Luke Bryan, Kelly Clarkson, Sam Hunt & More Announced as 2018 CMT Music Awards Performers
The first round of 2018 CMT Music Awards performers have been revealed, and the list is nothing short of star-studded. Luke Bryan, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, Sam Hunt, Kelsea Ballerini and Chris Stapleton will bring their hits to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on June 6.
Clarkson’s performance marks her CMT Music Awards debut, which will also serve as the premiere of her rendition of The Guess Who’s “American Woman.” The current Voice judge recorded a power-note-filled version of the rock classic for the upcoming Paramount Network series of the same title, which will debut the next night at 10 p.m. ET.
Though the song choices for this year’s other CMT Music Awards performers have yet to be announced, Ballerini’s “I Hate Love Songs,” Stapleton’s “Millionaire” and Shelton’s “I Lived It” are currently filling country radio airwaves, with Shelton sitting at No. 7 on the Country Airplay chart (dated May 26). Bryan just revealed his latest single, “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset,” with a performance on the American Idol finale Monday, and Hunt released his highly anticipated follow-up to “Body Like a Back Road,” “Downtown’s Dead,” on May 18 — which debuted at No. 18 on Country Airplay.
CMT unveiled the nominations for this year’s CMT Music Awards on May 8, which includes a more musically diverse roster of nominees than the show has ever seen, featuring artists from pop, hip-hop and R&B genres. This year’s list of nominations also makes history, as pop artists are up for the coveted video of the year award for the first time ever (Justin Timberlake for his Chris Stapleton team-up “Say Something” and Bebe Rexha for her record-breaking Florida Georgia Line collaboration “Meant to Be”).
The 2018 CMT Music Awards will be hosted by Little Big Town, airing live from Nashville on June 6 at 8 p.m. ET on CMT. Fans can vote for their favorite videos at CMT.com through June 4.