by “Heart Like a Truck” singer Lainey Wilson led the nominees for Wednesday’s 2023 CMT Music Awards with four nominations, including twice in the breakout video of the year category.
The fan favorite will compete against 15 other music videos in the top category during the annual fan-voted awards show, which will air live on CBS on April 2. Other nominees for video of the year include Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Carrie Underwood and “Bonfire at Tina’s” co-stars Ashley McBryde, Caylee Hammack, Brandy Clark and Pillbox Patti.
Wilson, whose “Heart Like a Truck,” is up for video of the year, also joins HARDY for the “wait in the truck” video.
While some award shows are moving toward gender-neutral categories, the CMT Music Awards further split the Video of the Year category into male and female subcategories. The expansion, CMT said, is meant to “more thoroughly celebrate new country music talent. This year, 12 candidates are recognized in the “twin categories”.
Other top contenders this year include Cody Johnson, first-time nominee Jelly Roll, and Kane Brown, who each scored three nods on Wednesday. Brown, who is nominated with wife Katelyn Brown for “Thank God,” is set to co-host the ceremony with singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Balerini was nominated twice for “Heartfirst.”)
With 25 wins, country superstar Underwood holds the record for most video wins of the year and has the most wins of any artist at the awards show. The “Hate My Heart” and “Ghost Story” singer is nominated twice this year for the songs’ respective music videos and is set to appear at the awards show. In November, she and Ballerini announced that the ceremony would be relocated from Nashville, Tenn., to Austin, where it will be held for the first time.
The Judds, who memorably reunited to perform “Love Can Build a Bridge” at last year’s ceremony just weeks before matriarch Naomi Judd’s death, are among 10 nominees for CMT performance of the year. The category recognizes a musical performance on a television show, series or variety special on CMT.
Winners will be chosen by fans, who can vote daily for the nine categories on CMT’s website.
Here are the candidates for 2023:
The video of the year
Ashley McBryde, Caylee Hammack, Brandy Clark & Pillbox Patti – “Bonfire at Tina’s”
Blake Shelton – “No Body”
Carrie Underwood – “Hate My Heart”
Cody Johnson – “Human”
Elle King feat. Dierks Bentley – “Worth a Shot”
Gabby Barrett – “Pick Me Up”
HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson – “wait in the truck”
Jimmie Allen – “Down Home”
Kane Brown & Katelyn Brown – “Thank God”
Keith Urban – “Wild Hearts”
Kelsea Ballerini – “Heartfirst”
Little Big Town – “Rich Man”
Luke Bryan – “Country On”
Luke Combs – “The Kind of Love We Make”
Morgan Wallen – “You Proof”
Walker Hayes – “AA”
Female video of the year
Carly Pierce – “What She Didn’t Do”
Carrie Underwood – “Ghost Story”
Gabby Barrett – “Pick Me Up”
Kelsea Ballerini – “Heartfirst”
Lainey Wilson – “Heart Like a Truck”
Maren Morris – “Humble Quest”
Miranda Lambert – “Actin’ Up”
Male video of the year
Bailey Zimmerman – “Rock and a Hard Place”
Cody Johnson – “Human”
Cole Swindell – “She Had Me at Heads Carolina”
Jelly Roll – “Son of a Sinner”
Kane Brown – “Like I Love Country Music”
Luke Combs – “The Kind of Love We Make”
Morgan Wallen – “Wasted on You”
Team/Duo Video of the Year
Dan + Shay – “You (Performance Video)”
Lady A – “Summer State of Mind”
Little Big Town – “Hell Yeah”
Parmalee – “Take My Name”
War and Treaty – “This Is How Love Is Made”
Zac Brown Band – “Out in the Middle”
Female Breakthrough Video of the Year
Avery Anna – “Narcissist”
Kylie Morgan – “If She Wanted She Would”
MacKenzie Porter – “Pickup”
Megan Moroney – “Tennessee Orange”
Morgan Wade – “Wilder Days”
Tiera Kennedy – “I Found It In You”
Male Breakthrough Video of the Year
Bailey Zimmerman – “Fall in Love”
Corey Kent – “Wild as Her”
Drake Milligan – “Sounds Like Something I Would Do”
Jackson Dean – “Don’t Come Lookin'”
Jelly Roll – “Son of a Sinner”
Nate Smith – “Whiskey on You”
Collaborative Video of the Year
Elle King feat. Dierks Bentley – “Worth a Shot”
HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson – “wait in the truck”
Ingrid Andress with Sam Hunt – “Wishful Drinking”
Kane Brown & Katelyn Brown – “Thank God”
Midland feat. Jon Pardi – “Longneck Way to Go”
Russell Dickerson feat. Jake Scott – “She Likes It”
Thomas Rhett & Katy Perry – “Where We Started”
CMT performance of the year
Black Pumas & Mickey Guyton – “Colors” (from the 2022 CMT Music Awards)
Chris Stapleton – “Whenever You Come Around” (from “CMT Giants: Vince Gill”)
Cody Johnson – “Til You Can’t” (from the 2022 CMT Music Awards)
Cole Swindell & Lainey Wilson – “Never Say Never” (from the 2022 CMT Music Awards)
Darius Rucker – “Let Her Cry” (from “CMT Storytellers”)
Emmy Russell & Lukas Nelson – “Lay Me Down” (from “Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Loretta Lynn”)
LeAnn Rimes with Ashley McBryde & Carly Pearce – “One Way Ticket” (from “CMT Crossroads: LeAnn Rimes & Friends”)
Keith Urban – “Wild Hearts” (from the 2022 CMT Music Awards)
The Judds – “Love Can Build a Bridge” (from the 2022 CMT Music Awards)
Wynonna Judd & Brandi Carlile – “The Rose” (from “Naomi Judd: A River of Time Celebration”)
CMT digital-first show of the year
Charley Crockett – “Time of the Cottonwood Trees” (from “CMT Campfire Sessions”)
Chris Young – “Gettin’ You Home” (from “CMT Stages”)
Ingrid Andress – “Wishful Drinking” (from “CMT Studio Sessions”)
Jelly Roll – “Son of a Sinner” (from “CMT All Access”)
Megan Moroney – “Tennessee Orange” (from “CMT Viral to Verified”)
Scotty McCreery – “Damn Strait” (from “CMT Campfire Sessions”)
