It wasn't as big night for Idol alums at the 2009 CMA Awards as it should have been.
Carrie Underwood co-hosted the show with Brad Paisley and therefore received the most stage time of any other woman at the Sommet Center in Nashville, but you never would have guessed based on the huge night 19-year-old pop/country superstar Taylor Swift had. Swift not only beat out Carrie in the "Music Video of the Year" and "Female Vocalist of the Year" categories, she nabbed the ultra-coveted "Entertainer of the Year" award among a crowded field of veteran competitors.
Carrie briefly grabbed attention away from Swift's buzz when she took to the stage to put on a scorching performance of "Cowboy Casanova." Watch the exhibition below:
Amid an array of outfit changes, Carrie was able to dish out plenty of laughs with jokes through song about figures like Brooks & Dunn, Kanye West and even epidemics like swine flu. In the funniest moment of the night, 88-year-old Jimmy Jones "interrupted" Carrie and Paisley while they were introducing an act, which of course was a mock of the Kanye-Taylor Swift episode that happened earlier this year at MTV's VMA Awards.
Also taking to the stage was Daughtry, who did a duet of "Tennessee Line" with Vince Gill. Watch the performance below:
Kellie Pickler turned up a few times, once introducing an act and a second time in the audience where she was sitting next to a little boy.
Additionally, Idol alums and fellow up-and-coming country artists Danny Gokey and Diana DeGarmo made appearances at the celebration. Photos of them arriving on the red carpet are up on WireImage.
As for my predictions, I was wrong on both accounts, as Carrie went home empty-handed for the first time at the CMA Awards, as she and Randy Travis lost out to Paisley and Keith Urban for "Musical Event of the Year." And although Carrie was not attached to it, her single "I Told You So" lost out in the "Song of the Year" category. Hopefully next year is kinder to her.
