The 2021 CMT Music Awards are around the corner.
The current year’s nominations are driven by two of the today’s most popular acts: Miranda Lambert and Maren Morris.
Every one of the two country music powerhouses with acquired themselves four nominations. Two of Morris’ nods are imparted to her husband, Ryan Hurd, their duet “Chasing After You,” while a pair of Lambert’s nominations are for her Elle King duet “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home).”
Remarkably, controversial and scandal-embroiled singer Morgan Wallen didn’t nab a single nomination this year. He’s experienced some difficulty earning awards and nominations since being found utilizing a racial slur on camera, and CMT has taken out his videos from their programming.
The video of the year prize, the year’s greatest award, at first nominated 14 musicians, however the nominees are paired down in the days and weeks before the show until just three finalists remain. As of now, Lambert, King, Brown, Ballerini, Carrie Underwood, John Legend, and Keith Urban are among those that actually have a shot.
This is an unique year too, as genre-bending tunes take center stage, for example, Underwood and Legend’s gospel collaboration and Urban’s “One Too Many” with P!nk.
Here’s a look at the 2021 CMT Music Award nominees:
Video of the year (finalists shown in italics)
- Carrie Underwood with John Legend – “Hallelujah”
- Dierks Bentley – “Gone”
- Elle King and Miranda Lambert – “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)”
- Ingrid Andress – “Lady Like”
- Kane Brown – “Worldwide Beautiful”
- Keith Urban with P!nk – “One Too Many”
- Kelsea Ballerini – “hole in the bottle”
- Kenny Chesney – “Knowing You”
- Maren Morris – “Better Than We Found It”
- Mickey Guyton – “Heaven Down Here”
- Miranda Lambert – “Settling Down”
- Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris – “Chasing After You”
- Sam Hunt – “Breaking Up Was Easy In The 90’s”
- Willie Jones – “American Dream”
Female video of the year
- Carly Pearce – “Next Girl”
- Gabby Barrett – “The Good Ones”
- Kelsea Ballerini – “hole in the bottle”
- Maren Morris – “To Hell & Back”
- Mickey Guyton – “Heaven Down Here”
- Miranda Lambert – “Settling Down”
Male video of the year
- Chris Stapleton – “Starting Over”
- Darius Rucker – “Beers and Sunshine”
- Kane Brown – “Worship You”
- Luke Bryan – “Down To One”
- Luke Combs – “Lovin’ On You”
- Thomas Rhett – “What’s Your Country Song”
Duo/group video of the year
- Brothers Osborne – “All Night”
- Lady A – “Like A Lady”
- Little Big Town – “Wine, Beer, Whiskey”
- Old Dominion – “Never Be Sorry”
- Parmalee and Blanco Brown – “Just The Way”
- Runaway June – “We Were Rich”
Breakthrough video of the year
- Dylan Scott – “Nobody”
- Hailey Whitters feat. Little Big Town – “Fillin’ My Cup”
- HARDY – “Give Heaven Some Hell”
- Lainey Wilson – “Things a Man Oughta Know”
- Mickey Guyton – “Black Like Me”
- Niko Moon – “GOOD TIME (Ride Along Video)”
Collaborative video of the year
- Carrie Underwood with John Legend – “Hallelujah”
- Chris Young and Kane Brown – “Famous Friends”
- Elle King and Miranda Lambert – “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)”
- Keith Urban with P!nk – “One Too Many”
- Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris – “Chasing After You”
- Tim McGraw and Tyler Hubbard – “Undivided”
CMT performance of the year
- From the 2020 CMT Music Awards – Brooks & Dunn and Luke Combs “1, 2 Many”
- From the 2020 CMT Music Awards – Dan + Shay “I Should Probably Go To Bed”
- From the 2020 CMT Music Awards – Jimmie Allen and Noah Cyrus “This Is Us”
- From the 2020 CMT Music Awards – Kelsea Ballerini and Halsey “The Other Girl”
- From the 2020 CMT Music Awards – Little Big Town “Wine, Beer, Whiskey”
- From CMT Crossroads – Nathaniel Rateliff and Margo Price “Twinkle Twinkle”
The show airs Wednesday, June 9 at 8 p.m. EST on CMT, MTV, MTV2, Logo, Paramount Network, TV Land and CMT Australia.