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By Sean Nelson
MSN Music Editor

It started and ended with Kenny Chesney. In between, all was show business, country style.

The reigning ACM entertainer of the year kicked the festivities off with a bang, or rather a beer, performing his smash hit "Beer in Mexico" to a thunderous, foot-stomping ovation. He ended the evening at center stage, too, by winning entertainer of the year again. Between his appearances, the MGM Grand auditorium saw cameras flying all around, massive video screens, and stars of every caliber in the audience, on the stage, and across the red carpet: This year's Academy of Country Music Awards was heavy on the Vegas glitz, and a long way from its roots in Bakersfield.

None other than Shania Twain followed Chesney's big opening by introducing the evening's host, "the lady who can do it all," Reba McEntire, resplendent in a white dress with a plunging neckline (her first of several glamorous outfits for the evening). Reba didn't hesitate to rib her surroundings — "ACM is the only thing in Las Vegas that admits to being 42" — or her fellow performers, including gentle shots at George Strait ("too bad nobody likes you, George"), Rascal Flatts, Brooks & Dunn, Tim McGraw and Chesney.

Lest anyone miss that the jabs were meant as compliments, Reba made sure to include how many millions of records each artist had sold before moving on to the next. But even when she botched the jokes — a punchline about her roots went a little haywire — McEntire was utterly unflappable throughout the evening. And every once in a while, when the writers let her acknowledge that she was at a music industry event, she was even funny — like when she asked the room to "turn off your cell phones, unless you have one of my songs as your ringtone."

Less funny, perhaps, was the joke about this year's ACM Awards "joining the fight against global warming" by having Toby Keith "backstage surrounded by two ice-cold kegs of beer" and Chesney's commitment "only to drink frozen margaritas." Still, shows like this aren't about the jokes (or environmental awareness), they're about the awards and the performances.
 
The near-legendary George Strait picked up the first prize of the night, when "Give it Away" won song of the year. Ever the pure country gentleman, Strait allowed songwriter Bill Anderson to take the bow and give the speech. After all, Strait -- nominated for a leading eight awards -- stood to have seven more opportunities to step into the spotlight before the night was over, in addition to giving a memorable performance of "Wrapped." But he won only once more, taking home the trophy for record of the year for "Give It Away."

Still, old George was visibly surprised, and probably wasn't the only one, when Martina McBride handed the album of the year award not to him, but to "American Idol" sensation Carrie Underwood, whose assured march to the podium matched the stealth of her journey to the top of the charts. Later on, she sang her hit "Wasted" to a chorus of screams from an audience that couldn't get enough of her assured professionalism. 

Underwood surprised no one by winning top female vocalist, beating out Sara Evans, Faith Hill, Miranda Lambert and McBride. When Underwood presented the award for top new female vocalist (which Underwood herself won last year) to Lambert, her advice to all the nominees was to "just breathe and take it all in." She sounded for all the world like a seasoned veteran.

Other big wins: Top new male vocalist went to Rodney Atkins; top new duo/vocal group went to Little Big Town; Rascal Flatts took home top vocal group;  Brooks & Dunn won the top vocal duo for a record 14th time; charming underdog Brad Paisley surprised many by beating out Chesney, Toby Keith, Strait and Keith Urban for top male vocalist.

Performances ranged from perfunctory to genuinely inspired. The drop-dead gorgeous Miranda Lambert seemed nervous during her rendition of "Famous in a Small Town," though by the end of the song, she found her feet. Fellow award winners Little Big Town, by contrast, were 100 percent pro -- and completely dull. Vets like Strait, Brooks & Dunn, Faith Hill, Vince Gill, Big & Rich (with R&B singer John Legend at the piano), Paisley and relative newcomers such as Josh Turner, Sugarland and Jason Aldean all turned out strong showings.

The notorious Toby Keith, brought to the stage by none other than Dr. Phil and his wife Robin (Dr. and Mrs. Phil?), put a little Vegas sizzle into his song "High Maintenance Woman" by stacking the stage with scantily clad dancing girls in hardhats. Good times. The duet between Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson, billed throughout the evening as "a major musical event," turned out to be, well ... "Pancho and Lefty" it wasn't, but still, it was OK.
 
If there was one musical performance that soared above the rest of the proceedings, it belonged to teenage newcomer Taylor Swift, nominee for top female vocalist. Despite having written a song called "Tim McGraw," Swift had never before met the country superstar. So when she appeared alone at center stage, with only an acoustic guitar and a headset mic, it seemed almost inevitable that she'd descend to the crowd and sing the song to the man whose name it bears, seated conveniently on the aisle with wife Faith Hill. "When you think Tim McGraw," Swift sang to a treacherous ex-boyfriend, "I hope you think of me."

It seems likely now he won't be the only one making that connection. The moment, which ended with an introduction — "Hi, I'm Taylor!" — was pure showbiz, but affecting nonetheless. (It also occasioned Reba's best ad-lib of the night: "If there are any teenage boys out there who want to write a song called Reba McEntire ... I'm just saying.")

Also affecting, at least to the crowd in attendance given the long standing ovation that followed it, was McGraw's bare-stage performance of a song narrated by the voice of a dead soldier, with the refrain "if you're reading this, I'm already gone." As the song ended, the lights came up behind McGraw on several dozen men and women standing under a banner bearing the words "Families of Fallen Heroes."
 
It wasn't the first time the subject of war came up during the ACM Awards. Early on, Reba declared that "this wouldn't be a country awards show" without a message of support to "the men and women with their eyes on the horizon." Solemnly, and with the full support of the entire auditorium, she told the troops, "you are thought of, you are prayed for and you are thanked from the bottom of our hearts."
 
But it was a country awards show. Big stars, big hats, big hair and, yes, big heart.