CMT announced on Wednesday (May 8) the first round of nominations for the 2023 CMT Music Awards. On Sun., April 2 at 8 p.m. EST, CBS will air the entirely fan-voted awards show from Austin's Moody Center. It will be hosted by Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini.
Lainey Wilson continues her awards show momentum from last year's CMA Awards by leading the field with four nominations: Video of the Year, Female Video of the Year, Collaborative Video of the Year and CMT Performance of the Year. Cody Johnson, Jelly Roll and co-host Brown earned three nominations apiece.
There's sixteen nominees for the night's top prize, Video of the Year: Carrie Underwood; Ashley McBryde with Caylee Hammack, Brandy Clark and Pillbox Patti; Blake Shelton; Cody Johnson; Elle King and Dierks Bentley; Gabby Barrett; Hardy and Lainey Wilson; Jimmie Allen; Keith Urban; Little Big Town; Luke Bryan; Luke Combs; Morgan Wallen; Walker Hayes; Ballerini; and Kane and Katelyn Brown. Fan voting via vote.cmt.com is now open and will narrow down that list to six, with those results shared on March 27. The final three nominees will be revealed the day of the show.
Elsewhere on the ballot, Breakthrough Video of the Year will be broken down for the first time into Breakthrough Male and Breakthrough Female categories. This helped expand the list of first-time nominees to 21: 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, Tiera Kennedy and Wynonna Judd.
Read on for the full list of categories and nominees.
Video of the Year
"Bonfire at Tina's," Ashley McBryde, Caylee Hammack, Brandy Clark and Pillbox Patti
"No Body," Blake Shelton
"Hate My Heart," Carrie Underwood
"Human," Cody Johnson
"Worth a Shot," Elle King Feat. Dierks Bentley
"Pick Me Up," Gabby Barrett
"Wait in the Truck," Hardy and Lainey WIlson
"Down Home," Jimmie Allen"
"Thank God," Kane and Katelyn Brown
"Wild Hearts," Keith Urban
"Heartfirst," Kelsea Ballerini
"Rich Man," Little Big Town
"Country On," Luke Bryan
"The Kind of Love We Make," Luke Combs
"You Proof," Morgan Wallen
"AA," Walker Hayes
Female Video of the Year
"What He Didn't Do," Carly Pearce
"Ghost Story," Carrie Underwood
"Pick Me Up," Gabby Barrett
"Heartfirst," Kelsea Ballerini
"Heart Like a Truck," Lainey Wilson
"Humble Quest," Maren Morris
"Actin' Up," Miranda Lambert
Male Video of the Year
"Rock and a Hard Place," Bailey Zimmerman
"Human," Cody Johnson
"She Had Me at Heads Carolina," Cole Swindell
"Son of a Sinner," Jelly Roll
"Like I Love Country Music," Kane Brown
"The Kind of Love We Make," Luke Combs
"Wasted on You," Morgan Wallen
Group/Duo Video of the Year
"You (Performance Video)," Dan + Shay
"Summer State of Mind," Lady A
"Hell Yeah," Little Big Town
"Take My Name," Parmalee
"That's How Love is Made," the War and Treaty
"Out in the Middle," Zac Brown Band
Breakthrough Female Video of the Year
"Narcissist," Avery Anna
"If He Wanted to He Would," Kylie Morgan
"Pickup," MacKenzie Porter
"Tennessee Orange," Megan Moroney
"Wilder Days," Morgan Wade
"Found It in You," Tiera Kennedy
Breakthrough Male Video of the Year
"Fall in Love," Bailey Zimmerman
"Wild as Her," Corey Kent
"Sounds Like Something I'd Do," Drake Milligan
"Don't Come Lookin," Jackson Dean
"Son of a Sinner," Jelly Roll
"Whiskey on You," Nate Smith
Collaborative Video of the Year
"Worth A Shot," Elle King feat. Dierks Bentley
"Wait in the Truck," Hardy and Lainey Wilson
"Wishful Drinking," Ingrid Andress with Sam Hunt
"Thank God," Kane and Katelyn Brown
"Longneck Way to Go," Midland feat. Jon Pardi
"She Likes It," Russell Dickerson feat. Jake Scot
"Where We Started," Thomas Rhett and Katy Perry
CMT Digital-First Performance of the Year
"Time of the Cottonwood Trees" (from CMT Campfire Sessions), Charley Crockett
"Gettin' You Home" (from CMT Stages), Chris Young
"Wishful Drinking" (from CMT Studio Sessions), Ingrid Andress
"Son of A Sinner" (from CMT All Access), Jelly Roll
"Tennessee Orange" (from CMT Viral To Verified), Megan Moroney
"Damn Strait" (from CMT Campfire Sessions), Scotty McCreery
CMT Performance of the Year
"Colors" (from 2022 CMT Music Awards), Black Pumas and Mickey Guyton
"Whenever You Come Around" (from CMT Giants: Vince Gill), Chris Stapleton
"'Til You Can't" (from 2022 CMT Music Awards), Cody Johnson
"Never Say Never" (from 2022 CMT Music Awards), Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson
"Let Her Cry" (from CMT Storytellers), Darius Rucker
"Lay Me Down" (from Coal Miner's Daughter: A Celebration of the Life & Music of Loretta Lynn), Emmy Russell and Lukas Nelson
"Wild Hearts" (from 2022 CMT Music Awards), Keith Urban
"One Way Ticket" (from CMT Crossroads: LeAnn Rimes & Friends), LeAnn Rimes with Ashley McBryde and Carly Pearcr
"Love Can Build A Bridge" (from 2022 CMT Music Awards), The Judds
"The Rose" (from Naomi Judd: A River of Time Celebration), Wynonna Judd and Brandi Carlile
READ MORE: Maren Morris, Brothers Osborne Slated for LGBTQ+ Rights Fundraising Concert in Nashville
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