2019 CMT Artists of the Year: Carrie Underwood, Luke Combs, + More

CMT announced its 2019 Artists of the Year: Carrie Underwood, Dan + Shay, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, and Thomas Rhett!

The 2019 CMT Artists of the Year

Kane Brown and Luke Combs, two of country music’s youngest superstars, are honored at this year’s CMT Artists of the Year.

The show is set to be broadcast live on the 16th of October from Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center. Both Brown and Combs are first time nominees.

Joining them are country superstar duo Dan + Shay, who have accumulated several awards from the CMA’s and Grammy’s. Certainly, their accolades count them as one of the best heavy hitters in today’s country scene.

Veteran country superstar Carrie Underwood rounds the roster of superstars. She is the only holdover from the 2018 slate, where CMT made a statement by putting up an all-female roster for the honors. Last year, Maren Morris, Kelsey Ballerini, Miranda Lambert, Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman, and Hillary Scott were the nominees.

This year’s awards celebration will mark the fifth time Underwood has been honored with a CMT Artists of the Year award since its humble beginnings in 2010.

Thomas Rhett was last included in an “Artists of the Year” program in 2016. This year’s roster leaves aside such oft-honored usual suspects as Chris Stapleton, Florida Georgia Line, and Luke Bryan.

In addition to paying tribute to the honorees, the televised special will also include live performances from other artists (including from some outside of the genre), as well as a live-streamed performance from Underwood’s Cry Pretty 360 Tour in Cleveland, Ohio.

Lesli Fram, CMT’s Senior Vice President of Music Strategy and Talent, expressed her excitement to pay tribute to the artists this year.

“These five, stand-out honorees have dominated country music this year and we look forward to paying tribute to each of them at the 10th year anniversary CMT Artists of the Year event. From first-time honorees Dan + Shay, Kane Brown, and Luke Combs to two-time honoree Thomas Rhett and now five-time honoree Carrie Underwood, this incredible collection of talents coming together at what marks a pivotal time in each of their careers promises to be a night of incredible performances and reflection.”

Additional awards, performers, and special guests will be announced soon.