Live Blog: Billy Ray Cyrus

And we're off!  The 2009 ACM Awards has begun and there she is, the Queen of country music... our girl Reba.  Well they just flew right over Reba and went right to B & D.  They're pullin' out all the stops here at the head of the show...  Taylor Swift.  Now we got Sugarland performing... there ain't gonna be anybody left by the end of the show.  I think Jennifer Nettles is wearing the vest that went with Taylor Swift's outfit... they are both wearing shards of glass.  Carrie Underwood is either wearing the biggest diamond choker I've ever seen or she was in a car accident right before the show and they've put her in a neck brace.   Now we got Rascal Flatts... they are bringing out all the super stars at the start of the show.  This show should be a cozy 30  minutes, I guess they'll fill the rest of the show with CSI reruns.  Just saw Matthew McConaughey in the audience wearing dark sunglasses, I'm sure it has nothing to do with his eyes being red.. wink, wink.

There she is and I  must say Reba looks like a Million dollars.  Dress number 1, tasteful black with fringe... since I know nothing about fashion, judge for yourselves friends.  Reba bringing out the one liners early.  Sorry but I already beat you to the punch on the pot joke.   There's Brad Paisley and his good luck charm, Little Jimmy Dickens.  They're either out on the road together or that's the worst looking green room I've ever seen.

Shecky McEntire is finished her set and now Kenny Chesney has finished the stage.  How out of character that he would have a screen with beach scenes.   Ah here's that country icon... Jennifer Love Hewitt.  She's here to present the Song of the year and who better to present it than the star of the Ghost Whisperer.  And the winner is Jamey Johnson!  The look on George Strait was how did Grizzly Adams beat me? 

 While we break, check out these words from new country group Gloriana:

To the bloggers out there, CountryFan... What would you like me to be wearing?  And to Julie -- there's enough crowns to go around.

 We're back and Reba's still in the same outfit.  Has the economic downturn his the ACM's as well?  Whoa!  Heidi Newfield doing Johnny and June in the middle of a ring of fire... nice touch.  Don't try this at home... although I know you're going to.  It just hit me how much Heidi looks like Nicolette Sheridan.  This way you can watch the show and not feel like you're missing Desperate Housewives.  Oh wait, Jen told me Nicolette's character got killed off the show last week... maybe there's not really her up there.

Darius Rucker presenting the award for Vocal Group of the Year.  Since the show's in Vegas, I'm betting on a sure thing... Rascal Flatts.  I Win! 

And for all your live bloggers out there.  We have a special sweepstakes tonight launching off the live blog.  How would you like to win the celebrity gift basket they give away at the ACM Awards?  We'll now's your chance... enter now here: http://www.cmt.com/interact/sweepstakes/acm-gift-basket

What's in the bag? Click on the link above and you'll get a description of some of the fabulous items inside!  Trust me, it's good -- I want to keep it myself!  P.s.. Carrie Underwood gets it and picks out what she wants and then gives the rest to her stylist... you'll love it.

Ah yes, another country icon, Marissa Miller... Who you ask?  Exactly...

Here's Toby Keith and he brought a horn section.  I heard 'em play two notes and that was it. Sweet gig for them... I wonder if they get that cool gift basket?

Reba STILL in the same outfit... we're in a depression.  America is in a depression.

Now Jamey Johnson is singing and the pictures in black and white... we can't even afford TV anymore!  The bread lines and government cheese are soon to follow!  And Jamey Johnson is ready for it, he's obviously quit buying shaving cream and razor blades.  Oh now we're to color... all is not lost after all!  Now it's black and white again... how many people have actually gotten up and hit the side of their TV thinking there's something wrong with the picture?  Oh and the color is back! Just kidding we knew what they were doing with this song, "In Color." Just making sure you were listening.

We're in Nashville and we are actually under a tornado warning right now... so if we go away for a few minutes... we may have taken shelter in our designated safety area... the restrooms.  If the awards are on right now, why don't you tell us what's happening because we are watching a line of thunderstorm come through with a weather bulletin.

Jamie Foxx has taken the stage... now here's an actor with a legitimate reason to be here, he sang on the Rascal Flatts record on the song, "She Goes All the Way."  Plus, he played Ray Charles and got a Oscar for it.  He's at home on any stage.

Here's the real deal friends... George Strait.  Enjoy...

And while King George is on stage it's a perfect time to ask your opinion on who's going to take home Entertainer of the Year award.  George is nominated along with Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood. 

Here's Jack Ingram and Jason Aldean to present Top New Artist.  See who Chuck Wicks thinks should win!

And Chuck was right!  Looks like he'll get some kisses and not from Zac Brown or Jake Owen!  Julianne is genuinely excited.  I interviewed her a couple of weeks ago and she has got it together.  Smart, funny and classy.  I predict she will go far.  She's gone quite a ways already.

While we are breaking we want to remind everyone to check back on CMT.com after Reba's performance tonight to exclusively stream her new song "Strange."

And she finally changed... there's hope for America!

The country icons keep coming... David Copperfield.  How about making yourself disappear Dave.  I'd make some sarcastic comment here but I think this speaks for itself.

Is it just me or did Taylor look embarrassed by that whole magic trick thing? Any embarrassment Taylor might have felt by the David Copperfield bit was erased by this performance.  This was her best performance on an award show by a long shot. 

Here's Lady A performing "I Run to You."  They usually bring it on the award show... lets see how they do this time.   Good job kids.

While we're breaking check out Jack Ingram talking with host Reba McEntire about her upcoming performance tonight on the ACM Awards.

We're back with Womack! Lee Ann sound great and gets extra points for singing in 15 inch hills.  She could get into Cirque De Soleil with balance like that.

And the country icons keep coming Kaley Cuoco from the Big Bang Theory.  She's presenting the ACM Top Vocal Duo and what a surprise... Sugarland.  I think we call saw that one coming. 

Here's our girl Kellie Pickler.  With a new hairstyle and a form fitting dress and on behalf of all red-blooded American men, I'd like to say thank you Kellie.  Here's dirty sexy Keith Urban.  Keith's singing about wanting to kiss a girl... what's wrong with the one you got Keith? How 'bout leaving some for the rest of us.  Between you and Katy Perry I'm out in the cold... like I had a chance anyway.

Thanks again to all the fans who are posting their comments and saying the things we'd like to say but can't!  Thanks and keep 'em comin' folks.

Here's Miranda Lambert... You know boyfriend Blake Shelton was suppose to be here blogging with us but she wanted him to go to Vegas with her... guess who won.  Now you're stuck with us.  Blame it on Miranda.

LeAnn Rimes receiving the Humanitarian Award... lets listen to this speech.  Could be interesting...

Here's John Rich... take a listen.

To Cindy who just asked if I'd heard anything about Tim McGraw being replaced by Blake Shelton on the show... I did indeed hear there was a "tiff" with the producer but don't know much more than that.  I'm sure CMT.com is on the case and you'll be able to read the whole story there soon.

Great comments everyone.  Keep em' coming.  We feel ya.

Here's Billy Ray Cyrus, I wonder who he's going to introduce...

Billy Ray Cyrus "Plug-O-Matic"

Here's Miley Cyrus.  According to Billy Ray, I think she has a movie and a record coming out this week.  Did you hear anything about that?  They stole the set piece from the Price Is Right... where's Drew Carey? It's the Mountain Climber.

It's Montgomery Gentry... and as always, they sound just like themselves.

And break time... Shane's off to steal some chips and chocolate!  And a reminder to everyone here... don't forget to enter the Live Blog Celebrity Gift Basket Sweepstakes! http://www.cmt.com/interact/sweepstakes/acm-gift-basket

We just learned from the CMT Radio Live twitter that Miranda Lambert had never performed the song she sang tonight before and she just wrote it.  http://twitter.com/CMT_Radio_Live

Carrie Underwood standing on top of an avalanche of fabric.  Wonder who's hiding under there?  Maybe Randy Travis is going to pop out from under the dress and do a duet with her.

Martina is presenting the Top Male Vocalist... she's not singing? What a crime! Ah... the only guy who's not there wins, Brad Paisley... I told you Tater was his good luck charm.

You wanted her... you got it, here's Reba singing.  Log on to CMT.com at 12/11c or anytime this week to hear Reba's new single, "Strange."  Exclusively at CMT.com!

Here's Dierks with the award for Top Female Vocalist.  This is a tough call here... but I'm betting on Carrie Underwood.  I win again!  Ding, Ding, Ding!  I'm glad she was able to find her way out of that other dress.

Well done Trace.

Okay... only a couple of awards left.  Any more bets on who will win EOTY?

Finally!  Another costume change for Reba.  This may be the last one, I think she'll take it home in this gown.  

Jennifer Nettles is looking right at me right now, I know it... I just know it.  You're trying to seduce me right now aren't you Mrs. Nettles?

To Kim -- The storm passed us by some folks in East Tennessee and Southern Kentucky are being told to keep watch.  Good luck to all of them and thanks for your concern Kim, we are A-Okay!

Here's another "surprise" award. 

Uh Oh!  Malfunction junction!  Here's Single of the Year... Trace Adkins! Always good to see the big guy win.

Hey everyone -- be sure to check out all of CMT.com's award coverage to see photos, winners and more! http://www.cmt.com/acm-awards/

Here's Blake Shelton unplugged.  Well, he is plugged in but he is acoustic.  This seperates the men from the voice.  Your voice and a couple guitars.

Get ready for Album of the Year... This is another tough one but I'm picking Carrie.  Can I go three for three... we'll see.  Boy was I wrong on that one...

Here comes Rascal Flatts with "Here Comes Goodbye."  Like how I tied that together?  That's why they pay me the big bucks... actually I get paid nothing for this and they are getting their moneys worth don't you think?

Finally it looks like the big one is coming after the break... Entertainer of the Year. I'm betting on the only female in the bunch... Carrie Underwood and from the looks of the fan pool, it looks like they are going for her as well. http://www.cmt.com/acm-awards/voting.jhtml.  Stay tuned...

Here's Matthew McConaughey to present Entertainer of the Year.  He seems surprisingly coherent.  Here we go... EOTY!  And Bing, Bing, Bing!  The fans were right!  Kenny just tried to kiss her and she pulled away. That wasn't so awkward was it, yes it was.  Rejected! 

 Well that's it friends!  Another ACM Awards has come and gone.  Congratulations to Carrie and all the winners.  Great job Reba.  And that will about do it for me and Jen.  Don't forget to check back and hear Reba's new single, "Strange," exclusively at CMT.com! So again, remember in the word of Robert Earl Keen.. "the road goes on forever, and the party never ends..." See ya next time, until then.. adios!

7:06 -- What an opening! The question is... Who wasn't included in that? Keith Urban just took the stage and something tells me a surprise is coming your way. Wait for it...

7:08 -- Told ya! Brooks and Dunn just joined Keith on stage. Hopefully they'll be joining us backstage. Jen, Brian and I are in the luxurious green room of the 2008 CMT Music Awards. We're in the brain center. Master control. The belly of the beast, if you will. And as the stars come back to graze on the fabulous buffet, we will grab them and force them to send out messages to you the fans. I haven't seen too many bodyguards yet that can take me. We're risking life and limb but it's only because we love you.

7:14 -- Laurel and Hardy, Abbott and Costello, Martin and Lewis and now Cyrus and Cyrus.

7:16-- Rascal Flatts just won Group Video of the Year for "Take Me There". However, with wives as hot as theirs how excited can they be?

7:18 -- On the subject of hot wives, I haven't seen one male artist tonight who didn't have one.

7:19 -- Here's a little behind-the-scenes info. The food in the green room is unbelievable or at least that's what I was told by about ten members of the Tennessee Titans who came in and immediately cleaned the whole thing out. Training camp starts soon so they need to stock up. I'm enjoying a piece of moldy beef jerky and drinking water out of a muddy boot print. Who says show business isn't glamorous.

7:23 -- Where the hell is Tom Arnold? He told me he'd come back to blog. I'd hate to resort to violence but...

7:25-- Just ran into Bucky Covington after his impressive performance. He was with his manager, Ron Harris, who is a former professional wrestler. Remember what I said earlier about not believing there was anyone here who could take me? Check that... I found one. Now I just need to introduce him to Tom Arnold.

7:28-- LeAnn Rimes and a bunch of hot dancers in prison uniforms? I'm going to need some private time. Back soon...

7:30-- Kenny Chesney just entered the green room with a large entourage. I'm going to try to break through and talk to him. If they beat me senseless, call Ron Harris.

7:39-- Sorry bout that, we were away for a moment. I blame it on Satan and his minions. But since idle fingers are the Devils playground... lets start typing. Kellie Pickler just won USA Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year. She said she wished she was here... I couldn't agree more. Once again, my dirty old man colors are showing.

7:43 -- Just ran into Keith and Nicole in the hall. If there are two better looking people on the planet, then I don't want to see them. I think I would go blind. I ask Keith if he would like to say something to the fans, he said 'Later if I can' so I'll take him at his word. If not, he'll be getting a visit from Ron Harris. By the way, Nicole's baby bump is right there!

7:49-- Oh there's Tom Arnold! On stage with Jewel. If he knows what's good for him, he'll be back in the green room pronto! Sugarland just took the stage... I smell another surprise coming!

7:53-- Sugarland, Little Big Town, and Jake Owen! Nuff' Said.

7:58 -- Paula Abdul just took the stage...and she made it up there, all on her own, not one slip, well maybe one... followed by a stumble. Holy crap! She's actually sort of making sense. No wait! I was wrong. I think somebody pressed the crazy button. Thank God we're going to a performance.

8:01 -- Tim and Faith... what a duo. Speaking of duo's Ron Harris' twin brother Don just joined him. Don is also a former professional wrestler. Tom Arnold is in trouble!

8:02-- Bobby Brown is just ten feet away, eating shrimp and grits and watching Faith and Tim. As soon as they are finished singing and he's finished eating, I will descend upon him for a quick interview.

8:04-- Actor Tim Daly just took the stage. For those of you who don't know him, he starred on Wings for 7 years. I don't see how you could not know who he is since they reran that show twelve hours a day on another network.

8:05-- Tom Arnold is here!!!! And here ya go... "I made Tim Daly take off his glasses because he looked too much like me. Can you believe he has a son that is 37 years old? That's hard to believe about Tim Daly. I was nervous up there... Out there with Jewel. Her boyfriend wasn't mad though. He has a hammer grip. Is Jesco White here? Anyway, I've never seen so many stars... this is unbelievable. The Sugarland song made me cry. Tim McGraw's the luckiest bastard in the world. I came to fan week and went to the softball game for City of Hope..and pregnant Faith hugged me. Life wasn't going to get much better than this. Faith... hugging hot, sweaty Tom Arnold. But that Tim is actually a great actor. Tim McGraw...Well Tim Daly's a good actor too...but, I tell you what. I've gained 30 lbs that since I got here yesterday. Since I got to Nashville I've had 3 meals of fried gravy. And...I can't wait until Snoop Dog gets back here...definitely don't need a smoke machine, I tell you what. And finally... they did a brilliant montage for the opening sequence. I think they're under new management here or something."

8:16 -- Snoop Dog introducing Alan Jackson... Have we entered a parallel universe? Or did I enter a contact high? Oh -- there's Blake and Miranda. Another homely couple. God bless them.

8:18 -- Paula Abdul just walked by. She's hot. She says she's going to come back and blog with us. If she doesn't, disregard that hot comment.

8:20-- LeAnn Rimes just won for Collaborative Video of the Year. I think Reba and Kelly were a little bit disappointed. Don't worry, she'll get over it. She's won more trophies than LeAnn Rimes is old. I'm sure she can go home and caress them and she'll be just fine.

8:23-- Holy mother of monkey dookie! I have never seen as many good-looking women in one place, at one time. And I don't have a chance with any of them.

8:29-- Snoop Dog and his entourage just walked by. I found two guys who could take Ron and Don Harris now. I waved to him, he flashed the peace sign... and that is probably all the interaction I will be having with Mr. Dog this evening. I can't say that I blame him. I just found out, I had some spinach stuck in my teeth. The bad news is... the last time I ate spinach was March 14th.

8:31-- Jen departs for a potty break.

8:35-- Julianne Hough, Josh Turner and Sara Evans. It's like looking at a country version of Three's Company. Come and knock on our barn door!

8:39-- We have just found the lovely Diana DeGarmo and she has a message for all her lovely fans. "Howdy ya'll? I'm very excited to be here and hopefully sometime in the near future I will have a video up for nomination. And look out for the Gone Countrycast in a few minutes we will in introducing somebody big! And p.s...I'm the biggest Rodney Carrington fan ever!"

8:42-- Brad Paisley and Bochephus! That was the surprise we wrote about earlier. Bet you didn't see that one coming did ya!? Something tells me you did.

8:43-- Just got word LeAnn Rimes is coming to talk to us. Hope they aren't lying.

8:46-- And here she is... "Thank you so much for voting for myself and Jon for Collaborative Video of the Year. I'm so excited and it was so unexpected. I hope you all are having so much fun watching. I'm headed out this weekend to kick off my tour with Kenny Chesney and I hope I see everyone out on the road."

8: 50-- We are being graced with loveliness...Paula Abdul. "I was really honored and excited to be asked to introduce Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. While up there, I was able to mix in my overwhelming "mom-like" attitude for all the alumni of American Idol. And...at least there was no Simon. Before I announced Tim and Faith I was able to tell America that we literally found these kids by lifting up rocks and finding these gems that we actually thought to be our bright and shiny diamonds in the rough...I was getting very corny. So the band started playing so I turned to them and said 'okay...I get it.' So I then said 'It takes a tremendous amount of Faith...and the only person who gets that is Tim. And the audience went crazy. It was just fun. I got to see a lot of people from the past and I totally understand why people come here. People in Nashville are so nice and for me it's a disease but here, it's an epidemic. It's great to be apart of a huge show that has passed onto the country music world all this talent. From Josh Gracin to Bucky Covington to Kellie Pickler, Phil Stacey, and of course I call her...Miss. Carrie. And I'm so proud of all of them and I'm ecstatic to have been here tonight."

8:59 -- The hot new group Lady Antebellum is here. Let her rip kids... "Hey Cyberspacers. Lady A here. Just want to say that this years CMT Awards rocked. This is kind of like our CD pre-release party because our debut album comes out tomorrow!!!! What did you all think of our quick performance after Miley? We were nervous and what an act to follow. Snoop Dog just walked by and I got to meet Sisqo...I love that thong song(says Hillary). Don't forget to sign up to play us in Rockband on CMT.com. (An upcoming contest...) We're gonna kick your butt! Ya'll enjoy the rest of the show and we hope to meet you on the road soon."

9:00 -- I'm a lucky man, Julianne Hough has joined us. "I'm so excited to be here at the CMT Awards. I never thought that I would be in the same building with my biggest Idols... especially Faith Hill who has inspired me from the beginning. I got to meet her tonight! To my fans who have followed my career from Dancing to Singing, I wouldn't be here without you. Look foward to seeing you on the road with Brad Paisley this summer. I owe all my successes to you."

9:06 -- We have the man, the big winner tonight Trace Adkins. Let her rip brother... "Thank you fans for voting for me, the people I was up against in this category are huge stars and I can't believe I won this thing."

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