2021 CMT Music Awards: Maren Morris, Miranda Lambert Lead Nominees

Maren Morris and Miranda Lambert led all nominees when the nominations for the CMT Music Awards were announced Thursday morning. The annual celebration of country music videos and performances airs June 9th on CMT.

Morris and Lambert each earned four nominations, including two apiece in the top category of Video of the Year: Morris for her video “Better Than We Found It” and for “Chasing After You,” her collab with husband Ryan Hurd; Lambert for “Settling Down” and her duet with Elle King, “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home).” Morris and Lambert, both Texas natives, are also up for Female Video of the Year and Collaborative Video of the Year.

Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown co-host the CMT Music Awards and also compete — both scored three nominations. Little Big Town and Mickey Guyton have three nominations as well.

While Video of the Year is the show’s centerpiece, it’s the CMT Performance of the Year category that is typically the most interesting. This year’s field includes Brooks & Dunn and Luke Combs for “1, 2 Many,” Jimmie Allen and Noah Cyrus’ “This Is Us,” and Nathaniel Rateliff and Margo Price’s “Twinkle Twinkle,” from the Americana artists’ CMT Crossroads appearance.

The Video of the Year field will be winnowed down from 14 to five on June 1st, with the top three nominees announced June 8th. Fans choose the winner via social media voting during the broadcast.

The CMT Music Awards air Wednesday, June 9th, at 8 p.m. ET on CMT, MTV, MTV2, Logo, Paramount Network, and TV Land.

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Carrie Underwood with John Legend – “Hallelujah”
Dierks Bentley – “Gone”
Elle King and Miranda Lambert – “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)”
Ingrid Andress – “Lady Like”
Kane Brown – “Worldwide Beautiful”
Keith Urban with P!nk – “One Too Many”
Kelsea Ballerini – “Hole in the Bottle”
Kenny Chesney – “Knowing You”
Maren Morris – “Better Than We Found It”
Mickey Guyton – “Heaven Down Here”
Miranda Lambert – “Settling Down”
Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris – “Chasing After You”
Sam Hunt – “Breaking Up Was Easy in the 90’s”
Willie Jones – “American Dream”

FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Carly Pearce – “Next Girl”
Gabby Barrett – “The Good Ones”
Kelsea Ballerini – “Hole in the Bottle”
Maren Morris – “To Hell & Back”
Mickey Guyton – “Heaven Down Here”
Miranda Lambert – “Settling Down”

MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Chris Stapleton – “Starting Over”
Darius Rucker – “Beers and Sunshine”
Kane Brown – “Worship You”
Luke Bryan – “Down to One”
Luke Combs – “Lovin’ on You”
Thomas Rhett – “What’s Your Country Song”

DUO/GROUP VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Brothers Osborne – “All Night”
Lady A – “Like a Lady”
Little Big Town – “Wine, Beer, Whiskey”
Old Dominion – “Never Be Sorry”
Parmalee and Blanco Brown – “Just the Way”
Runaway June – “We Were Rich”

BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Dylan Scott – “Nobody”
Hailey Whitters feat. Little Big Town – “Fillin’ My Cup”
Hardy – “Give Heaven Some Hell”
Lainey Wilson – “Things a Man Oughta Know”
Mickey Guyton – “Black Like Me”
Niko Moon – “Good Time (Ride Along Video)”

COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Carrie Underwood with John Legend – “Hallelujah”
Chris Young and Kane Brown – “Famous Friends”
Elle King and Miranda Lambert – “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)”
Keith Urban with P!nk – “One Too Many”
Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris – “Chasing After You”
Tim McGraw and Tyler Hubbard – “Undivided”

CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
From the 2020 CMT Music Awards – Brooks & Dunn and Luke Combs “1, 2 Many”
From the 2020 CMT Music Awards – Dan + Shay “I Should Probably Go To Bed”
From the 2020 CMT Music Awards – Jimmie Allen and Noah Cyrus “This Is Us”
From the 2020 CMT Music Awards – Kelsea Ballerini and Halsey “The Other Girl”
From the 2020 CMT Music Awards – Little Big Town “Wine, Beer, Whiskey”
From CMT Crossroads – Nathaniel Rateliff and Margo Price “Twinkle Twinkle”