CMT has announced that sportscaster/TV personality Erin Andrews and football superstar J.J. Watt and will host the “2016 CMT Music Awards,” live on Wednesday, June 8th at 8 pm ET/PT from the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

Best known for his defense on the field with the Houston Texans and for her role as a FOX/Sports broadcaster and host of “Dancing with the Stars,” Watt and Andrews are no strangers to intense competitions. This marks Watt’s first time as host, while Andrews’ returns for a second consecutive year after keeping the audience laughing and the artists on their toes.

“I’m thrilled to come back to Nashville to co-host the CMT Music Awards,” said Andrews. “I had so much fun last year, and I can’t wait to see what antics J.J. and I will get into together. Plus, there’s nothing better than seeing my favorite country artists get recognized for their great work.”

“Having presented at the CMT Awards last year, I got a first-hand look at the energy and excitement of the event and I am very excited to be involved in a much larger capacity this year as co-host,” said Watt. “There are two things that I know about the people of Nashville…they love country music and they know how to throw a party. When you put those two things together, it makes for one heck of a night. I can’t wait to host the awards with Erin and be part of such a great night, honoring the biggest stars in country music.”-

Also announced, country’s Cam, who is nominated for three CMT Music awards and is tied for the most nominations, will join pop superstars Fifth Harmony, for a special never-before-heard mash-up of Fifth Harmony’s current Billboard No. 1 pop song, “Work From Home,” and Cam’s “Mayday.”

CMT is also revealing some of the presenters tapped for the night. They include actors Vince Vaughn and Rob Riggle, NASCAR driver Danica Patrick, country artists Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, Cole Swindell, Dan+Shay and Kellie Pickler, as well as actors Joey Lauren Adams and Madison Iseman from the new upcoming CMT series Still The King, which premieres June 12th. More performers and presenters will soon be announced.

CMT revealed the first round of performers last week that include show-stoppers like Blake Shelton, Chris Stapleton, Florida Georgia Line, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean and Thomas Rhett. Earlier this month, the network unveiled nominations for the 2016 “CMT Music Awards”, which pitted the reigning champion, Carrie Underwood, against powerhouse newcomers, Cam and Chris Stapleton for most nominations and the highly coveted “Video of the Year” win. For the first time, The CMT Music Awards will find out, will country royalty Carrie Underwood be able to defend her throne?

Fan voting is available at CMT.com and continues until Monday, June 6th at 12:01 AM ET. On Wednesday, June 1st, CMT will announce a brand-new surprise awards category. In the coming weeks, CMT will reveal this year’s host, performers, presenters and more.

Last year’s “CMT Music Awards” once again earned its title as the loudest in country music garnering nearly 17 million cumulative viewers for the premiere and subsequent airings, according to Nielsen. #CMTawards trended worldwide on Twitter from the start of the live telecast and throughout, and the show ranked as the #1 most social telecast of the day with over 18 million impressions according to Nielsen Twitter TV ratings. The awards ranked as the #2 most social non-sports telecast of the week and CMT.com saw double-digit gains for “CMT Music Awards” content, with unique visitors up +33% from the prior year.

2016 CMT Music Awards airs June 8th at 8 pm ET on CMT

Author: Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites.