Taylor Swift & More at CMT's 'Artists of the Year'

Country music's biggest stars hit up the recent CMT Artists of the Year show in Nashville, where honorees Taylor Swift, Brad Paisley, Lady Antebellum and more enjoyed the laid-back night.

"You know, this is a different type of awards show because it's not like you're sitting there wondering if you're going to win something. Everybody comes here knowing," Taylor Swift laughed. "So it's really exciting to be here with you know, so many artists I run into all the time. It's sort of like a reunion."

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Another feature of the show Swift was excited about was the fact that artists cover their fellow artists' songs, such as The All-American Rejects' mash-up of her song Mean with their own single Gives You Hell.

"It was so exciting to hear that they wanted to come and do a cover of one of my songs," Swift smiled, who covered the band's hit song Swing, Swing during one of the stops on her Speak Now tour. "I've been a fan of theirs for so long and it's just so exciting that they would come and work up their own version of one of my songs."

Unexpected pairings seemed to be the theme of the night as Brad Paisley, Joe Walsh and William Shatner actually shared the stage at one point.

"I grew up such a fan of his and became such good friends with him, I said if he can fly in that would be great," Paisley said about Shatner and the makings of the hilarious on-stage moment. "Then when he said 'yeah, I'm there,' I said 'well, you need to take a verse.' It ought to be the most bizarre three to five minutes of TV you've ever watched."

The glamorous ceremony included fine wine and a dinner prepared by celebrity chef Stephanie Izard, who just released her first cookbook Girl in the Kitchen and to further distinguish this night, each CMT Artists of the Year honoree received their own, custom-designed piece of jewelry by David Yurman, so they can wear it anytime as a reminder of their accomplishments long after their award is placed on a shelf.

Check out the video to hear Swift's unexpected holiday plans, why host Rob Lowe loves country music and how Lady Antebellum feels about their meteoric rise to fame.

CMT's Artists of the Year show airs on CMT this Tuesday, December 13, at 9 pm.