First round of 2023 CMT Music Awards performers announced

Show airs live April 2nd from Austin, TX

CMT has announced that Blake Shelton, Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson, Keith Urban, co-host Kelsea Ballerini and Lainey Wilson are the first round of superstars added to the 2023 CMT Music Awards lineup, joining previously announced performers Carrie Underwood and co-host Kane Brown & wife Katelyn Brown. The event will air live from Austin, Texas’ Moody Center for the first time on Sunday, April 2nd from 8-11 pm ET/delayed PT on the CBS Television Network and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

With eight career wins across two decades of nominations, Shelton will again look to take home the night’s biggest award for “Video of the Year” and will return to the CMT stage for the first time in five years to perform new single “No Body.”

Following last year’s fiery performance of “Diamondback,” Pearce will again take the stage for another can’t-miss performance. The 10x nominee also looks to take home two wins for “Female Video of the Year” and “CMT Performance of the Year.”

Johnson made an unforgettable debut at the 2022 awards, tying for most wins of the night and wowing audiences with “‘Til You Can’t,” which is nominated for “CMT Performance of the Year.” He’ll bring his hit single “Human” live to Austin’s Moody Center and compete for three more buckles, including the coveted Video of the Year.

Vying for his fourth “Video of the Year” win and also nominated for his memorable show opening performance at the 2022 CMT Music Awards for “Wild Hearts,” Urban will once again bring a high-energy, can’t miss performance to the CMT stage. He is the second-most nominated artist in CMT history with nine wins, followed by Underwood who reigns as the most awarded artist in CMT history with a total of 25 wins.

Fresh off her critically-acclaimed SNL appearance, Ballerini will add to her co-hosting duties with another show-stopping performance on the CMT stage. She’s also up for “Female Video of the Year” and “Video of the Year.”

Following one of the most unforgettable performances of the 2022 awards for her rain-soaked collab of “Never Say Never” with Cole Swindell, Wilson looks to take home her first CMT belt buckle and will bring her hit “Heart Like a Truck” live from the Austin stage.

Additional performers, presenters and details about the 2023 CMT Music Awards on CBS will be announced soon.

Wilson leads this year’s star-studded list with a total of four nominations with three each for Cody Johnson, first-time nominee Jelly Roll and co-host Kane Brown.

CMT will additionally air CMT Music Awards Extended Cut with an added 30 minutes of new performances and extra bonus content on Thursday, April 6th from 8-11:30 pm ET/PT, in addition to all new programming as part of CMT Music Awards Week.

Buddy Iahn
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. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com