Sugarland, Zac Brown Band early CMT winners

"I try to live in the No Spin Zone all the time," Judd told O'Reilly.

Musical performances were a big part of the show. Brad Paisley punctuated his hit "Then" with bluesy guitar solos. Swift brought out a stage full of cheerleaders for "You Belong With Me." Keith Urban ran up into the stands during "Sweet Thing" and also joined Jason Aldean for the thumping rocker "She's Country."

The topper, though, may have been Sugarland bringing out fellow Georgia greats the B-52's for a performance of "Love Shack."

Sugarland led all the nominees for the fan-voted awards with five, followed by Paisley and Swift with four each.

Viewers cast more than 2.5 million votes to decide the four finalists in most categories.

The video of the year competition was done a little differently. Fans could vote for their favorites throughout the show.