Chris Willman Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic The lineup of five honorees for CMT’s Artists of the Year special has been set, with Walker Hayes, Carly Pearce and Cody Johnson being celebrated on the annual show for the first time, joining previous honorees Luke Combs and Kane Brown.
Filmed, as always, at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center, the 90-minute “CMT Artists of the Year” will air on CMT Oct.
14 at 9 p.m. ET/PT after being taped in the week. The non-competitive show is a more intimate complement to the larger-scale, fan-voted CMT Awards, with honorees being selected by the network from among the artists deemed to have made the most collective impact during the preceding year.
The special is typically filled with guest artists for salutes and collaborations; those are yet to be announced. “Carly, Cody, Kane, Luke and Walker all represent the vibrant future of the country music format, as they defy convention and blaze new trails, breaking industry records and genre barriers,” said Margaret Comeaux, CMT’s senior VP of production, music & events, in a statement. “We can’t wait to celebrate their extraordinary accomplishments alongside their fellow artists and friends.” Cody Johnson is the one of the quintet who is the newest to real stardom.
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