Nominations for the 2023 CMT Music Awards are led by country’s woman of the moment, Lainey Wilson, with four, followed by three apiece for Cody Johnson, newcomer Jelly Roll and the show’s recurring co-host, Kane Brown.
For the second year in a row, the three-hour telecast will be getting its premiere network airing on CMT’s big sister network, CBS — along with a livestream on Paramount+ — and for the first time, it will be based out of Austin. The show goes out live from the Moody Center April 2 at 8 p.m. ET on the broadcast network and airs tape-delayed in the same time slot on the west coast.
Several days after the broadcast and streaming premiere, the show will appear on its titular network, CMT, as an “extended cut” with 30 minutes of additional material, bringing the running time there to three and a half hours. That expanded edition bows on CMT April 6 at 8 ET/PT.
Brown again co-hosts with Kelsea Ballerini, who just got a prime performance slot on “Saturday Night Live” last weekend. Performers have not yet been announced.
Wilson goes into the CMTs with a leading number of nominations just as she did last November’s CMA Awards, which was considered shocking at the time, given her relative youth in the format with only two full albums out. Wilson picked up a startling six nods for the CMAs and ultimately walked away with two, best female vocalist and best new artist.
For this show, Wilson will contend for Video of the Year, Female Video of the Year, Collaborative Video of the Year and CMT Performance of the Year.
She faces not just stiff but voluminouscompetition for the video of the year prize, as CMT — which determines the nominees in-house before letting fans vote for the final winners — opted to expand the field to 16 finalists for the top honor this year. Wilson is nominated not for one of her solo songs but shares the nod for her duet with Hardy on the hit “Wait in the Truck.” Others who are up for video of the year includehosts Ballerini and Brown (the latter shares the nod with his wife Katelyn),Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton, Cody Johnson, the duo ofElle King and Dierks Bentley, Gabby Barrett, Jimmie Allen, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Walker Hayes and an Ashley McBryde video that features guests Brandy Clark, Pillbox Patti and Caylee Hammack.
The Breakthrough Video of the Year category has been split for the first time into separate male and female divisions, allowing a total of a dozen nominees. Female Breakthrough nominees areAvery Anna,Kylie Morgan,MacKenzie Porter,Megan Moroney,Morgan WadeandTiera Kennedy. The contenders for Male Breakthrough Video areBailey Zimmerman, Corey Kent,Drake Milligan,Jackson Dean,Jelly RollandNate Smith.
Last year, not surprisingly, the 2022 CMT Music Awards saw a huge leap in viewership with the move from CMT for the first airing to the combination of CBS and Paramount+, with an uptick of 521% from 2021.
The full list of nominees:
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
The top six nominees, from the first round of voting, will be announced on March 27. The final three will be announced on show day, with final voting determined via social media.
- Ashley McBryde, Caylee Hammack, Brandy Clark & Pillbox Patti – “Bonfire at Tina’s”
- Blake Shelton – “No Body”
- Carrie Underwood – “Hate My Heart”
- Cody Johnson – “Human”
- Elle King feat. Dierks Bentley – “Worth a Shot”
- Gabby Barrett – “Pick Me Up”
- Hardy feat. Lainey Wilson – “Wait in the Truck”
- Jimmie Allen – “Down Home”
- Kane Brown & Katelyn Brown – “Thank God”
- Keith Urban – “Wild Hearts”
- Kelsea Ballerini – “Heartfirst”
- Little Big Town – “Rich Man”
- Luke Bryan – “Country On”
- Luke Combs – “The Kind of Love We Make”
- Morgan Wallen – “You Proof”
- Walker Hayes – “AA”
FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
- Carly Pearce – “What He Didn’t Do”
- Carrie Underwood – “Ghost Story”
- Gabby Barrett – “Pick Me Up”
- Kelsea Ballerini – “Heartfirst”
- Lainey Wilson – “Heart Like a Truck”
- Maren Morris – “Humble Quest”
- Miranda Lambert – “Actin’ Up”
MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
- Bailey Zimmerman – “Rock and a Hard Place”
- Cody Johnson – “Human”
- Cole Swindell – “She Had Me at Heads Carolina”
- Jelly Roll – “Son of a Sinner”
- Kane Brown – “Like I Love Country Music”
- Luke Combs – “The Kind Of Love We Make”
- Morgan Wallen – “Wasted on You”
GROUP/DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR
- Dan + Shay – “You (Performance Video)”
- Lady A – “Summer State of Mind”
- Little Big Town – “Hell Yeah”
- Parmalee – “Take My Name”
- The War And Treaty – “That’s How Love Is Made”
- Zac Brown Band – “Out in the Middle”
BREAKTHROUGH FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
- Avery Anna – “Narcissist”
- Kylie Morgan – “If He Wanted To He Would”
- MacKenzie Porter – “Pickup”
- Megan Moroney – “Tennessee Orange”
- Morgan Wade – “Wilder Days”
- Tiera Kennedy – “Found It in You”
BREAKTHROUGH MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
- Bailey Zimmerman – “Fall in Love”
- Corey Kent – “Wild as Her”
- Drake Milligan – “Sounds Like Something I’d Do”
- Jackson Dean – “Don’t Come Lookin’”
- Jelly Roll – “Son Of A Sinner”
- Nate Smith – “Whiskey on You”
COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
- Elle King feat. Dierks Bentley – “Worth a Shot”
- Hardy feat. Lainey Wilson – “Wait in the Truck”
- Ingrid Andress with Sam Hunt – “Wishful Drinking”
- Kane Brown & Katelyn Brown – “Thank God”
- Midland feat. Jon Pardi – “Longneck Way to Go”
- Russell Dickerson feat. Jake Scott – “She Likes It”
- Thomas Rhett & Katy Perry – “Where We Started”
CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Musical performance on a television show, series or variety special on CMT.
- Black Pumas & Mickey Guyton – “Colors” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
- Chris Stapleton –“Whenever You Come Around” (from CMT Giants: Vince Gill)
- Cody Johnson – “‘Til You Can’t” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
- Cole Swindell & Lainey Wilson – “Never Say Never” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
- Darius Rucker – “Let Her Cry” (from CMT Storytellers)
- Emmy Russell & Lukas Nelson – “Lay Me Down” (from Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Celebration of the Life & Music of Loretta Lynn)
- Keith Urban – “Wild Hearts” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
- LeAnn Rimes with Ashley McBryde & Carly Pearce – “One Way Ticket” (from CMT Crossroads: LeAnn Rimes & Friends)
- The Judds – “Love Can Build a Bridge” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
- Wynonna Judd & Brandi Carlile – “The Rose” (from Naomi Judd: A River of Time Celebration)
CMT DIGITAL-FIRSTPERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Musical performance from a production, series or livestream created for CMT Digital / Social Channels.
- Charley Crockett – “Time of the Cottonwood Trees“ (from CMT Campfire Sessions)
- Chris Young – “Gettin’ You Home” (from CMT Stages)
- Ingrid Andress – “Wishful Drinking” (from CMT Studio Sessions)
- Jelly Roll – “Son of a Sinner” (from CMT All Access)
- Megan Moroney – “Tennessee Orange” (from CMT Viral To Verified)
- Scotty McCreery – “Damn Strait” (from CMT Campfire Sessions)
CMT has set out rules for daily fan voting, allowing 10 votes per category per day on most days, 20 votes per category on “double days” (March 8-9 and 3/27) and 20 votes per category during daily “power hours” (March 10-26 at 1 p.m. ET).
