Taylor Swift Is the 2011 ACM Entertainer of the Year

Taylor Swift screamed, hugged her mother, Carrie Underwood and Reese Witherspoon as she walked to the stage of the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas to accept the 2011 ACM Entertainer of the Year award.

Dressed in a stunning pale yellow gown, Taylor walked across the stage and hugged presenter Ryan Seacrest as she took her award, bent down in joy and then stood to face the audience with tears in her eyes.

"This is the first time that I've ever won this and I'm just losing my mind," the much-honored Taylor told the audience, noting that she and her band had just returned from the international leg of her 'Speak Now' tour. "The fact that this is from the fans makes this so beautiful. Thank you so much to the fans and anyone who voted. Thanks for not forgetting about me. You are the best thing that every happened to me. Ever. Thank you so much."

The thanks were well deserved, as Taylor's fans not only did not forget her, but sent an estimated 50 Tweets a minute in support of her nomination for this award during peak voting for the award, reported VH1.

Although Taylor didn't win in the three other categories in which she was nominated (which were all industry voted), many thought Taylor's army of loyal fans would ensure a fan-voted victory over the other Entertainer contenders -- Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Jason Aldean, Toby Keith, and Keith Urban.

Taylor will head back out on her 'Speak Now' tour on May 27 with Needtobreathe accompanying her for all of the stateside shows, and Frankie Ballard, Danny Gokey, Hunter Hayes, Josh Kelley, Randy Montana, James Wesley and Charlie Worsham each playing on select shows.

Tickets for her concerts are in such high demand that she recently added more dates to the U.S. leg of her tour. Those dates will be announced soon. See her tour schedule here.