Taylor Swift Takes Home Top Prize at the "2011 CMT Music Awards"

Blake Shelton Wins Two Buckles for Male and Best Web Video of the Year

NASHVILLE – June 8, 2011 – Taylor Swift took top honors at the 2011 CMT MUSIC AWARDS for VIDEO OF THE YEAR (“Mine”), accepting her award live via satellite from her concert in Milwaukee. Blake Shelton won two buckles, a first-time category win for MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR (“Who Are You When I’m Not Looking”), and BEST WEB VIDEO OF THE YEAR (“Kiss My Country Ass”), a new category for 2011. His better half, Miranda Lambert scored her second CMT MUSIC AWARD for FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR (“The House That Built Me”), while Jimmy Buffett and Zac Brown Band took home the award for CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR (“Margaritaville”) from their pairing on CMT CROSSROADS.


Taylor Swift


Multi-platinum group Lady Antebellum won GROUP VIDEO OF THE YEAR (“Hello World”) for the second straight year; Justin Bieber and Rascal Flatts won COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR (“That Should Be Me”); and The Band Perry claimed the USA WEEKEND BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR (“If I Die Young”). Sugarland took home their fourth buckle for DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR (“Stuck Like Glue”) and director Trey Fanjoy won for VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR for the videos she directed over the past year (award eligible videos include: Miranda Lambert’s “The House That Built Me” and Blake Shelton’s “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking”).

The evening kicked off with an elaborate pre-taped segment starring Taylor Swift and Shania Twain as the iconic partners in crime, “Thelma and Louise.” The parody also featured “Glee’s” Chord Overstreet, Donald Trump, Ron White, Kenny Rogers and host Kid Rock. Wynonna Judd made a surprise appearance at the top of the show with Kid Rock before Toby Keith and the Incognito Banditos debuted the world premiere of the new song, “Made in America.”

The party rolled on with two first-time performers on the CMT MUSIC AWARDS stage: The Band Perry, who performed their current hit “You Lie,” and Luke Bryan, who was surrounded by dancers for a pyro-filled performance of “Country Girl (Shake It For Me).” Eight-time CMT MUSIC AWARDS winners Rascal Flatts were joined onstage by Out For Souls, a Nashville based community choir, for an inspiring rendition of their hit, “I Won’t Let Go.” Big and Rich, whose CMT performance was the duo’s first televised performance in over three years, was joined by surprise guest Gretchen Wilson for their new song “Fake ID,” which is featured in the upcoming film, “Footloose.” Host Kid Rock and Sheryl Crow sang and danced to their newest song, “Collide”; and Zac Brown Band channeled Jimmy Buffett with their perfect summer song, “Knee Deep.”

Sugarland’s emotional performance of “Stand Up,” featured the Gilbert family from Joplin, MO, who lost their home in the recent tornadoes and served as a call to action to encourage viewers to give to the American Red Cross (www.redcross.org) in support of continued disaster relief. Keith Urban rocked his single, “Long Hot Summer,” while Lady Antebellum performed their newest hit, “Just a Kiss” and then segued into the Prince classic, “Kiss.” Jason Aldean was then joined onstage by special guest Ludacris, who performed Jason’s hit, “Dirt Road Anthem,” which included lyrics especially written for this performance, and which will also be available for download on iTunes at midnight. Finally, Aldean added a bonus track, closing the show with the ultimate country party song, “My Kinda Party.”

Joining Kid Rock onstage were presenters Shania Twain, Justin Bieber, “American Idol” winner Scotty McCreery and runner-up Lauren Alaina, Pittsburgh Steelers receiver and “Dancing With The Stars” winner Hines Ward, Sara Evans, Train, Kristin Chenoweth, stars of the CMT original movie “To The Mat” Laura Bell Bundy and Ricky Schroder, Green Bay Packers’ Clay Matthews, actresses Melissa Peterman, Mary Steenburgen and Cheryl Hines, Gary Busey of “Celebrity Apprentice” and Indianapolis 500 winner Dan Wheldon.

For the fourth year in a row, the CMT MUSIC AWARDS featured a second concert stage sponsored by Nationwide Insurance that included such up-and-coming artists as Lee Brice, Colt Ford, Hunter Hayes, The JaneDear Girls, Thompson Square and CMT’S NEXT SUPERSTAR Finalists Matt Mason and Steven Clawson.

CMT.com simulcast the live 2011 CMT MUSIC AWARDS online, and interacted with fans throughout the telecast with live Twitter (@FollowCMT) and Facebook updates from the red carpet and backstage. CMT.com also served as an online hub for all fan interaction surrounding the show with live streams of the red carpet, backstage press room and more. Exclusive content can be found on CMT.com and CMT Mobile, and CMT will later bow the awards on its digital all-music channel, CMT Pure Country, and the HD network, Palladia.

The 2011 CMT MUSIC AWARDS will re-air on the following days/times: Thursday, June 9 at 9:30 a.m., 3:00 p.m., and 9:00 p.m.; Saturday, June 11 at 9:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m.; Sunday, June 12 at 2:00 p.m.; Wednesday, June 15 at 8:00 p.m.; Friday, June 24 at 11:00 p.m.; and Sunday, June 26 at 6:30 p.m. All times Eastern.

The evening’s winners are as follows:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video of the year; awarded to the artist (male, female, group/duo or collaboration) and the video director. Final nominees announced during live telecast, with final voting held online at CMT.com during the show.
• Taylor Swift – “Mine”

MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a male artist; awarded to the artist
• Blake Shelton – “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking”

FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a female artist; awarded to the artist
• Miranda Lambert – “The House That Built Me”

GROUP VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a group; awarded to the artists
• Lady Antebellum – “Hello World”

DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a duo; awarded to the artists
• Sugarland – “Stuck Like Glue”

USA WEEKEND BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video from an artist's major breakthrough album; awarded to the artist (male, female, or group/duo)
• The Band Perry – “If I Die Young”

COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video that featured a special collaborative appearance by artists; awarded to the artists (individual, group or duo)
• Justin Bieber feat. Rascal Flatts – “That Should Be Me”

CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Musical performance on a television show, series or variety special on CMT; awarded to the artist (individual, group or duo)
• Zac Brown Band and Jimmy Buffett – “Margaritaville” from CMT CROSSROADS: JIMMY BUFFETT AND ZAC BROWN BAND

BEST WEB VIDEO OF THE YEAR (New for 2011)
Best video created primarily for internet streaming; awarded to the artist (individual, group or duo)
• Blake Shelton – “Kiss My Country Ass”

VIDEO DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR
Best video director of the year; awarded to the director for his or her body of work from the past year
• Trey Fanjoy (award eligible videos include: Miranda Lambert’s “The House That Built Me” and Blake Shelton’s “Who Are You When I’m Not Looking”)

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CMT, a unit of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and entertainment, reaching more than 92 million homes in the U.S. CMT and its website, CMT.com, offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and is the top resource for country music on demand. The network’s digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Pure Country, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.

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PRESS CONTACT:

Cindy McLean 615-335-8404 cindy.mclean@cmt.com