On Sept. 23, CMT announced that Mickey Guyton will receive the Breakout Artist of the Year award and will also perform at the ceremony.
"We are thrilled to honor the immensely talented Mickey Guyton as this year's 'Breakout Artist of the Year.' After relentlessly chasing her dreams in country music for years, her perseverance, tenacity and spirit have culminated in this spectacular moment of recognition where she's finally receiving the credit she deserves," Leslie Fram, Senior Vice President, Music & Talent, CMT, said in statement. "Congratulations Mickey! We look forward to celebrating with you, and all of our honorees on October 13th."
Past Breakout Artists of the Year include Chris Stapleton (2015), Kelsea Ballerini (2016) and Ashley McBryde (2019).
Guyton will release her debut album Remember Her Name on Sept. 24.
CMT previously announced on Sept. 16 its 2021 Artists of the Year: Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Kane Brown, Luke Combs and Chris Stapleton. All artists will be guests of honor during a live, primetime broadcast emanating on Oct. 13 from the Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville.
Per a press release, the 2021 CMT Artists of the Year "collectively dominated the last 12 months in country music, leading across all CMT platforms, scoring chart-topping albums and singles, while simultaneously finding creative ways to connect with fans and meet the personal and professional challenges posed by the pandemic."
A 90-minute special will spotlight all the recognized country artists through performances and collaborations. The press release adds that "musical pairings, special guests, additional honorees, performers and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks."
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The annual special returns to its original format after pivoting in 2020 to honor the pandemic's frontline workers.
In 2019, the 10th annual CMT Artists of the Year celebration spotlighted the careers of Carrie Underwood, Dan + Shay, Thomas Rhett, Brown and Combs. The year before, CMT honored women in country music: Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris, Underwood, Ballerini, Lady A's Hillary Scott and Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman.
This year's Artists of the Year broadcast is executive produced by Comeaux, Switched On Entertainment's John Hamlin and Amy Lin Johnson. The Executives in Charge of Production are Jackie Barba and Heather D. Graffagnino. Leslie Fram is Executive in Charge of Talent; Shanna Strassberg is Talent Producer.
