Keith Urban Dominates With Four Wins Including “Video of the Year”
Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Little Big Town and Lauren Alaina Score Top Honors
First-Ever Performances From The Chainsmokers/Florida Georgia Line, Kelsea Ballerini, Earth, Wind & Fire/Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Peter Frampton/Brothers Osborne And More
NASHVILLE – Country music’s hottest night of the year turned it up a notch as host Charles Esten (“Nashville”) led an all-star party featuring first-time musical mash-ups, record-breaking wins and an all-star tribute to the late Gregg Allman.
Keith Urban owned the night with four wins including “Video of the Year” (his third time winning the top honor) and “Male Video of the Year” for “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” “Collaborative Video of the Year” with Carrie Underwood for “The Fighter,” as well as “#SOCIALSUPERSTAR Award presented by Pepsi,” notching his first wins since 2010. Underwood gave a shout out to the Nashville Predators after winning “Female Video of the Year” for “Church Bells,” to break her own record for most wins in the awards’ show history with a grand total of 17. Urban and Underwood performed “The Fighter,” delighting and surprising fans by slowly building to a fiery ending.
Lauren Alaina gave a teary-eyed acceptance after winning her first-ever “CMT Music Award” for “Breakthrough Video of the Year” for “Road Less Traveled.” Additional winners included Florida Georgia Line for “Duo Video of the Year” for “H.O.L.Y.,” Little Big Town for “Group Video of the Year” for “Better Man” and Jason Derulo/Luke Bryan for “CMT Performance of the Year” for “Want to Want Me.”
The night was filled with unforgettable performances that spanned genres and decades. The show kicked off with a celebration of the life and music of the late Gregg Allman. Country superstars Jason Aldean, Darius Rucker and Charles Kelley wowed the audience with an acapella version of “Midnight Rider” before seguing into a full on jam featuring former Allman Brothers band member Derek Trucks, while images of Allman filled Music City Center, earning a standing ovation.
Rock icon Peter Frampton and Brothers Osborne owned the CMT outdoor stage with a gritty, guitar-fueled performance of “It Ain’t My Fault.” Miranda Lambert celebrated the power of pink plastic with the world premiere performance of “Pink Sunglasses” in front of thousands of fans adorning their own beloved pink shades. Backed by a sexy squad of dancers, Thomas Rhett got the audience on their feet with his hit “Craving You.” With thousands of fans lining the streets, The Chainsmokers and Florida Georgia Line performed an EDM/country mash-up of “Last Day Alive” for the first time anywhere from a rooftop high a top the Nashville skyline. Blake Shelton sang of yesteryear with his hit “Every Time I Hear That Song.” Brett Eldredge brought the beat and an entire drumline for “Somethin’ I’m Good At.” Little Big Town delivered an emotionally charged world premiere performance of “When Someone Stops Loving You.” Jason Derulo and Luke Bryan continued their budding bromance and showed why they were winners of the “CMT Performance of the Year” award with their electrifying mash-up of “Strip it Down” and “Want to Want Me.” Kelsea Ballerini debuted her soon-to-be-smash “Legends.” Earth Wind & Fire closed out the show with Lady Antebellum with a country funk mash-up of “You Look Good” and “September.”
This year, the “CMT Music Awards” featured a second concert stage sponsored by Firestone that included performances from some of country’s hottest new artists including Brett Young, Jon Pardi, Lauren Alaina, Midland and Chris Lane.
Presenters included an A-list roster of music industry giants and Hollywood heavy-hitters including Ashton Kutcher (“The Ranch”), Clare Bowen (“Nashville”), Danny Masterson (“The Ranch”), Dustin Lynch, Hoda Kotb (“Today Show”), Jada Pinkett Smith (“Girls Trip”), Johnny Galecki (“Big Bang Theory”), Josh Henderson (‘The Arrangement”), Katherine Heigl (“The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature”), Kathie Lee Gifford (“Today Show”), Kid Rock, Rachel Bilson (“Nashville”), RaeLynn, Reba McEntire along with country music personalities Bobby Bones and CMT’s Cody Alan and Katie Cook.
The winners for the 2017 CMT MUSIC AWARDS are:
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video of the year; awarded to the artist (male, female, group/duo or collaboration) and the video director. Final nominees announced during live telecast, with final voting held online at CMT.com during the show.
- Keith Urban – “Blue Ain’t Your Color”
MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a male artist; awarded to the artist
- Keith Urban – “Blue Ain’t Your Color”
FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a female artist; awarded to the artist
- Carrie Underwood – “Church Bells”
DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a duo; awarded to the artists
- Florida Georgia Line – “H.O.L.Y.”
GROUP VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a group; awarded to the artists
- Little Big Town – “Better Man”
BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video from an artist’s major breakthrough album; awarded to the artist (male, female or group/duo)
- Lauren Alaina – “Road Less Traveled”
COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video from a collaboration; awarded to the artists
- Keith Urban feat. Carrie Underwood – “The Fighter”
CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Musical performance on a television show, series or variety special on CMT; awarded to the artist (individual, group or duo)
- Jason Derulo and Luke Bryan – “Want To Want Me” (From CMT Crossroads)
#SOCIALSUPERSTAR Award presented by Pepsi
Most creative and engaging social media posts by an artist; awarded to the artist
- Keith Urban
For more information, follow @CMT on Twitter and Instagram, use hashtag #CMTawards and like the CMT Music Awards on Facebook.