Country Music Television (CMT) has unveiled its first batch of performers for the 2024 CMT Music Awards, scheduled to air live on CBS on April 7.
Keith Urban, Lainey Wilson, Jelly Roll, Sam Hunt, and Bailey Zimmerman will take the stage at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, to showcase some of their greatest hits.
The event will mark Mr. Urban’s 20th performance at the award show, per The Tennessean. The 56-year-old is reportedly set to perform “Straight Line,” the lead track from his upcoming new album.
Kelsea Ballerini—slated to host country music’s biggest night for the fourth consecutive year—will also descend on the “Live Music Capital of the World” to perform. The singer-songwriter hinted to People last month that she “might” even belt out one of her new songs.
“I can tell you from the bottom of my heart I have no idea when I’m going to be singing, but I will be singing something,” the 30-year-old said.
Although Ms. Ballerini is now a veteran at hosting the prestigious awards show, this year marks the first time she'll go it alone. The “Penthouse” singer previously had co-hosts, including singer Kane Brown and actor Anthony Mackie, the latter of whom co-hosted the ceremony in 2022.
“It’s definitely new grounds for me,” Ms. Ballerini told the publication regarding her upcoming first-time solo hosting role.
2024 Nominees
Jelly Roll, Ms. Wilson, and Ms. Ballerini are among five artists tied for the most nominations at this year’s CMT Music Awards. The trio, along with singer-songwriter Cody Johnson and country singer Megan Moroney, are all nominated for three awards each.Jelly Roll, Ms. Wilson, and Ms. Ballerini are nominated in the CMT Music Award’s “Video of the Year” category for their respective videos, which include “Need a Favor,” “Watermelon Moonshine,” and “If You Go Down (I’m Goin' Down Too).”
A total of 16 music videos are featured in the category, including “Nobody’s Nobody” by Brothers Osborne, “Dear Insecurity” by Brandy Clark featuring Brandi Carlile, “Let Your Boys Be Country” by Jason Aldean, “Deeper Well” by Kasey Musgraves, and “Nine Ball” by Zach Bryan.
Other categories include “Female Video of the Year,” “Male Video of the Year,” “Duo/Group Video of the Year,” “Collaborative Video of the Year,” “Breakthrough Female Video of the Year,” “Breakthrough Male Video of the Year,” “CMT Performance of the Year,” and “CMT Digital-First Performance of the Year.”
Ms. Wilson and Ms. Ballerini are also up for “Female Video of the Year,” with Jelly Roll nominated in the “Male Video of the Year” category.
Ms. Wilson’s third nomination stems from the “Collaborative Video of the Year” category for her work on Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real’s music video for “More Than Friends.”
Jelly Roll and Ms. Ballerini also garnered nominations for “CMT Performance of the Year” for their respective performances of “Need a Favor” and “If You Go Down (I’m Goin' Down Too)” at the Moody Center during last year’s ceremony.
CMT Music Awards
The fan-voted CMT Music Awards aims to honor country music videos and performances from various CMT shows—such as CMT Storytellers and CMT Crossroads—from the previous year.Up until last year, the ceremony took place in Nashville, Tennessee, where it’s been held since its inception in 1967—although it was then known as the Music City News Awards, earning its current moniker in 2005, per Billboard. However, in 2023, the event was relocated from its hometown to Austin, Texas, a move that was reportedly due to timing and arena availability.
According to CMT, the 2023 awards show garnered a record-breaking audience, with viewership up 5 percent from the previous year at 6.18 million viewers. The ceremony, which is also available to stream on Paramount+, saw a 16 percent increase in viewership via its live stream.
In a statement, the award show’s executive producers, Margaret Comeaux, John Hamlin, and Leslie Fram, said they “couldn’t be more excited to bring the CMT Music Awards ... back to Austin.”
“From the electrifying, sold-out Moody Center crowd to fans packing the streets for our outdoor Congress stage and Bevo himself walking the Red Carpet, our Texas-sized welcome proved to be one of our biggest and most unforgettable shows yet,” they said, referencing the 2023 ceremony.
The trio continued: “We’re thankful to our incredible partners at Moody and the City of Austin and thrilled to bring CMT’s signature blend of world premieres, genre-blending surprises, and once-in-a-lifetime collaborations back this April!”
