), Bentley (“Sideways”), Trace Adkins (“You’re Gonna Miss This”) and Darius Rucker (“Alright”).

Here is the complete list of 2009 CMT Music Awards winners:

• Duo Video of the Year: Sugarland, “All I Want to Do”
• Group Video of the Year: Rascal Flatts, “Everybody”
• CMT Performance of the Year: Alan Jackson featuring Dierks Bentley, Brad Paisley and George Strait, “Country Boy” from CMT Giants: Alan Jackson
• Collaborative Video of the Year: Brad Paisley with Keith Urban, “Start a Band”
Male Video of the Year: Brad Paisley, “Waitin' on a Woman”
• Video of the Year: Taylor Swift, “Love Story”
• Female Video of the Year: Taylor Swift, “Love Story”
• USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year: Zac Brown Band, “Chicken Fried”
• Wide Open Country Video of the Year: Kid Rock, “All Summer Long”
• Video Director of the Year: Trey Fanjoy for Taylor Swift’s video “Love Story”