The ceremony is set to honor the top five country artists who made waves in the music world for the last 12 months. Think Billboard Awards, but for country musicians.
CMT’s Big Night for Country Musicians to Return This Year
The 2021 edition of CMT Artists of the Year will return on October 13 to Music City’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center in Nashville.
The event recognizes the top five country musicians who took country music to a whole new level in 2021, and as well, frequently dominated the charts.
The top five will be chosen from those artists who collectively ruled the last 12 months in country music, scoring chart-topping albums and singles while using creative ways to connect with fans and properly tell their story, especially during this ongoing pandemic.
The program ran with its original format last June and honored some of the most important and inspirational Americans on the frontlines of the pandemic. This year’s 90-minute special will once again feature surprise musical pairings and special guests.
The coming weeks will see the names of the honorees, additional performers, and presenters revealed.
Past CMT Award Honors
2019 marked the 10th time that the annual ceremony was held and it highlighted huge country stars like Carrie Underwood, Dan + Shay, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, and Thomas Rhett.
Thomas Rhett received his second CMT honor that year, while Carrie Underwood received a milestone fifth honor. CMT’s Senior Vice President of Music Strategy & Talent Leslie Fram noted that the 2019 festivities marked “a pivotal time in [the artists’] careers, [and] promises to be a night of incredible performances and reflection.”
The 2018 edition of the event highlighted the powerful women who contributed a lot to country music and made it the genre it is today. The ceremony celebrated female artists – past, present and future, including Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris, Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman, plus Lady A’s Hillary Scott.
Be sure to catch up on everything happening with CMT’s “Artists of the Year” right now. Come back here often for all CMT spoilers, news, and updates.