Delaney Hibbits
Arts and Entertainment Editor
Hosted by Kelsea Ballerini, the CMT Music Awards will be live on April 7 at 8:00 p.m. Since originally being launched in 1967, the CMT awards have only grown allowing more artists to perform and take home a variety of trophies. This is the only country award show that is entirely fan-voted since it focuses on artists’ music videos.
Some star performers include Bailey Zimmerman, Sam Hunt, Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson and Megan Moroney. There will also be a special dedication to Trisha Yearwood who will be taking home the June Carter Cash Humanitarian Award.
There is a five-way tie when it comes to who is leading the charge with the most nominations. Ballerini, Johnson, Wilson, Jelly Roll and Moroney are each entering the center with three nominations. Fourteen artists are experiencing a first-time nomination such as Zach Bryan who is up for Video of the Year and Breakthrough Male Video of the Year.
Each category has about five to seven nominees making this a fairly competitive award show. Fans were able to cast twenty votes a day over the last few weeks so each artist must rely on their fanbase if they wish to take home a trophy.
Let’s review some of these categories:
Breakthrough Male of the Year goes to the male artist with a memorable video from their groundbreaking album. The nominees are Chayce Beckam with “23,” Tyler Childers with “In Your Love,” Warren Zieders with “Pretty Little Poison” and Zach Bryan with “Oklahoma Smokeshow.”
Next is Breakthrough Female of the Year which goes to the female artist with a remarkable video from their life-changing album. These nominees are Anne Wilson with “Rain in the Rearview,” Ashley Cooke with “your place,” Brittney Spencer with “Bigger Than The Song” and Tigirlily Gold with “Shoot Tequila.”
These two categories are meant to bring the spotlight to artists who have just entered the big leagues of country music or are underrated due to their style. For example, Childers and Bryan have been singing for years yet fall short whenever award shows announce nominations.
Some categories remain consistent in nominations including Male Video of the Year which goes to the best video by a male artist. This year, the nominations are Bailey Zimmerman, Cody Johnson, HARDY, Jelly Roll, Jordan Davis, Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen.
Female Video of the Year is very similar and goes to the best video by a female country artist. The seven artists nominated are Ashley McBryde, Gabby Barrett, Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini, Lainey Wilson, Megan Moroney and Reba McEntire.
Finally, the most important award of the night is Video of the Year. The voting starts with sixteen nominations but is dropped to six a week before the show. At the CMT awards, only three artists will remain nominated for this trophy.
The six artists who remain in contention for Video of the Year are Ashley McBryde, Cody Johnson, HARDY, Jelly Roll, Kelsea Ballerini and Lainey Wilson. None of these performers have won this honor and need votes to stay on the ballot.
To catch the rest of the categories, winners and performers, check out the CMT Awards this upcoming Sunday night!
