Several Oklahomans Win Big At Academy Of Country Music Awards

Staff and Wire Reports

LAS VEGAS -- Newcomers and young guns set the stage smoking at the 45th annual Academy of Country Music Awards.

Lady Antebellum kicked off the night right winning Song of the Year and Single Record of the Year for crossover hit "Need You Now. The group grabbed five total trophies, snapping Rascal Flatts' seven-year run as Best Vocal Group.

Oklahoma native Toby Keith made a touching tribute to former University of Oklahoma basketball player and jazz musician Wayman Tisdale, who died last May. Keith performed "Cryin' For Me (Wayman's Song)."

If you go to iTunes and download Keith's performance from the ACMs, 100 percent of your donation will go to support Stand Up To Cancer.

Oklahoma's Ronnie Dunn and partner Kix Brooks said goodbye to the ACM stage singing fan picked song "My Maria." The duo took home the honor of Duo of the Year for the tenth time in their two-decade long career.

"We are currently in therapy with Brett Favre trying to figure out how to waffle on this," Kix Brooks joked after the win.

The two have decided to part ways after their farewell tour. That tour is coming to the BOK Center in Tulsa in May. Get tickets. The BOK Center is also up for an ACM award for Venue of the Year, but that award won't be handed out until later this year.

Carrie Underwood made ACM history. She won Entertainer of the Year, making her the first woman to win twice. Underwood won the show's top honor last year. This year, she beat out Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney, the Zac Brown Band, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, George Strait and Keith Urban.

4/16/2010  Related Story: Carrie Underwood Coming To BOK Center

Miranda Lambert had three trophies on the night. She beat Lady A's self-titled debut for album of the year with "Revolution." It was the second time she won the honor; her "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" won album of the year in 2007. Lambert didn't get to say much when she won album of the year. She started to address the crowd, then stopped short to make sure producer Frank Liddell got a moment in the spotlight. But as soon as he started to issue thank yous, he was cut off and the camera panned away, eliciting boos from the crowd.

After a commercial break, she came back on stage to perform her latest single, "The House That Built Me," and got another chance to speak when she won top female vocalist, beating out the likes of Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. The tearful Lambert was in disbelief at her win.

Miranda Lambert is from Texas, but moved to Oklahoma when she started dating another homegrown star, Blake Shelton.

See the full list of winners.

Her song "White Liar" won Video of the Year at an early ceremony Saturday night. Lambert's boyfriend Blake Shelton is also an early winner. He won the award for Vocal Event of the Year for the song "Hillbilly Bone" with Trace Adkins.

The show, held at the MGM Grand, was heavy on performances. It kicked off with Carrie Underwood and Lambert, joined on stage later by Brad Paisley, Charlie Daniels and John Fogerty, who ripped through a rendition of Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Travelin' Band."

"That's how you start a television show, son!" shouted Daniels, who recently recovered from a stroke.

Swift began her performance of "Change" while soaring over the crowd on a platform. She ripped off her white dress and reveal a black outfit underneath, made her way through the crowd and joined the Tritones, a college co-ed a capella group on stage for a spirited chorus. She then fell backward into a crowd of fans.

The Zac Brown Band wasn't able to make a show because of a USO tour in the Middle East. But the band sent video of a performance of "Chicken Fried" from overseas that included altered lyrics aimed at the military.

The show also had it's share of non-country celebrities, including LL Cool J, Olympic gold medalist Lindsey Vonn and Las Vegas staple Cher, who goofed when she announced that Blake Shelton had already won a CMA Award -- instead of an ACM -- the previous evening.