Endearingly dizty country gal Kellie Pickler cleaned up at the CMT Music Awards last night, success the blonde attributed directly to her American Idol experiences.

“Thank you American Idol, you are the rocket that launched my career,” Pickler told the Associated Press. The songstress accepted her awards via satellite, as she had a concert scheduled in Arizona.

Kellie won awards for Performance of the Year (for crooning “I Wonder” at the CMAs last year), Tearjerker Video of the Year (for the “I Wonder” music video) and Breakthrough Video of the Year (“I Wonder”). The song deals with very personal subject matter - Pickler’s mother, who left her daughter at the tender age of two.

Carrie Underwood was also nominated this year for Video of the Year (“Wasted”) and Female Video of the Year (“So Small”). Kelly Clarkson was up for “Because of You” in the Video of the Year Collaborative category, and Bucky Covington went up against Pickler for Breakthrough Video of the Year. Only Pickler will carry home the awards.

“There are so many American Idol alum here that I feel this is a reunion and I’m a proud mom,” Paula Abdul told reporters, just before she stepped up to introduce power country couple Tim McGraw and Faith Hill.