CMT Music Awards: Miley Cyrus, Nicole Kidman, Julianne Hough, Snoop Dogg and a Host of "American Idols" Hit the Big Show

Academy Award winner Nicole Kidman made her first-ever visit to the Awards on the arm of her superstar husband, Keith Urban. American Idol judge Paula Abdul flew in for the day, simply to make a brief appearance on the show. (She was staying at my hotel, the Loew's Vanderbilt, and I saw her exiting the lobby at 6:15 yesterday morning. I have to admit I was impressed at how awake and alert she appeared on American Idol last night after her cross-country trip.) Tim Daly was on hand to participate in the show (and to generate some publicity for his strike-interrupted ABC series Private Practice.) Snoop Dogg was there, too. So were Olympic gold-medalist Scott Hamilton (a Nashville-area resident), actor Christian Kane (soon to be seen in the new TNT action-drama Leverage), Nashville Star Season 4 winner Chris Young and a number of players from the Tennessee Titans.

Paula Abdul

Once again, the Awards were further energized by the Idols. There is simply no better place to see former American Idol favorites than at the CMT Music Awards. The show has proven to be very, very good for country music.

Season 4 winner Carrie Underwood has sung on the Awards before, but her performance Monday night of her smash single All-American Girl was the grand finale of the show. (I attended Carrie's rehearsal on Sunday and came away even more impressed by her. In addition to her extraordinary vocal talent, she was also able to descend a staircase in sky-high heels without anyone or anything to hold on to while she sang. She made it look effortless. She also chewed gum while singing. I sat there worrying that she might choke while holding long power-notes. It was later explained to me that singers often chew gum while performing to control saliva flow. Who knew?)

Bucky Covington

Season 3 runner-up Diana DeGarmo, a sweet sensation on the recent CMT competition series Gone Country, was a presenter (along with Gone co-stars Maureen McCormick, Bobby Brown and Sisqo). We talked at the pre-Awards party Sunday night. Like so many previous Idol competitors, DeGarmo lives in the Nashville area and is pursuing a career in country music.

Season 6 finalist Phil Stacey walked the purple carpet and talked about his self-titled new album, Phil Stacey. I am certain he will follow in Covington's footsteps and perform on next year's show.

Phil Stacey

Television's other top reality show, Dancing With the Stars, was also represented Monday night by two-time champion dancer Julianne Hough. As delightful and down to earth as Underwood, DeGarmo and Pickler, Hough – whose celebrity partner Adam Carolla was eliminated last week – told me she'll make return visits to the show this season when she's asked, but she intends to use this time to focus on her new career as a country singer. Her self-titled album debuts May 20 and she'll be on tour this summer with Brad Paisley.

Julianne Hough

All photos by Sue Shackford