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Taylor Swift's CMA Entertainer Win Has Stars Divided

Source: TheBoot.com

Posted: 11/16/09 10:50AM

Filed Under: Music

Taylor Swift's fellow country artists continue to weigh in on the 19-year-old's Entertainer of the Year win at Wednesday night's CMA Awards.

Wynonna got the ball rolling even before the show aired, by telling USA Today she felt it was "too much too soon" to give Taylor the award. She later posted a message on her website which read in part: "Taylor is a beautiful, hard working young woman that deserves the success she has had and I support her as an artist and as a woman in the business."

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Country's Hottest Young Stars

Taylor Swift

Age: 19
Why she's hot: At 16, this country cutie charmed audiences everywhere with a self-titled debut album for which she co-wrote every track. Now, Swift is country royalty. Her latest studio album, *Fearless*, was released on Nov. 11, 2008 and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Album Chart. Its sales were the highest debut of all country artists that year. This year, Swift won "Video of the Year" at the CMT Music Awards. Not to mention, handled the infamous MTV Video Music Awards Kanye jab with a poise and maturity beyond her years.

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Christian Charisius, Reuters

Countrys Hottest Young Stars

Carrie Underwood

Age: 26
Why she's hot: This small-town Oklahoma beauty rose to fame after winning 2005's American Idol and has since become a multi-platinum selling artist, four-time Grammy award winner and the first country artist in history to achieve 10 No.1 singles from her first two records. Just last month, Underwood was inducted to the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. Her third album, Play On, is slated for release on Nov. 3, 2009. She'll host the CMA Awards alongside Brad Paisley for the second time. Plus, she's dating Canadian hockey hunk Mike Fisher of the Ottawa Senators.

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Gloriana

Ages: (from left) Cheyenne Kimball, 19; Rachel Reinhert,19; Tom Gossin, 27; Mike Gossin, 24
Why they're hot: This fine-looking foursome, who met and joined forces in Nashville, are the newest artists our list. Once they started working together, Gloriana took off on a period of intensive songwriting and live performances. Their debut, self-titled album has been enormously successful, with its first single "Wild At Heart" becoming the highest-selling country music single of 2009. The album's sophomore track, "How Far Do You Wanna Go?" was released last month. The vocal group has been touring with Taylor Swift on her Fearless tour (2009).

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Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton

Ages: 25 and 33
Why they're hot: Forget Faith and Tim, Miranda and Blake are country's freshest twosome. Miranda remains one of country music's toughest (and sexiest) females, making firearms seem like a perfectly feminine accessory. Her third studio album, Revolution, was released last month and is packed with as much punch as her previous two. Blake Shelton's album, Startin' Fires (2008), includes "Bare Skin Rug", a duet with Lambert. The sweethearts met at CMT's 100 Greatest Duets Concert and together lead country's next generation of stars.

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Miley Cyrus

Age: 16
Why she's hot: She's the daughter of country singer Billy Ray Cyrus, but made a name for herself as 'Hannah Montana,' the lead in Disney's hit kid's series of the same name. Her second studio album, Breakout, landed the No. 1 spot on the Billboard 200 chart within the first week of sales. Though she's been panged by controversy-for her topless Vanity Fair cover and for dating older guys-her career is stronger than ever. The Time of Our Lives, released in August, was a critical success. She's currently filming The Last Song, based on a novel by Nicholas Sparks, in which she plays a teenage rebel girl who spends a quiet summer with her estranged father.

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Josh Turner

Age: 31
Why he's hot: With tender ballads like "Your Man" and "Would You Go With Me," Turner has won his way into the hearts of women everywhere. His last three studio albums have been certified gold or higher and nine of his singles have made it on the Billboard country charts. He's the second youngest member of the Grand Ole Opry after Carrie Underwood.
Fact: Turner graduated from Nashville's Belmont University in 2001 with a degree in vocal performance.

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Lady Antebellum

Ages: Dave Haywood, twenties; Hilary Scott, 23; Charles Kelley, 27
Why they're hot: Comprised of singers Hilary Scott and Charles Kelley; and multi-instrumentalist Dave Haywood, this Grammy-nominated musical threesome has been dominating country charts since their inception. Formed in Nashville, Lady Antebellum released their first single "Love Don't Live Here" in 2007; and their debut self-titled album in 2008. They've been awarded Top New Group by the Academy of Country Music and New Artist of the Year by the Country Music Association.
Fact: Charles Kelley is the brother of musician Josh Kelley, who is married to Katherine Heigl of Grey's Anatomy.

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Jake Owen

Age: 28 (RCA, Grammy nominated)
Why he's hot: Owen, with his bright smile and tousled mop, makes the girls yell "Y-E-E-H-A-W!" just like he did on his debut single of the same name. His sophomore release, Easy Does It (2009), has produced two hit singles: "Don't Think I Can't Love You" and "Eight Second Ride." He's toured for several country acts, including Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley and Little Big Town. Oh, and he's single.

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Chris Young

Age: 24
Why he's hot: Young's claim to fame was winning season four of Nashville Star-but he was making music years before that, with an already hefty fan-base. His deep, baritone voice in hits like "You're Gonna Love Me" has become his trademark. The Man I Want to Be, Young's most recent album, was released Sept. 1, 2009 and includes "Gettin' You Home (The Black Dress Song)," which has reached No. 1 on the country charts.

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Kellie Pickler

Age: 23
Why she's hot: This southern belle first tasted fame as part of American Idol's fifth season. Though she finished sixth, the former Miss North Carolina contestant has become a country music icon. Her first album debuted at No. 1 on the country charts. Her self-titled second album, released in 2008, has spawned hit singles like "Don't You Know You're Beautiful" and "Best Days of Your Life," which she co-wrote with good friend Taylor Swift. Also a PETA activist, Pickler was named "World's Sexiest Vegetarian" in May 2009.

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Another multiple CMA Award winner, Randy Travis, expressed mixed feelings about Taylor's win, telling PEOPLE magazine, "As a writer, she is a phenomenal talent. When you look at the body of work that she has written at the age when she came into this business, it's remarkable. It really is. But do I think that Entertainer of the Year might have been a little early? In my opinion, yes, for whatever that's worth."

However, for the most part, Taylor's peers were elated with her CMA Entertainer win. As she worked the room at Tim McGraw's 'Blind Side' movie premiere party on Thursday, she was met by a multitude of hugs and "congratulations" from some of the biggest names in Nashville.

"I think she worked her tail off the last couple [of years] and she deserves to win," Faith Hill told PEOPLE at the premiere.

Faith's husband Tim added, "I've been doing this a long time and she's got a better head on her shoulders than I do, so I don't know how anybody could complain about that."

For the record, Taylor, who was just 14 when she signed her first publishing deal, told reporters backstage at the awards show, "I feel like it's been fast but it's also been a growth curve. I've watched the CMA Awards for as long as I can remember, and I got to come to my first one when I was 15. I know what it means to win a CMA Award. So I look at it from both ways."