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CMT Awards Reveal Nominees for October Show, Led by Dan + Shay, Luke Combs, Ashley McBryde and More

Chris Willman
·5 min read

Producers of the 2020 CMT Music Awards belatedly unveiled the list of nominees for the long-postponed telecast, and among the leading contenders, there was a six-way tie for first. Three nominations apiece went to Dan + Shay, Ashley McBryde, Luke Combs, Kelsea Ballerini, Thomas Rhett and Sam Hunt.

Artists with two nominations each are Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Kane Brown, Gabby Barrett, Blanco Brown, Little Big Town, Old Dominion and the Chicks.

Initial nominations for the top prize, video of the year, are always unusually crowded, as the CMT Awards start with a list of 14 nominees that’ll be whittled down to five prior to the Oct. 21 telecast. The first round of fan voting among those 14 finalists will stop on Oct. 12 at noon, with the whittled down list of five finalists announced shortly after that, as voting reopens. The other categories mostly have a more wieldy six nominations from the get-go.

Tanya Tucker is among those up for video of the year — and, amazingly, it’s her first CMT nomination ever, as the network came along after her initial run of hits. Also getting a single first-time nod, in the group video category, are the Highwomen, the supergroup that features Tucker’s producer, Brandi Carlile.

Also getting their first nods from the CMTs are all six “breakthrough video” nominees: Barrett, Brown, Caylee Hammack, Ingrid Andress, Riley Green and Travis Denning.

The Chicks, formerly the Dixie Chicks, received their first nominations since 2007. That shutout was no fault of the CMT Awards; this year is the first time the trio has released an album of new material in 14 years.

Somewhat surprisingly, Maren Morris, whose “The Bones” was one of the biggest hits of the year, scored only one solo nomination, for female video of the year, and did not secure a place among the 14 in the top category. She was additionally nominated as a member of the Highwomen, however.

Another seeming snub would be that Morgan Wallen, the country sensation of the moment, got only one nomination, for male video of the year. However, this may be due to the eligibility period having closed before his rocket really exploded.

Voting by fans is now open here.

If theres any sense of deja vu in this announcement, it may have to do with how tightly clustered this year’s three major country awards shows became. The Academy of Country Music Awards (ACMs) telecast just went down last week on CBS, delayed from April. Meanwhile, the Country Music Association Awards (CMAs) will be keeping its Nov. 11 date, meaning that all three shows are taking place within a two-month period, due to COVID-19-related delays on the part of two of them. The CMT Music Awards traditionally would have been held in June.

No details have been released yet on what form the show might take this year, who will host, or where it might be based. The show will air Oct. 21 at 8 p.m. ET/7 CT.

The full list of nominees:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video of the year; awarded to the artist (male, female, group/duo or collaboration) and the video director. Final nominees announced on 10/12, with final voting held until 10/16 on social media and announced in-show.
· Ashley McBryde – “One Night Standards”
· Blanco Brown – “The Git Up”
· Carrie Underwood – “Drinking Alone”
· Dan + Shay – “I Should Probably Go To Bed”
· Keith Urban – “Polaroid”
· Kelsea Ballerini – “homecoming queen?”
· Little Big Town – “Sugar Coat”
· Luke Combs – “Beer Never Broke My Heart”
· Miranda Lambert – “Bluebird”
· Old Dominion – “Some People Do”
· Sam Hunt – “Hard To Forget”
· Tanya Tucker – “Bring My Flowers Now”
· The Chicks -“Gaslighter”
· Thomas Rhett – “Remember You Young”

FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a female artist; awarded to the artist
· Ashley McBryde – “One Night Standards”
· Carrie Underwood – “Drinking Alone”
· Gabby Barrett – “I Hope”
· Kelsea Ballerini – “homecoming queen?”
· Maren Morris – “The Bones”
· Miranda Lambert – “Bluebird”

MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a male artist; awarded to the artist
· Jason Aldean – “Got What I Got”
· Luke Bryan – “One Margarita”
· Luke Combs – “Even Though I’m Leaving”
· Morgan Wallen – “Chasin’ You (Dream Video)”
· Sam Hunt – “Hard To Forget”
· Thomas Rhett – “Remember You Young”

GROUP VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a group; awarded to the artists
· Lady A – “Champagne Night”
· Little Big Town – “Wine, Beer, Whiskey”
· Midland – “Cheatin’ Songs (Live From the Palomino)”
· Old Dominion – “One Man Band”
· The Chicks – “Gaslighter”
· The Highwomen – “Crowded Table”

DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a duo; awarded to the artists
· Brothers Osborne – “All Night (Studio Performance)”
· Dan + Shay – “I Should Probably Go To Bed”
· Florida Georgia Line – “Blessings”
· LOCASH – “One Big Country Song”
· Maddie & Tae – “Die From A Broken Heart”

BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video from an artist’s major breakthrough album; awarded to the artist (male, female or group/duo)
· Blanco Brown – “The Git Up”
· Caylee Hammack – “Family Tree”
· Gabby Barrett – “I Hope”
· Ingrid Andress – “More Hearts Than Mine”
· Riley Green – “I Wish Grandpas Never Died”
· Travis Denning – “After a Few”

COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video from a collaboration; awarded to the artists
· Blake Shelton with Gwen Stefani – “Nobody But You”
· Carly Pearce and Lee Brice – “I Hope You’re Happy Now”
· Dan + Shay and Justin Bieber – “10,000 Hours”
· Kane Brown featuring Nelly – “Cool Again”
· Marshmello and Kane Brown – “One Thing Right”
· Thomas Rhett featuring Jon Pardi – “Beer Can’t Fix”

CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Musical performance on a television show, series or variety special on CMT; awarded to the artist (individual, group or duo)
· From CMT Artists of the Year: Ashley McBryde – “One Night Standards”
· From CMT Crossroads: Brooks & Dunn and Luke Combs – “Brand New Man”
· From CMT Artists of the Year: Chris Young – “Drowning”
· From CMT Crossroads: Halsey and Kelsea Ballerini – “Graveyard”
· From CMT Artists of the Year: Sam Hunt – “Fancy”
· From CMT Crossroads: Sheryl Crow and Chris Stapleton – “Tell Me When It’s Over”

 

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