Country cutie Taylor Swift arrived wearing a rust-coloured dress and cut a very sleek figure after taming her curly mane for the night, but although she wowed on the red carpet she was a dud when it came to winning.
Despite being up for three awards Swift failed to take home a single gong at the 2010 CMT Music Awards in Nashville, Tennessee – being pipped to the post by Carrie Underwood, the winner of the night who scored two awards.
Swift was up for Female Video of the Year, Collaborative Video of the Year (with Kellie Pickler), and Video of the Year, but it was Underwood who scooped up the coveted Video of the Year award, along with the CMT Performance of the Year award.
Sleek and straight: Taylor Swift debuted her new ‘do at last night’s CMT Awards in Nashville, Tennessee
Nicole Kidman played the supportive wife as she joined her husband Keith Urban, who performed as well as took home an award for Male Video of the Year.
Nicole,42, who was dressed in a gold confection, skipped the red carpet but there was no shortage of stars willing to flaunt their frocks.
Leading the noms: The singer was up for a host of awards, including Female Video of the Year, but walked away empty handed
Heroes actress Hayden Panettiere wore a green silk and lace dress, looking flirty with her short cropped pixie cut..
LeAnn Rimes and Sheryl Crow were also among the guests arriving at the Bridgestone Arena ahead of the country music ceremony.
Elfin crop: Short haired Hayden Panettiere was among the non-country music celebrities presenting at the ceremony
Carrie Underwood looked positively beautiful in her stunning pink gown and Julianne Hough dared to bear in a short yellow mini.
The red carpet theme for the night was definitely exposed flesh – and the more the better!
Vision in pink: Carrie Underwood was the night’s big winner taking home two awards
Daring in yellow: Julianne Hough wowed in a short yellow dress, showcasing her perfect legs
Kid Rock, who hosted the show, kicked off the festivities with an explosive medley of his hits, including ‘Bawitdaba’ and ‘Cowboy’, setting the pace for the evening.
Guido Glamour: Nicole ‘Snooki Polizzi and Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino brought their own unique style to the awards show
Rock proved to be a genial host who definitely pushed the boundaries, appearing drunk towards the end of the show and wandering on stage smoking a cigar – what else would be expected from country music’s bad boy?
Blue beauty: LeAnn Rimes rocked her dress on the red carpet, showing off her tanned and toned body to perfection
Dazzling disaster: Miranda Lambert appeared to have stolen the tiles from a mirror ball for her frightful frock
The night was packed with performances, with Swift, Underwood, Tim McGraw, LeAnn Rimes and Brad Paisley all taking to the stage.
Keith Urban and John MayerΒ also performed Hit the Ground Runnin’, a track from Urban’s Defying Gravity album, the twosome seemed to have a lot of fun performing together and really bought out the best in each other during their guitar solos.
Fun and Flirty: Sheryl Crow and Kellie Pickler kept with the short dress trend of the night on the red carpet
Faith Hill, Kellie Pickler, and Trisha Yearwood were among those presenting awards.
An array of non-country celebrities as well were handing out gongs, including Panettiere, American Idol judge Kara Dioguardi and actress Jada Pinkett-Smith.
Jersey Shore stars Nicole ‘Snooki’ Polizzi and Mike ‘The Situation’ Sorrentino also managed to get hold of an invite.
Wowing the crowds: Kid Rock and Tim McGraw both gave rousing performances
Ever the joker, early in the evening Rock made reference to Swift’s now infamous plight at the MTV Music awards before introducing Swift and Faith Hill onto the stage: ‘Just be forewarned,’ he told the audience, ‘If there’s any, like, Kanye West-ism going on, I’m about to bring out two beautiful ladies.
‘Anyone thinking of grabbing the mic, myself or Bochephus will personally punch you in the mouth. Maybe I can get Trace Adkins – and then your weekend is really messed up.’
Girls aloud: Melissa Lambert and Carrie Underwood belted out their hits for the star studded crowd
As well as a huge celebrity turn out and amazing musical performances there was plenty of light relief during the show.
Saturday Night Live’s Kenan Thompson turned up on stage in a red wig and green dress, proclaiming: ‘I’m Reba!’ Referencing a SNL skit featuring the comedian and fellow cast member Andy Samberg.
The real Reba, dressed in an identical, albeit smaller, dress joined Thompson on stage.
Double the talent: John Mayer and Keith Urban paired up for a rendition of Urban’s Hit the Ground Runnin’
Supportive wife: Nicole Kidman, sitting next to Faith Hill, cheers on her husband Keith Urban as he performs at the CMT awards
Highlights of the show included Miranda Lambert performing her number one hit, White Liar and Tim McGraw singing Southern Voice.
Big red balloons bounced through the audience as Brad Paisley took to the stage to sing American Saturday Night
Happy in love: Nicole and Keith share a joke backstage
LeAnn Rimes did an amazing, raunchy, fully choreographed performance of her version of John Anderson’s Swingin’ with the great man himself on guitar.
Carrie Underwood had them dancing in the aisles when she performed her hit song Undo it.
