Taylor Swift, Award Shows | featured news

Luke Bryan pulled off a shocking win on Sunday night when he beat out heavyweights Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert and Taylor Swift to win the Academy of Country Music Award's biggest prize of the evening: entertainer of the year. The winner is chosen by fan votes.

As he gears up for a slew of summer tour dates, John Mayer will hit Las Vegas on Sunday for the Academy of Country Music Awards. The newly-single musician will join Brad Paisley on stage during the ceremony, which will also feature collaborations from Hunter Hayes and Stevie Wonder, Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban, as well as George Strait and Garth Brooks – among a laundry list of additional performers.

Who's the fairest of them all? That would be Taylor Swift and Miranda Lambert! Winning the Entertainer of the Year Award last night at the Academy of Country Music Awards, Taylor looked downright thrilled. Country crooner Miranda made her mark as well ...

Just think, it was only 12 months ago that Taylor Swift became the nation's most supported underdog; Kanye West became, well, not; Katy Perry was first publicly propositioned by her now-fiancé (and last year's VMA host) Russell Brand; and Chelsea Handler was making waves by pissing off celebrities…in the funniest way possible.

The head of Taylor Swift's record label is fired up and ready to defend his superstar from people who are criticizing her Grammy-night performance. "She is the voice of this generation. She speaks directly to (her fans), and they speak directly back to her," said Big Machine Records CEO Scott Borchetta in a phone interview. "This is not `American Idol.' This is not a competition of getting up and seeing who can sing the highest note. This is about a true artist and writer and communicator. It's not about that technically perfect performance."

A popular and eye-popping mix of stars like Beyonce, Taylor Swift and Lady Gaga drew a TV audience of 25.8 million Americans to the Grammy Awards -- the biggest TV audience for the telecast in six years, according to preliminary television ratings on Monday.

Beyonce, the Black Eyed Peas and Taylor Swift are to perform at the 52nd Annual Grammys early next year.

Taylor Swift's haul of eight nods was only second to Beyonce, who got 10.

The 19-year-old sensation has the record sales. She beat out every living artist — no matter the genre — this year with more than 3 million copies of her "Fearless" CD sold and counting.