Fans Rule CMT Music Awards

The CMT Music Awards show is billed as “the loudest night” in country music.

The CMT Music Awards air on CMT at 8 p.m. EDT, live from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Boasting a star-studded lineup of names for Wednesday night’s big event, including Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Florida Georgia Line, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, and Thomas Rhett, that description might not be too much of a stretch.

Erin Andrews will be teamed with football star J.J. Watt to do the hosting duties. This marks Watt’s first time as host, while Andrews returns for a second consecutive year.

One thing that sets the CMTs apart from other country awards show is that the winners are based solely on fan votes, like the People’s Choice Awards.

Another thing is the collaborative numbers, much like the Grammys, that are lined up for the show. This year, watch for:

• Little Big Town with Pharrell
• Billy Ray Cyrus and Cheap Trick
• Cam with Fifth Harmony
• Dierks Bentley and Elle King
• Cassadee Pope, Leona Lewis, and Pitbull

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The big category is Video of the Year, where the competition has been stiff:

Blake Shelton’s “Sangria”
Cam’s “Burning House”
Carrie Underwood’s “Smoke Break”
Chris Stapleton’s “Fire Away”
Florida Georgia Line’s “Sippin on Fire”
Jason Aldean’s “Tonight Looks Good on You”
Keith Urban’s “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16”
Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush”
Luke Bryan’s “Strip it Down”
Sam Hunt’s “Break Up in a Small Town”
Thomas Rhett’s “Die a Happy Man”
Tim McGraw’s “Humble and Kind”

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And that’s just one of the categories. There’s also Male Video of the Year, Female Video of the Year, Breakthrough Video of the Year, Group/Duo Video of the Year, CMT Performance of the Year, and a new category — the CMT Social Media Superstar.

The nominees for Social Media Superstar are: Shelton, Brett Eldridge, Jake Owen, Kelsea Ballerini, Lindsay Ell, and Thomas Rhett. Voting continues for this trophy through the live show. Fans are encouraged to post with #CMTawards plus the hashtag for their favorite artists: #VoteBlake, #VoteBrett, #VoteJake, #VoteKelsea, #VoteLindsay, and #VoteThomas.

It will be tough to beat Blake Shelton’s very active tweeting (much of which revolves around drinking) in that category.

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But wait. There are more country names to drop.

Presenters include Billy Gardell and Chad Michael Murray, stars of CMT’s upcoming series “Million Dollar Quartet,” actors Joey Lauren Adams and Madison Iseman from the new CMT series “Still The King,” radio personality Bobby Bones, CMT’s Cody Alan, Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, Cole Swindell, Dan + Shay, Kellie Pickler, actors Vince Vaughn and Rob Riggle, and NASCAR driver Danica Patrick.