CMTThe 2014 CMT Music Awards will be jam-packed with more music than ever before Wednesday night with actress Kristen Bell returning for a solo turn as host. Five-time nominees Florida Georgia Line and their pal Luke Bryan kick off the night collaborating with pop star Jason DeRulo on his hit “Talk Dirty to Me.” Jennifer Nettles is teaming up with R&B star John Legend for a duet version of his hit “All of Me,” arranged by Hunter Hayes. Those cross-genre collaborations make the CMT Music Awards unique according to FGL’s Brian Kelley.
He says, “A lot of different people outside of the genre kinda show up too, so you never know what’s gonna happen. It kinda feels sometimes like a multi-genre awards show, which can be really fun.”
Brian adds, “Maybe Garth [Brooks] will show up on a hologram or something, or show up in general. That’d be cool.”
Miranda Lambert is this year’s lead nominee with six nods, and she’ll reprise her duet with Carrie Underwood on “Somethin’ Bad” for Wednesday night’s show. While Miranda is nominated for the video to her latest single, “Automatic” from the just-released project, Platinum, she thanks her fans for following her in the three years since she put out her last album, Four the Record.
Speaking to the CMT Music Awards’ fan-voted element, Miranda says, “It means a lot. You know, I still am in touch with them and what they want from me. That’s the most important thing of all. None of this matters if the fans don’t wanna hear it anymore.”
Miranda’s husband, Blake Shelton, will perform on the CMT Music Awards for the first-time ever Wednesday night. He says the timing just hasn’t worked out for him to perform on the show before.
“We barely had the opportunity to do this performance this year,” Blake says, “I’m glad it worked out, because next week we start working on The Voice again.”
Blake will perform outdoors on the Pepsi stage, and he has a suggestion for a new soft drink he’d like to see the company put into production.
Says Blake, “Like, maybe a grape flavor? Pepsi Grape would be great.”
Randy Houser will walk the red carpet as a first-time nominee at this year’s CMT Music Awards. He’s up for Male Video of the Year for “Runnin’ Outta Moonlight” against superstars like Eric Church, Blake Shelton, Jason Adean and Luke Bryan.
Randy says, “I think the world of all those guys. I’m glad to be in there. It means somebody actually cares what’s going on a little bit. That’s good. That’s good stuff.”
Dierks Bentley will perform his latest hit, “Drunk on a Plane,” at this year’s CMT Music Awards. The party anthem is turning out to be a big hit on his Riser tour, too.
“People are just, like, singing it back to us louder than I can actually sing it to them, and I have the advantage of a huge P.A. system,” Dierk says.
We hear the pilot from Dierks’ “Drunk on a Plane” video may make an appearance on the CMT Music Awards red carpet, too. Check it out on the red carpet special airing on CMT at 7 p.m. ET.
As for the CMT Music Awards broadcast, look for Jake Owen to sing his latest hit, “Beachin’,” on the outdoor stage, and Little Big Town will keep the party vibe going with the debut performance of their new single, “Day Drinking.” Lady Antebellum will sing “Bartender,” and Kacey Musgraves and Lee Ann Womack will perform a tribute to Alan Jackson. Carrie Underwood will present Alan with a special trophy recognizing 25 years of hit videos.
Brantley Gilbert, Eric Church, Keith Urban, Brett Eldredge, Cole Swindell, David Nail, Dan + Shay, Thomas Rhett and Tyler Farr are among the other performs on the show. Rascal Flatts, Cassadee Pope, Eli Young Band, Jason Aldean, Kip Moore, Lionel Richie, Sara Evans, The Band Perry and rocker Vince Neil will be handing out trophies.
Viewers can also expect plenty of surprises when the 2014 CMT Music Awards broadcast live from Nashville Wednesday night at 8 ET.
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