Taylor Swift took home top honors at the Country Music Awards Wednesday night. About a half hour after winning Entertainer of the Year, she said backstage that among all her accolades, “I think what happened 37 minutes ago is what stands out for me, of my whole life.”

Swift told me she never dreamed of winning the award (along with 3 other CMAs Wednesday) at age 19. “I had a list of goals when I was younger,” says Swift, “But now my list is constantly changing.”

While Swift took the top honors, plenty of male performers also wowed the crowd in Nashville.

Brad Paisley not only co-hosted with Carrie Underwood, he also performed– and won two awards.  He earned Vocal Event of the Year, along with Keith Urban, and won Male Vocalist of the Year. Backstage after the show, Paisley told me that he doesn’t know where he’ll keep his two new trophies. His older statuettes are pretty scattered, as he told FOX.  “I have some at my parents’ house, some in the trunk of my car.”

Among the many other performers were Kenny Chesney, Jamey Johnson with Kid Rock, and Vince Gill with Daughtry.

On the red carpet before the awards, Chris Daughtry told FOX he felt right at home at the CMAs, saying, “Country music is my first love. I only got into rock to make my parents mad.”