Country star Toby Keith was the big winner at Saturday night's Broadcast Music Inc. (BMI) Music Awards after taking home two top accolades. His hit "As Good As I Once Was" was named Country Song Of The Year, while he also shared Songwriter Of The Year with Vicky McGehee and Ed Hill.

The prize was Keith's third consecutive BMI Songwriter Of The Year Award, and he couldn't contain his jubilation. He called the event, "My favorite awards show," adding, "Here, you don't even have to get nominated. I was a songwriter first, before I was an artist, and I'll be a songwriter forever."

Meanwhile, BMI's Icon Award went to Country Music Hall of Fame legend Merle Haggard. A glittering array of stars including Martina McBride, John Anderson and Hank Williams Jr. paid tribute to Haggard with live performances at the show. Past Icon winners include Paul Simon, Brian Wilson, Dolly Parton and James Brown.

(This news article provided by World Entertainment News Network)