The CMA’s Horizon Award went to Taylor Swift on Wednesday night, an honor that has proven to be a sign of great career potential for former winners. As she accepted the newcomer of the year award, the 17-year-old singer songwriter tearfully quipped, "This is definitely the highlight of my senior year."
Taylor's "Our Song" has become the third Top 10 hit of her career. She joins Gretchen Wilson and Carrie Underwood as the only female solo country artists this decade to score three straight Top 10s from a debut album.
Last week Taylor told Dial-Global that she was amazed at how fast her latest single caught on with fans: "It's been out for like a millisecond and it's really shooting up the charts, which I'm just so excited about,"
"I wrote that song by myself, so to see that happen, I'm just thinking to myself, 'This is the coolest thing.' I wrote that song for my ninth grade talent show, so it's pretty interesting to see it do so well. I'm just so happy right now."
In other award categories, Kenny Chesney won entertainer of the year for the third time at the Country Music Association Awards, while Underwood won as female vocalist of the year. "God has blessed me with so many wonderful things," said Underwood, the former "American Idol" sensation who also won single of the year, for "Before He Cheats."
