The first round of performers for the 2023 CMT Music Awards has been announced and it includes some of the biggest names in country music.
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Blake Shelton, Lainey Wilson Keith Urban, CMT Awards co-host Kelsea Ballerini, Carly Pearce, and Cody Johnson are slated to take the stage at the awards show in Austin, Texas. They join previously announced performers Carrie Underwood and Ballerini’s co-host Kane Brown, who will perform his hit duet “Thank God” with his wife Katelyn Brown.
Wilson is the most nominated act of the show in the categories of Video of the Year and Collaborative Video of the Year for her collaboration with Hardy on “Wait in the Truck,” Female Video of the Year for her solo hit single, “Heart Like a Truck” and CMT Performance of the Year for her chart-topping hit with Cole Swindell, “Never Say Never,” which they performed during the 2022 CMT Music Awards. Brown, Johnson, and first-time nominee Jelly Roll follow Wilson with three nominations apiece.
Underwood is the most winning act in the show’s history, with 25 trophies to her name. All of the aforementioned performers are nominated for Video of the Year. Fans can vote for their favorites in each category until March 27, with the Video of the Year category remaining open through the show’s broadcast.
“I put my whole heart into the making of this video, so this means so much,” Pearce wrote on Instagram about her nominations for Female Video of the Year for her current single, “What He Didn’t Do,” and CMT Performance of the Year for her collaboration with LeAnn Rimes and Ashley McBryde on “One Way Ticket.” “Thank you @cmt!!!”
The CMT Awards air live from the Moody Center in Austin on April 2 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. The show will be available to stream on Paramount+.
Photo by Erika Goldring/WireImage
