CMT Honors Artists of the Year

Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean, Lady Antebellum and Kenny Chesney were praised by fans and fellow stars at last night's (Nov. 29) 'CMT Artists of the Year' taping.

Rock band All-American Rejects celebrated Taylor's recording-breaking year with a performance of her No. 1 single 'Mean,' adding a snippet of their hit, 'Gives You Hell,' to the bluegrass-inspired arrangement. "I love what the All-American Rejects did with 'Mean.' That's fantastic!" Taylor gushed during her acceptance speech, after receiving her award from hero Faith Hill.

"This year especially has been crazy," says Taylor, a two-time CMT Artist of the Year honoree. "Award season has been so amazing."

The honorees were joined by an eclectic group of performers and presenters, including Ellen DeGeneres, Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, the Avett Brothers, Gavin DeGraw, Nickelback's Chad Kroeger and Hank Williams, Jr., who almost stole the show with an unexpected script change. The country legend walked off stage right in the middle of his duet with Jason Aldean on 'Tattoos on This Town.' His publicist explains the country legend didn't feel like he was giving an "adequate performance."

Jason, Taylor and Lady Antebellum all accepted their second CMT Artist of the Year honors, with Kenny and Brad taking home their first.

"It's great," said Brad just before receiving the award. "It's neat. It's not like an awards show where you have to wonder if you're going to win. And if you don't, they were mean. They psyched you out. And it's one where they feed everybody and give you alcohol. We need more of those shows!"

Tune in Dec. 13 at 9:00 PM ET to watch the 'CMT Artist of the Year' telecast.