George Strait wins top entertainer at Country Music Awards

LOS ANGELES - Veteran singer George Strait won the Entertainer of the Year award late Sunday at the star-studded Academy of Country Music Awards ceremony in Las Vegas.

The event, full of performances by country music's top stars and some surprise cross-genre guest appearances, is an annual show where fans vote for the winners.

Strait is 61 and on the verge of retirement, and many feared that his older fan base would not cast ballots.

"I always said I had the best fans in the world, and I heard this was a fan-voted thing so ... I rest my case," Strait said as he accepted the award.

Miranda Lambert and Keith Urban - husband of Hollywood A-lister Nicole Kidman - both won three awards each.

Lambert walked away with awards for Female Vocalist of the Year, Single Record of the Year and Song of the Year. Urban's awards included Video of the Year.

Colombian pop diva Shakira made a splash when she sang the hit country tune "Medicine" in a duet with Blake Shelton, her co-star on the popular TV talent show "The Voice."

And Lady Antebellum sang a country song and a rock song in a duet with Stevie Nicks from rock group Fleetwood Mac.

The event was hosted by two singers, Shelton - Lambert's husband - and Luke Bryan. The duo treated the audience to a string of jokes that included references to Britney Spears and Ellen DeGeneres, famous for her Oscar's "selfie" photo with Hollywood stars.

Other winners on Sunday included Kacey Musgraves, who scooped up the Album of the Year award for "Same Trailer Different Park;" The Band Perry, winner of the Vocal Group of the Year prize; and Jason Aldean, who won Male Vocalist of the Year.