Chesney named CMA entertainer of the year

Paisley breathes a sigh of relief
Brad Paisley, who was shut out last year despite six nomination, won album of the year for “Time Well Wasted.”

Before Monday’s show, he and Dolly Parton also won musical event of the year for their spiritual song “When I Get Where I’m Going.” It was Parton’s first CMA award since 1996.

“I thank her so much for raising the bar on this song,” Paisley said of the music icon, who was not there to accept. “Any time Dolly Parton sings on a song it becomes instantly better in every way.”

The show returned to Nashville after one year in New York City. Brooks & Dunn and Paisley led all nominees with six.

Other multiple nominees included Chesney and Underwood with four each, and Rascal Flatts and Parton with three apiece.

All three of Parton’s nods were for her vocals on Paisley’s “When I Get Where I’m Going.” The song was one of three spiritually themed tunes up for awards, the others being Brooks & Dunn’s “Believe” and Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel.”

The evening’s performers included Underwood, Gretchen Wilson, Paisley, Chesney and Martina McBride. Miranda Lambert performed her rocking “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” then smashed her guitar at the end of the performance.

Much offstage talk centered on two high-profile nominees: Sara Evans and Urban.

Evans dropped out of the reality TV show “Dancing with the Stars” and filed for a divorce a few weeks ago. She and her husband traded charges of infidelity and the estrangement made tabloid headlines.

Evans, 35, was nominated for female vocalist of the year and sang her hit, “Real Fine Place to Start.”

This year’s show also was notable for superstar George Strait’s induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Strait, 54, broke onto the charts in 1981 with “Unwound” and is still having hits. He performed his latest No. 1 single, “Give It Away.”

“Who would have thought it?” Strait said in accepting the honor. He got a big cheer when he thanked his fans and remarked, “Don’t think I don’t realize why I’m here.”

The nominees and winners are determined by the 6,000 members of the CMA.

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