CMT Awards 2020: Everything to Know About Country Music's Star-Studded Show
Matt Baron/Shutterstock; Jason Kempin/ACMA2020/Getty; Stefanie Keenan/Getty Taylor Swift, Kane Brown, Kelsea Ballerini
The 2020 CMT Music Awards are here!
The annual fan-voted awards show that celebrates the best of country music is set to air live from Nashville on Wednesday, Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. EST on numerous networks.
This year's show will include performances from star-studded artists including Kelsea Ballerini, Shania Twain, Luke Bryan, Maren Morris, Luke Combs and more.
Here's what you need to know about country music's biggest night.
Three people are hosting
Modern Family alumna Sarah Hyland will be hosting the show alongside country stars Kane Brown and Ashley McBryde, both of whom are nominated and set to perform. Little Big Town hosted the show in 2018 and 2019.
"I am beyond excited, and maybe a little nervous, to host an awards show for the very first time," McBryde, 37, said in a statement. "Luckily, it's not all about me. It's about celebrating badass music videos and the brilliant men and women that help us create them."
Nancy Kruh Ashley McBryde
Jon Kopaloff/Getty; Jason Kempin/Getty Sarah Hyland and Kane Brown
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Brown, who makes history as the first Black person to host the awards show, said in a press release, "I'm excited to join this year as a first-time host and can’t wait for everyone to see the amazing performances that are lined up this year."
"I can’t wait to see what happens at this year's show and who the fans vote for," said Hyland, who is also hosting the awards show for the first time.
Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban and more are nominated
Leading the list of nominations this year are McBryde, Ballerini, Combs, Dan + Shay, Sam Hunt and Thomas Rhett with three nominations each. Brown, Carrie Underwood, Blanco Brown, Gabby Barrett, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Old Dominion and The Chicks — who return with their first CMT nod since 2007 — also received multiple nominations.
getty images Thomas Rhett; Sam Hunt; Luke Combs
All six artists nominated in the breakthrough video of the year category — Brown, Barrett, Caylee Hammack, Ingrid Andress, Riley Green and Travis Denning — are first-time CMT nominees. Supergroup The Highwomen (made up of Morris, Brandi Carlile, Natalie Hemby and Amanda Shires) and the legendary Tanya Tucker also received their first nods.
The six finalists for the coveted video of the year award, narrowed down from 14 original nominees by fan voting, are Underwood, Ballerini, Combs, Lambert, Tucker and Keith Urban.
Artists outside of the country genre receiving their first-ever CMT nominations include Halsey, Marshmello and Gwen Stefani.
More than 20 artists are performing
The country stars slated to hit the Ram Trucks Side Stage on Wednesday night are: McBryde, Ballerini, Brown, Combs, Dan + Shay, Barrett, Bryan, Morris, Hunt, Twain, Jimmie Allen, Noah Cyrus, Halsey, Little Big Town, Brooks & Dunn and Morgan Wallen.
In addition, breakout stars Green, Hammack, Andress, Denning, Hardy and Mickey Guyton will also hit the stage.
Michael Loccisano/Getty; Rick Diamond/Getty; Mike Coppola/WireImage Morgan Wallen; Gabby Barrett; Sam Hunt
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Taylor Swift and Demi Lovato are among the presenters
More star-studded artists will appear at the show to present the coveted awards. They are: Tucker, Carlile, Demi Lovato, Diplo, Idina Menzel, Jessica Chastain, Katy Perry, Kelly Clarkson, Rob Thomas and Taylor Swift.
The 2020 CMT Awards will air on several networks
To witness all the excitement at the 2020 CMT Music Awards on Wednesday, tune into CMT, MTV, MTV2, Logo, Paramount Network, Pop or TV Land at 8 p.m. EST.
