Women Rule Country's Biggest Night

Women stood tall at the 33rd annual CMA Awards Sept. 22, taking home most of the evening's trophies and marking the strongest female showing in CMA history.

Females scored wins for Entertainer, Single, Song, Horizon, Video and Group of the Year, leaving behind only Album and Duo for the men.

Shania Twain's win as Entertainer of the Year marked not only her first CMA Award ever, but also the first time a woman received the CMA's top honor since Reba McEntire captured the trophy 13 years ago. And in a sweet twist of fate, it was Reba herself who presented the trophy to her.

"Reba presenting the award meant more to me than the award itself," said Shania backstage. "I've had an exciting year and a half. This is the icing and the cherry on the cake."

Shania also walked away with the CMA International Artist Achievement Award, given to recognize her record-breaking worldwide success.

For the Dixie Chicks, it was a triple sweep. They were named Vocal Group, and their hit "Wide Open Spaces" took Single and Video honors.

"There are three new sheriffs in town," quipped host Vince Gill after one of their wins. "Get used to it!"

Jo Dee Messina reveled in picking up the Horizon Award, which capped her banner year of three No. 1 hits. "Some guy backstage tried to take it away [to engrave it]," said Jo Dee, clutching her trophy tightly. "He's lying on the floor now," she joked.

Martina McBride was stunned to beat out heavy competition in the Female Vocalist category. "This is something I've dreamed about ever since I was

a little girl," she gushed. "This is definitely the highlight as far as achievement goes."

And Faith Hill's "This Kiss," written by three women (Beth Neilsen Chapman, Annie Roboff and Robin Lerner), took home Song of the Year.

In the Vocal Event category, Patty Loveless shared the honor with Vince Gill for the hit duet "My Kind of Woman, My Kind of Man." And as one of three new inductees into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Dolly Parton brought the house down with two lively performances, underscoring the evening's "girl power" theme.

She duetted with Vince (substituting for an absent Patty Loveless) on "My Kind of Woman, My Kind of Man" and previewed a peppy bluegrass tune, "Train Train," from her upcoming The Grass Is Blue album.

The only male to win more than one award was Tim McGraw. He ended George Strait's three-year run as Male Vocalist and also took home Album of the Year for A Place in the Sun.

Other highlights from the three-hour CBS telecast viewed by millions:

Brooks & Dunn scooped up their eighth consecutive Duo trophy, marking the longest CMA run in any category. Alan Jackson interrupted his own performance to include a stanza of George Jones' "Choices." It was a show of support for George's decision to not appear on the show after CMA execs demanded that he sing a shortened version of the song, which was nominated for Single of the Year. In a prepared statement, Alan said, "If George had died, there would have been a 10- minute tribute. But since he lived, they wouldn't give him three minutes." This past March, George survived

a close-call automobile crash and returned to the charts with the poignant ballad about "living and dying with the choices" he'd made.

Pop acts Jewel and 'N Sync appeared alongside country hitmakers Merle Haggard and Alabama, marking a decisive move to broaden the telecast's audience.

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