CMA Awards Winners 2014: Miranda Lambert Dominates
While last year’s Entertainer of the Year trophy went to 22-time CMA Award winner and bona fide country music icon George Strait, this year’s recipient was a first-time winner. Luke Bryan —who, until tonight, had never landed a CMA Award — brought home the Entertainer title, thanks to the impact made by last year’s multi-platinum Crash My Party and this year’s near-nonstop That’s My Kind of Night Tour.
“We’re gonna have a good time tonight,” said Bryan at the conclusion of his acceptance speech. The Entertainer of the Year award was presented to Bryan by four-time winner Garth Brooks, who was returning to the ceremony stage for the first time since 2005. “Thank you so much for pioneering things,” said Bryan, gesturing to Brooks, at one point asking the “Thunder Rolls” singer for a hug.
The night’s biggest winner in numbers, however, was Miranda Lambert. While she lost the Entertainer race to Bryan, Lambert did win Album of the Year for her LP Platinum, Single of the Year for “Automatic” (which was presented by Steven Tyler, who opined, “I think country is the new rock & roll”) and Female Vocalist of the Year. “I don’t even know what to say,” said Lambert upon receiving the Female Vocalist honor for the fifth year in a row. “I just can’t believe that I’m standing here.”
Indeed, there were very few upsets at the 48th annual CMA Awards ceremony. Lambert’s husband Blake Shelton snagged Male Vocalist of the Year, also for the fifth year in a row. “I really thought Luke [Bryan] was gonna win this thing this year,” Shelton said before dedicating the win to his hero, Earl Thomas Conley, who has never received a CMA Award. Afterward in the press room, Shelton remarked, “What the hell, this is beyond a dream come true. I could not be a happier human being with the way this night has gone…. I told my wife when we were walking off the stage, ‘Man, you only won four CMAs tonight, I’m really sorry.’ It’s maybe the biggest night of our lives as far as the music industry goes.”
CMA Awards Winners 2014: Miranda Lambert Dominates, Page 1 of 4