Lainey Wilson leads the charge in the newly released slate of nominees for the upcoming fan-voted CMT Music Awards, which will air live on CBS on Sunday, April 2, from Moody Center in Austin, Texas. This marks the first time that the CMT Music Awards have been held in Austin, after being held in Nashville for decades.
The awards show, which will be led by co-hosts Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown, will also be available to stream live and on demand via Paramount+.
Wilson has four nominations, including video of the year (for “Wait in the Truck” with HARDY), female video of the year (“Heart Like a Truck”), collaborative video of the year (“Wait in the Truck” with HARDY) and CMT performance of the year (for “Never Say Never” with Cole Swindell, from the 2022 CMT Music Awards). Cody Johnson, Brown and first-time nominee Jelly Roll follow with three nominations each.
Sixteen acts are vying for video of the year, including Carrie Underwood, who is the most-awarded artist in CMT history, with 25 wins. Underwood is also slated to perform during the event. Others competing for the video of the year award are Ashley McBryde with Caylee Hammack, Brandy Clark + Pillbox Patti, Blake Shelton, Cody Johnson, Elle King + Dierks Bentley, Gabby Barrett, HARDY + Wilson, Jimmie Allen, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Walker Hayes, Ballerini and Kane Brown with wife Katelyn.
The top six nominees for video of the year, determined by the first round of voting, will be announced March 27. The final three nominees, determined by a second round of voting, will be announced day of show. Final voting will be determined via social media and announced as the final category during the live show.
This year, CMT expands its breakthrough video of the year category into male and female groups, recognizing 12 nominees across the two categories. This year’s breakthrough female nominees are Avery Anna, Kylie Morgan, MacKenzie Porter, Megan Moroney, Morgan Wade and Tiera Kennedy. The breakthrough male nominees are Bailey Zimmerman, Corey Kent, Drake Milligan, Jackson Dean, Jelly Roll and Nate Smith. This runs counter to the recent trend of awards shows such as the Grammys, the Brit Awards and the Spirit Awards with gender-neutral awards categories.
Across all categories, CMT is recognizing nearly 2 dozen first-time nominees, including Avery Anna, Bailey Zimmerman, Charley Crockett, Corey Kent, Drake Milligan, Jackson Dean, Jelly Roll, Katelyn Brown, Kylie Morgan, Lukas Nelson, Megan Moroney, Morgan Wade, Nate Smith, Pillbox Patti, The War and Treaty and Tiera Kennedy.
Voting for the 2023 CMT Music Awards is open at vote.cmt.com.
Here’s the full list of nominees for the CMT Music Awards:
Video of the year
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
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-first performance of the year
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)
