2014 CMAs: Luke Bryan wins entertainer of the year

On a night dominated by women present (Miranda Lambert) and absent (Taylor Swift), Luke Bryan won the top prize at this year’s CMA Awards.

Bryan won entertainer of the year on strength of his 2013 LP “Crash My Party,” an album of high-spirited, hard-drinking anthems that epitomized the recent trend of “Bro Country.” Singles like “That’s My Kind of Night” defined a year when male singer-songwriters with carefree, rowdy lyrics dominated the country charts.

Bryan’s win was something of an anomaly, however, on a night largely devoted to female vocalists. Miranda Lambert, the big winner at Wednesday’s awards, took home female vocalist of the year to cap a trio of top prizes that included single and album of the year. It was her fifth time winning that award.

Lambert’s husband Blake Shelton won the equivalent honor of male vocalist of the year, proving that country’s top power couple of the moment shows no sign of abating on the charts. He’s currently tied with Vince Gill for five awards of his own in that category.

Gill gave a gracious and witty speech in accepting a lifetime achievement award, named for Irving Waugh, a pioneer of country music television.

The win for vocal group of the year went to Little Big Town, a mixed-gender group whose performance with Ariana Grande cemented the commensurate female pop-crossover trend in recent country.

The telecast ended with a freewheeling performance by the Doobie Brothers, who turned to country on their new album, “Southbound.” The classic rock band brought singers Hunter Hayes, Jennifer Nettles, Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott and longtime member Michael McDonald onstage for the performance.

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