Inside the CMA Awards: Miranda Lambert wins as ex Blake Shelton loses, Carrie Underwood dresses as Princess Leia and Justin Timberlake rocks the house

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It's the biggest night of the year in country music.

So the stars were out in force for the 49th Annual Country Music Association Awards in Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday - including recent exes Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert.

Blake cheerfully laughed along as hosts Carrie Underwood and Brad Paisley poked fun at their break-up, but Miranda showed a more serious side when she won Female Vocalist Of The Year. 

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Prestigious prize: Miranda Lambert took home Female Vocalist Of The Year at the Country Music Association Awards in Nashville, Tennessee on Wednesday

'I needed a bright spot this year so thank you,' she said, after telling the audience she was going to keep her acceptance speech short. 

Blake lost out on the Male Vocalist Of The Year gong, which instead went to newcomer Chris Stapleton.

Chris was in fact the big winner during the evening, taking home two other gongs for New Artist Of The Year and Album Of The Year for Traveller.

Seeing the funny side: Her ex Blake Shelton had laughed off jokes the hosts made about their break-up

Not holding back: Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood (who took part in a Star Wars spoof during the evening) poked fun at the split during their opening 

Let's dance: Justin Timberlake got everyone dancing when he took the stage for a special performance

Promising that he wouldn't take the win lightly, the emotional star choked back tears as he spoke about writing his album after the death of his father. 

Other memorable moments from the evening included a Star Wars spoof which saw Carrie Underwood dressed as Princess Leia, and Justin Timberlake rocking out on stage. 

Winning the night's top prize in the form of Entertainer Of The Year was Luke Bryan.

'I needed a bright spot this year': Miranda hinted at her pain from the split during her acceptance speech

Keeping it brief: The 31-year-old said that she appreciated the win, but wanted to keep her speech short

The show must go on: Miranda also performed her hit Bathroom Sink during the evening

'Thank you Lord, thank you Jesus, thank you everyone in heaven looking out for me,' he said as he took the stage. 'What an amazing night of music. Watching Chris Stapleton have this night is so uplifting.'

He also thanked 'all the people that laid down their hard-earned money to come see my show', adding: 'This is the best business in the world. Everyone I was nominated with - what an amazing group.'

The awards show began with the Star Wars spoof, which saw Carrie dressed as Princess Leia and Brad as Han Solo. Meanwhile Luke Bryan channelled Darth Vader.

Coming face to face: It is the first time the former couple have been in the same place since announcing their divorce

Delighting his female fans: The star - who is now dating Gwen Stefani - performed his latest hit Gonna

The hosts then performed a silly song about what is going on in the world, with Brad stating that 'Bruce Jenner is a babe now.'

They also couldn't resist taking the mickey out of Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert's split - teasing the break-up 'on everyone's minds'... before panning the cameras to Kermit and Miss Piggy.

'On a completely unrelated topic, howdy Blake!' Brad then said, drawing laughs from the crooner as he sat in the audience.

Just kidding!: Carrie and Brad talked about a huge split, before the cameras panned to Miss Piggy and Kermit

'Howdy Blake!': Brad then mentioned Blake's name, and the star couldn't help but laugh

He's taken: The hosts suggested he look for love on Farmers Only dating site, after joking that he had been on Ashley Madison

Carrie and Brad suggested he look for love on Farmers Only dating website.

'Have you heard the song that Blake did with Ashley Madison?' Brad asked Carrie, before she quickly said: 'No, no, that was Ashley Monroe.' 

The joke began with Brad saying: 'It's cray cray how many couples have broke up this year, from Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, Halle Berry and what's his name.'

Guess who?: Someone came on stage in a Star Wars Stormtrooper costume - it was then revealed to be William Shatner

Whoops: As he chatted to the audience, the iconic actor had to be censored

He Can't Stop: Brad stripped to his boxers, claiming that Miley Cyrus had set the bar after hosting the MTV VMAs

Carrie then added: 'Of course, we can't ignore the breakup that really rocked our world, the one that's on everyone's minds, two people who we all know and love: Splitsville.'

Brad stripped to his boxers and said Miley Cyrus had set the bar after hosting the MTV VMAs and in a random twist, the intro also saw Star Trek's William Shatner come on stage in a Star Wars Stormtrooper costume, before he had to be censored.

On a more serious note, the hosts paid tribute to Little Jimmy Dickens who died in January, and gave him 'one last laugh' by pretending to present his urn - which was miniscule. 

Special guest: Justin Timberlake joined Chris Stapleton to perform his hit Tennessee Whiskey

Twice as nice: They then turned the tables and duetted Justin's song Drink You Away from his 2013 album The 20/20 Experience

A night to remember: It seemed as though everyone in Nashville's Bridgestone Arena was dancing along

Countless stars performed during the televised ceremony, with Hank Williams, Jr. and Eric Church opening the show.

Justin Timberlake, who hails from Memphis, ditched his pop roots and joined big winner Chris Stapleton to perform his hit Tennessee Whiskey, getting the audience on their feet.

They then turned the tables and duetted Justin's song Drink You Away from his 2013 album The 20/20 Experience.

An impressive feat: Chris won both New Artist Of The Year, Album Of The Year for Traveller and Male Vocalist Of The Year

'Thank you so much for the love': The humble star said that it was 'unbelievable' as he took home his second award of the evening

Moving moment: Chris choked back tears as he talked about losing his father after winning Male Vocalist Of The Year 

Keith Urban, who snapped photos of Justin's performance, had earlier taken the stage with John Mellencamp.

The husband of Nicole Kidman was awarded Musical Event Of The Year for his collaboration with Eric Church on Raise 'Em Up.

Another unusual performance came from Fall Out Boy, who joined forces with Thomas Rhett.

Top honour: Luke Bryan won the evening's most coveted award in the form of Entertainer Of The Year

Another trophy for his collection: The star proudly kissed his award 

It's all about the fans: Luke thanked everyone that had spent their 'hard-earned money' on going to his shows

The first award of the evening was Single Of The Year and went to Little Big Town for Girl Crush.

It is the second time the band have won the gong, which this year was presented by Steve Martin and Edie Brickell.

The writers of the hit took home the very next award for Song Of The Year, and the band the performed it. They also won Vocal Group Of The Year, 17 years after first forming. 

First win: The first award of the evening went to Little Big Town, who won Single Of The Year for Girl Crush

Taking the stage: Steve Martin and Edie Brickell presented the award

Sexy star: Carrie took a break from hosting duties to perform her hit song Smoke Break

'We're so grateful for every single step of the way and your sweet hearts and sweet faces that brought us here,' Kimberly Schlapman said.

Chris Stapleton admitted that he'd had some stiff competition when he was presented with the New Artist Of The Year prize.

'I've worked hard a lot of years to do this,' he said, before thanking his wife and saying that 'the best parts' of him come from her. 

Duet: Keith Urban took the stage with John Mellencamp at the start of the ceremony

Country legends: Reba McEntire performed a medley of songs with Brooks And Dunn before the end of the show

Fan favourite: Luke Bryan performed for the crowd before winning Entertainer Of The Year

Chris then won the prestigious Album Of The Year prize for Traveller, and was remarkably humble about it.

'This is unbelievable - I don't know what to say,' he gushed. 'Thank you so much for the love.'

He was visibly shocked when he won Male Vocalist Of The Year - beating out huge country stars Blake Shelton, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan and Eric Church. 

Shimmering siren: Kacey Musgraves left a lasting impression in her silver leotard with matching guitar

Rising star: Kelsea Ballerini may have missed out on the New Artist prize, but she still took the stage to sing

Double act: Maddie & Tae won Music Video Of The Year for Girl In A Country Song, and also performed

Presentable: Hannah Davis and Charles Kelley presented an award at the CMAs

And the winner is...: The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit model smiled with glee as the winning artist was named

Double fisted: Hannah got her caffeine fix at Starbucks in NYC before jetting to the CMAs in Nashville

Plugged in: The brunette beauty listened to her iPod during her city stroll

Modern chic: Hannah wore a clingy little black dress with a woolly waistcoat

The prize for Vocal Duo Of The Year went to Florida Georgia Line, marking their third win in the category. 

Brian Kelley gushed that it was 'absolutely crazy' to take home the gong yet again, while Tyler Hubbard thanked their wives.

They had just been on stage moments earlier to perform their new single Confession.

No surprises here: Florida Georgia Line won Vocal Duo Of The Year for the third time

It's been a good night: The band, made up of Brian Kelley (L) and Tyler Hubbard, had just been on stage moments earlier to perform their new single Confession

'One last laugh': Brad and Carrie paid tribute to the late Little Jimmy Dickens - and threw in a joke about his size

Meanwhile, Music Video Of The Year went to Maddie & Tae for Girl In A Country Song. The duo also performed during the evening. 

Carrie Underwood took a break from hosting duties to perform her hit Smoke Break, rocking out on stage in a pair of sexy leather leggings, while Brad Paisley performed too.

Blake - who is now dating Gwen Stefani - shrugged off the split jokes to wow the crowd with his latest single Gonna.

Double duty: Like his co-host Carrie, Brad additionally performed during the evening

Pleased as punch: Mac McAnally accepted the Musician of the Year award for his guitar work

Opening the show: The first performance of the evening came from Hank Williams, Jr. and Eric Church

Back for more: Eric also delivered a solo performance later in the show

While the former couple largely avoided each other, they both performed separately during the evening - with Miranda belting out her hit Bathroom Sink.

Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean were among the other performers during the music-filled evening. 

Meanwhile Zac Brown Band performed Beautiful Drug and Kenny Chesney belted out a rendition of Save It For A Rainy Day, while Sam Hunt sang Take Your Time. 

Rounding off the winners for the evening was Mac McAnally, who took home the Musician Of The Year Award for his guitar work.

Mixing it up: Another unusual performance came from Fall Out Boy, who joined forces with Thomas Rhett

Getting the audience on their feet: Kenny Chesney (L) and Zac Brown Band were among the other performers