CMT Music Award Winner Carrie Underwood Calls Fiancé "My Biggest Prize"

Carrie Underwood may have won the top trophy Wednesday night (June 9) at the 2010 CMT Music Awards in Nashville, but during her visit with reporters backstage, she insisted that the "biggest prize" was one seat over -- her fiancé, hockey player Mike Fisher.

"It's really great having him there because no matter what happens, I go home a winner," she told reporters in the pressroom of the Bridgestone Arena. "I have the biggest prize -- and it's the guy sitting next to me. Win or lose, I know he's proud of me, and that's really nice. But, of course, it's nice to share the good times with him, too, and to have him here for anything."

Asked how her upcoming wedding ceremony and reception will be unique, Underwood replied, "Goodness, I don't know! We're still working on everything. I'll tell you afterwards. I haven't been to too many weddings, so I really don't have that much to compare it to. But I guess the unique thing will be me and Mike." After a shy giggle, she added, "We've never been married before, so it will be like anybody else's wedding." However, their wedding date has not been publicly announced.

Fisher, who appeared with Underwood at the City of Hope celebrity softball game earlier this week, has become friends with some of her contemporaries, as well.

"Everybody has been so nice and welcomed him," Underwood said. "He was walking by Brad Paisley earlier, and he's like, 'Let's go hang out.' I said, 'I leave on Saturday to go back on the road.' He's like, 'We don't need her. Let's go.' Everybody's been super nice. Not that I expected anything different because I know what kind of people I'm around."

Although the inescapable "Cowboy Casanova" won the night's top prize for video of the year, Underwood also holds a special place in her heart for "Temporary Home." Her live rendition of the ballad on CMT's concert series, Invitation Only, won the award for CMT performance of the year. (She also corrected one of her earlier acceptance speeches by saying that she hasn't worked exclusively with Revolution Pictures on her videos. The video team of Deaton-Flanigen helmed "Temporary Home.")

"I love that song," she said. "It really does mean a lot to me. I feel like with each album, I get more serious writing. That song, to me, is one of the most important things I've ever written down on a piece of paper. I love singing it every single night. And every single night, people sing it with me. There's nothing like that. It's an amazing feeling."

Because all of the categories at the CMT Music Awards are fan-voted, the former American Idol winner praised her fans' dedication.

"They made me," she said. "I know they make all of us because, of course, we couldn't do anything [without them]. Nobody would play our stuff or see us in concert. They are what drives us. For me, it's a little bit different because they were there before I had anything -- before I had an album, before I had a record deal, before I had a tour going on. They made me from the ground up.

"It's been so great being on the road and seeing all them. I kind of took a year off last year and wrote and recorded and stuff like that. And every time I go back on the road, it's a re-energizing situation, every single night, because you feel them. You can feel their energy. It's awesome -- being on the road and stuff like this. They're amazing. And they work harder than any of us."

Fielding a question about her private fan club party held earlier in the week, Underwood replied, "The fan club part is always fun. Like I said, they work so hard. They call radio stations: 'Play Carrie, play Carrie, play Carrie!' They're the ones who get my stuff to No. 1. They spread the word. It really is Team Carrie. It's awesome."

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