{babes} Darius' family vibe, Kellie's confidence and more

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Not all the entertaining moments from the CMA Awards came during the ceremony.

The "black carpet" (courtesy of Jack Daniels) was rolled out for the stars before the show started and provided plenty of colorful moments on its own.

Kid Rock made Kellie Pickler scream in surprise when he sneaked up behind her during an interview; Carrot Top inexplicably made the rounds ("Everyone thinks I'm Reba!" he joked); and Sissy Spacek, who won an Oscar for portraying Loretta Lynn in the classic movie "Coal Miner's Daughter," stood by on the carpet quietly and relatively inconspicuously as folks like Pickler and Julianne Hough strutted on the carpet in dazzling gowns.

In between those moments, a few stars shared some of their thoughts on the night with The Associated Press.

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Darius Rucker arrived feeling like part of the CMA family.

Rucker won the new artist last year: This year he returned to hand out the award to the Zac Brown Band.

"It feels great to be here and presenting here, and to know I've got one sitting at home, that's a pretty cool part of it. That's a cool feeling, because I've had the other feeling," he said, laughing.

The former Hootie and the Blowfish leader recently released his second country album, "Charleston, SC 1965," and has another country hit, the Top 5 song "Comeback Song." Rucker said he now feels like he's a part of the festivities at the CMAs.

"I've been here a few years, and the first couple of times, I wasn't really a part of it, I was an outsider," he said. "Now to me, it's cool to walk her and know everybody and get hugs from everybody."

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Uncle Kracker is not technically a country star, but that hasn't stopped him from being embraced by the genre.

He has toured with the likes of Kenny Chesney and the Zac Brown band and has the single "Good To Be Me" on the charts with buddy Kid Rock. His reverence for country audiences is so strong he has sometimes tried to resist being seen as an interloper.

"I didn't want to be that guy that's (like), 'I'm gonna make a country record.' I didn't want to be that cat. But I love it. Everybody's been above and beyond with me," he said.

Uncle Kracker is working on a new album and is looking forward to working again with Kid Rock.

"We're best friends, and we were best friends when we were kids. There's definitely a bond beyond between us," he said.

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Last year, James Otto was celebrating a CMA win for song of the year for his hit with Jamey Johnson, "In Color." This year, he's celebrating something more precious — his new baby girl, Ava Katherine.

"That's been the biggest life change so far, and if you don't celebrate that, what are you going to celebrate?" he said of the 3-month-old. "She's smiling at us, and she's actually trying to sit up in her little seat."

Otto admits he's not been getting much sleep, but he's not complaining.

"It's so worth getting up in the middle of the night for. If there's something to get you up at four o' clock in the morning and you're happy to do it, my baby is it," he said.

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Kellie Pickler provided some of the night's biggest sparkle with a low-cut gold sequined gown, but she insisted that she didn't spend the day focusing on her look.

"I just sat down with a team of highly trained professionals and let them do their thing and I just popped out tonight," she said. "I don't really have a lot of patience for sitting down for too long."

She also said she no longer worries about what the style police will say about her outfits.

"I just kind of wear whatever I like and I don't stress over it as much as I used to," she said. "I guess you get older and you don't care anymore and you're like, 'It really doesn't matter what everybody thinks. I'm going to wear what I feel beautiful in and wear my makeup the way I like it and wear my hair the way I like it.'"

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Julianne Hough credits her upcoming role in "Burlesque" for preparing her for an even bigger one.

The "Dancing with the Stars" alumn is co-starring in the remake of the 1980s classic "Footloose," due out in 2011. She said "Burlesque," which stars Cher and Christina Aguilera, helped her get her footing for "Footloose."

"(I) could take what I learned from that and kind of feel like I know what I'm doing for this role now," she said.

Hough said she was still interested in her singing career, and hoped to put out her second country album once she's done with her other commitments. And although she's not on the show this season, Hough still keeps up with "Dancing with the Stars."

"I think a lot of people have gotten kicked off that I'm very surprised about and there's people still on that I'm surprised about," she said. "But that's the way the show goes and that's why we love the fans that vote because they really want their couple to win."