Carrie Underwood sings "Church Bells" at the 2016 CMT Music Awards. (Photo : You Tube/CMT)
The 2016 CMT Music Awards was held on June 8 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. Carrie Underwood was one of the earliest winners to be called on stage and along with Chris Stapleton, she was also the most awarded singer of the night.
The award ceremony was hosted by J.J. Watt and Erin Andrews, and the pair opened the show with a short comedy skit. The NFL player and "Dancing with the Stars" host were able to pull it off with the help of all-star cast which include Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis and Kristen Bell.
Keith Urban, Maren Morris and Brett Eldredge who performed "Wasted Time" kickstarted the collaborative stages which really impressed the audience. The next group, Bill Ray Cyrus and Cheap Trick, rocked the stage with a medley of "Don't Be Cruel" and "Surrender" and Cassadee Pope, Pitbull and Leona Lewis joined forces to mesmerize the audience with "Messin' Around."
Moreover, Cam and the Fifth Harmony also sang a medley of "Mayday" and "Work from Home" while Blake Shelton rendered "Doing It to Country Songs" and "Elvira" with the Oak Ridge Boys. There were solo stages too and some of the performers were Thomas Rhett, Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean.
"I think generally we deliver, things that we didn't know would fit perfectly together, but when they got together and started jamming they found magic and that's the secret of the CMT Music Awards," The Tennessean quoted CMT president Brian Philips as saying. The unique collaboration of the artists was the idea of Philips and his team.
The nominees and winners, which are also listed on CMT Music Awards website, are:
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Tim McGraw - "Humble and Kind" - WINNER
Blake Shelton - "Sangria"
Carrie Underwood - "Smoke Break"
Chris Stapleton - "Fire Away"
Luke Bryan - "Strip It Down"
Thomas Rhett - "Die a Happy Man"
MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Thomas Rhett - "Die a Happy Man" - WINNER
Blake Shelton - Sangria"
Eric Church - "Like a Wrecking Ball"
Keith Urban - "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16"
Luke Bryan - "Kick The Dust Up"
Sam Hunt - "Break Up in a Small Town"
FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Carrie Underwood - "Smoke Break" - WINNER
Cam - "Burning House"
Jana Kramer - "I Got the Boy"
Kacey Musgraves - "Biscuits"
Kelsea Ballerini - "Dibs"
Maren Morris - "My Church"
GROUP/DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Little Big Town - "Girl Crush" - WINNER
Brothers Osborne - "Stay a Little Longer"
Dan + Shay - "Nothin' Like You"
Florida Georgia Line - "Sippin' on Fire"
Old Dominion - "Break Up With Him"
Zac Brown Band - "Loving You Easy"
BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Chris Stapleton - "Fire Away" - WINNER
Brothers Osborne - "Stay a Little Longer"
Cam - "Burning House"
Chris Janson - "Buy Me a Boat"
Maren Morris - "My Church"
Old Dominion - "Break Up With Him"
CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Carrie Underwood - "Smoke Break" (From CMT Instant Jam) - WINNER
Adam Lambert and Leona Lewis - "Girl Crush" (From 2015 CMT Artists of The Year)
Brantley Gilbert and Lynyrd Skynyrd - "What's Your Name" (From CMT Crossroads)
Cheap Trick and Jennifer Nettles - "I Want You to Want Me" (From CMT Crossroads)
Chris Stapleton - "Nobody To Blame" (From CMT Artists of the Year)
Darius Rucker - "Alright"(From CMT Instant Jam)
SOCIAL SUPERSTAR OF THE YEAR
Blake Shelton - WINNER
Brett Eldredge
Jake Owen
Kelsea Ballerini
Lindsay Ell
Thomas Rhett
Watch the hilarious 2016 CMT Music Awards opening skit featuring hosts Watt and Andrews:
