Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton, Luke Bryan Among Performers on 2018 CMT Music Awards

Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton, Kelly Clarkson, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Bryan and Sam Hunt have been announced as performers on the upcoming 2018 CMT Music Awards, which will premiere live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on June 6 at 8 p.m. ET.  

Clarkson, who is making her CMT Music Awards debut, will premiere her rendition of the iconic rock hit, “American Woman,” which is the theme of the upcoming Paramount Network series of the same title debuting the day after the Awards on June 7. Inspired by the real-life upbringing of Kyle Richards from the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, American Woman follows Bonnie (Alicia Silverstone), an unconventional mother struggling to raise her two daughters after leaving her husband with the help of her two best friends in 1970s Los Angeles.

CMT Music Awards nominees Bebe Rexha, with her record-breaking, chart-topping collaboration “Meant to Be” with Florida Georgia Line, and Justin Timberlake, with “Say Something” featuring Chris Stapleton, both received first time nods for the Video of the Year trophy. The additional lineup of stars vying for the title include Blake Shelton, Brett Young, Brothers Osborne, Carrie Underwood featuring Ludacris, Dan + Shay, Jason Aldean, Kane Brown featuring Lauren Alaina, Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Combs, and Thomas Rhett. Carrie Underwood (who currently holds the title of most CMT Music Awards wins), Florida Georgia Line and Jason Aldean are tied for the most nominations with four each.

Fans can vote for their favorite artists now via CMT.com until Monday, June 4 for categories including “Video of the Year,” “Male Video of the Year,” “Female Video of the Year,” “Duo Video of the Year,” “Group Video of the Year,” “Breakthrough Video of the Year,” “Collaborative Video of the Year” and “CMT Performance of the Year.” Additional performers on the show will be announced soon.

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Lorie Hollabaugh

Hollabaugh, a staff writer at MusicRow magazine, has over 20 years of music business experience and has written for publications including American Profile, CMA Close Up, Nashville Arts And Entertainment, The Boot and Country Weekly. She has a Broadcast Journalism and Speech Communication degree from Texas Christian University, (go Horned Frogs), and welcomes your feedback or story ideas at lhollabaugh@musicrow.com.

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