The 2018 CMT Awards air on Wednesday June 6, beginning at 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT on CMT. This 17th annual edition of the Country Music Television Awards will be hosted by Little Big Town members Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, Phillip Sweet and Jimi Westbrook. They contend in three categories, including Group Video of the Year for “When Someone Stops Loving You.
Besides hosting, they will be performing live onstage at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Also raising their voice in song will be Kelsea Ballerini, Kelly Clarkson, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt, Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton, The Backstreet Boys and Carrie Underwood. In addition, Dierks Bentley will collaborate with Brothers Osborne while Darius Rucker will be joined by Jason Aldean, Luke Bryanand Charles Kelley.
ACM Awards 2018 Viewing Details
Date: Sunday, April 15, 2018
Time: 8:00 P.M. EST
TV Channel: ABC
Hosts: Reba McEntire
Performers: Carrie Underwood, Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean.
It’s Jon Pardi, by the way. The voting process for the CMA Awards is similar to the electoral college’s role in a U.S. presidential election. The 7,400 voting members of the CMA are made up of music industry professionals who work for record labels, entertainment brands like CMT and the Grand Ole Opry and other music business firms.
While the voting members have the will to vote for their personal favorites in each category, sometimes organizations use their collective memberships to block vote.
CMA voters who are also employees of a record company like Universal Music Group, the label home of Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Sam Hunt, Lady Antebellum and now Carrie Underwood, have the power to vote for the artists they represent in significant numbers. Many awards ceremonies that aren’t fan-voted like the CMT Music Awards use a balloting process similar to one for the CMA Awards use. That’s how some of the same names pop up year after year.
Then there are great years like 2013 when Kacey Musgraves and Taylor Swift were the lead nominees heading to the show. In 2015, Chris Stapleton, who was considered as a powerhouse singer-songwriter behind-the-scenes in the years prior, showed the world what a gift he is when he and Justin Timberlake performed “Tennessee Whiskey” live on the 49th annual telecast. Then there was 2016 when Maren Morris and Brothers Osborne won their first CMAs. In 2012, Little Big Town won their first CMA awards seven yearsafter breaking out with “Boondocks.”
Maybe you’d like to see Margo Price, Amanda Shires, Jason Isbell or Sturgill Simpson nominated? Remember Simpson busked outside the 2017 show and collected tips in his Grammy.
Like most evolutions in music, change takes time. Look out for the gifts.
Voting for the final ballot in the CMA Awards runs Oct. 1-23, and all balloting is tabulated by Deloitte & Touche LLP.
