CMA Awards 2009: A Night Of Firsts

You may not have known it at the time, but there were a number of "firsts" attained during last night's CMA Awards. The biggest event is probably Taylor Swift's wins last night. The 19-year-old superstar made history by becoming the youngest artist ever to win the CMA's biggest honor, Entertainer of the Year. She's also the first female to win in that category since Shania Twain did it in 1999.

Taylor wasn't the only one who made history last night, though. Darius Rucker became the first African American artist ever to win the CMA's Best New Artist trophy, and the first African American artist since Charley Pride to win any major individual CMA award. He was presented with the award by the Judds, who were marking the 25th anniversary of their own Best New Artist win.

But there was one incident from the awards show that also made history in a sad way. Brooks & Dunn performed for the last time on the CMA Awards stage as a duo. Sugarland won Vocal Duo of the Year for the third time in a row last night, but it's clear that they weren't expecting it. When their names were announced, Jennifer Nettles asked Kix and Ronnie if they wanted to come up and address the crowd at their final CMA Awards appearance as a duo. They politely declined the offer to the sound of applause.