Updated 8:49 p.m. ET
Country music’s biggest stars are stepping out Wednesday for the 47th annual Country Music Association Awards.
Kicking off the awards, broadcast live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., was good luck for Florida Georgia Line: After joining Luke Bryan for the show’s opening number, they won the night’s first award, single of the year for their hit “Cruise.”
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CMA Awards 2013 red carpet
Bryan and the duo of Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard merged current hits “That’s My Kind of Night” and “Cruise” on Wednesday night as Taylor Swift and a cheering crowd sang along. Later, they’d return to the stage again to accept the award for vocal duo of the year.
After their performance, hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley took the stage with their opening skit, which joked about feuds in music. They got Bryan and Zac Brown to hug it out after their mild feud over song trends in Nashville. They skewered Obamacare, poked fun at Julianne Hough’s misguided blackface Halloween costume and parodied “Blurred Lines” with the guys from Duck Dynasty.
And, of course, they took a moment to poke fun at Miley Cyrus. Paisley thanked Swift “for never once humping a teddy bear or gyrating with Beetlejuice.” Swift responded with an imaginary tip of the cap.
Underwood added, “If someone in music was gonna be caught naked licking a hammer, I think we know we all thought it’d be Blake Shelton.”
The award for song of the year went to Lee Brice’s “I Drive Your Truck.” Other performances early in the ceremony came from Jason Aldean, Kacey Musgraves, Lady Antebellum and The Band Perry.
Swift already has two trophies after her “Highway Don’t Care” collaboration with Tim McGraw and Keith Urban won musical event and music video of the year.
The CMAs come at a time of transition in country music. There’s bro country and pop country, traditional country, acoustic country and, arriving just now, metal country.
Swift and newcomer Musgraves lead with six nominations each, while Miranda Lambert has five.
Swift is nominated for her third entertainer of the year award, the night’s top honor, and her nominations also include album of the year and female vocalist. And though it won’t show on her official tally for the night, the 23-year-old pop star will be presented with the CMA’s Pinnacle Award. The award goes to artists who take country music to a worldwide audience. Garth Brooks is the only previous winner; he won in 2005.
Like Swift, Lambert has been a darling of the 6,000 CMA voters with seven trophies since 2010.
With smart songwriting, a progressive bent and a strong sense of self like country’s other top women, Musgraves made an auspicious mainstream country debut this year with her album “Same Trailer Different Park.” She’s up for album, female vocalist, new artist and single of the year. And she scored two song of the year nominations for co-writing Lambert’s hit “Mama’s Broken Heart” and her own “Merry Go ‘Round.”
Lambert, who will be going for her fourth straight female vocalist win, is up for single of the year and shares three nominations with her Pistol Annies trio.
There’s no safe money on the winners this year. But at some point voters will begin acknowledging the so-called bro country movement — typified by hunky dudes often wearing ball caps and tight pants. Platinum-tinged rising acts like Bryan and Florida Georgia Line rule the radio with coolers full of cold ones and good vibes.
Meanwhile, veteran George Strait is going for his third entertainer of the year award as he retires from the road, and Bob Dylan is the co-writer on song-of-the-year nominee “Wagon Wheel” with Ketch Secor of Old Crow Medicine Show.
Voters could easily make an argument for any of the five entertainer of the year nominees. Strait is the sentimental choice. Swift’s popularity has helped expand the boundaries and fan base of country music. Shelton is a five-time nominee who only seems to get more popular. Jason Aldean is about due for the award as a major architect of country’s modernization and a touring titan. And Bryan is arguably country’s hottest star after winning the rival Academy of Country Music’s entertainer trophy in April and putting out 2013′s best-selling album in the genre.
All of the entertainer of the year nominees will perform with Strait, joining Alan Jackson to salute the late George Jones. The Zac Brown Band will be joined by Foo Fighter Dave Grohl, Hunter Hayes has invited Jason Mraz to perform during the three-hour show and most of country’s biggest stars will take the stage.
The CMA also will pay tribute to Kenny Rogers.