PHOTOS: Aldean, Chesney, Lady A, Paisley & Swift Honored at CMT Artists of the Year Event

Written by SLN Staff Writer December 5, 2011

Back Row (L to R): Jason Aldean, Host Rob Lowe, Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley, Dave Haywood of Lady Antebellum
Front Row: Taylor Swift, Kenny Chesney and Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum
Photos Credit: Rick Diamond
Images provided by CMT

Jason Aldean, Kenny Chesney, Lady Antebellum, Brad Paisley and Taylor Swift were honored on Tuesday (11/28) at the 2011 CMT Artists of the Year event in Nashville. The artists enjoyed a meal prepared by celebrity chef Stephanie Izard, “Top Chef” winner and chef/partner of Girl & The Goat restaurant in Chicago. In addition, each of the Artists of the Year received an award and special performances were held throughout the evening.

“It’s great,” Paisley said prior to the event (quote via The Associated Press). “It’s neat. It’s not like an awards show where you have to wonder if you’re going to win. And if you don’t, they were mean. They psyched you out. And it’s one where they feed everybody and give you alcohol. We need more of those shows.”

CMT Artists of the Year acts were chosen by ranking the top five artists based on the following criteria: sales (physical albums, digital albums, and single downloads); country radio airplay based on spins; concert grosses as a headliner or co-headliner; and activity on CMT.com (video streams, searches, and artist page views). The rankings were then compiled to identify the leading performers across the four categories cumulatively.

“CMT Artists of the Year” will premiere Tuesday, December 13 at 9:00 p.m., ET/PT on CMT and CMT.com.

[rmore type=”more”]Click the MORE button to view additional photos from the event…[/rmore]