CMT Music Awards: Carrie Underwood still the queen
Carrie Underwood’s reign as queen of the CMT Music Awards continued Wednesday when fans voted her winner in two categories, but Tim McGraw’s moving video for “Humble and Kind” took the night’s top prize — video of the year.
Following the show, McGraw said the song is a nod to how interconnected people have become.
"With technology and everything we see on TV, we're all a lot closer than we realize," he said. "We all want the same things out of life, no matter what your religious beliefs are or what your culture is, we all want to need and be needed. We all want to love and be loved. We all want the best opportunities for our families and our kids, and I wanted this video to reflect that."
On a live broadcast chocked full of promotions for the network's upcoming show "Still the King," it was Underwood who took home trophies for CMT Female Video of the Year for “Smoke Break” and CMT Performance of the Year for her delivery of the song at a CMT Instant Jam.
“Thank you so much,” Underwood gushed from the stage. “Oh my goodness. I like that it’s pink."
The CMT Music Awards prides itself on collaborations — and it was those moments that provided the night’s most shining highlights. Cam and Fifth Harmony seamlessly blended on a stunning merge of “Mayday” and “Work from Home.” Blake Shelton refocused the spotlight on country greats The Oak Ridge Boys during their energetic, harmony-rich performance of “Doing It to Country Songs” then flipped lead duties and ended with “Elvira” to a standing ovation. Dierks Bentley and Elle King delivered a poignant “Different for Girls” — a song about how girls cope with broken hearts. Little Big Town and Pharrell, who produced their upcoming album, closed the show with new song “One Dance.” And sparks flew during Cassadee Pope’s spin with Pitbull and Leona Lewis on “Messin’ Around.”
More winners include Chris Stapleton’s video for “Fire Away,” which added another trophy to the popular singer’s growing arsenal. His performance of “Parachute” on the show was of a caliber that will likely earn him a nomination on next year’s award show.
Like Stapleton, Little Big Town continued its winning streak at awards shows when its critically acclaimed “Girl Crush” took home Group/Duo Video of the Year. The win marks the first time Little Big Town has won a CMT Music Video Award.
Fans voted the video for Thomas Rhett’s multi-week No. 1 “Die a Happy Man” Male Video of the Year. When his name was announced, Rhett kissed his wife and made his way to the stage.
“I got to thank the Lord for giving me a lovely wife named Lauren who is sitting right over there,” he said. “It took a lot of convincing to get her in the video. This is something I will remember for the rest of my life.”
Shelton was voted CMT Social Superstar and quipped that wasn’t exactly what he was going for when he had a few drinks and got on Twitter.
“I didn’t know you could get paid for that,” he said.
CMT MUSIC AWARDS
VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Tim McGraw – “Humble and Kind”
MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Thomas Rhett – “Die A Happy Man”
FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Carrie Underwood – “Smoke Break”
GROUP / DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Little Big Town – “Girl Crush”
BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Chris Stapleton – “Fire Away”
CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Carrie Underwood – “Smoke Break” (From CMT Instant Jam)
CMT #SOCIALSUPERSTAR AWARD
Blake Shelton
Tim McGraw wins CMT Music Awards Video of the Year
CMT Music Awards: 'Chewbacca Mom' in the house
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