CARRIE UNDERWOOD, COLE SWINDELL, FLORIDA GEORGIA LINE, KEITH URBAN, LUKE BRYAN, MIRANDA LAMBERT AND ARTISTS OF THEN, NOW & FOREVER ADVANCE TO FINAL ROUND OF FAN-VOTED “VIDEO OF THE YEAR” DURING THE “2017 CMT MUSIC AWARDS” LIVE TONIGHT AT 8PM ET/PT

06/07/17

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Underwood Aims to Extend Lead For Most Video of the Year Awards Wins

Voting Is Open Now Through the Show to Determine Winner

Voting Also Continues for #SocialSuperstar Award Presented by Pepsi

NASHVILLE – June 7, 2017 – With just a few hours until show time, CMT today revealed the finalists for the highly-coveted ‘Video of the Year’ award at the “2017 CMT Music Awards,” the loudest night in country music. Fan votes narrowed the pack down to Carrie Underwood, Cole Swindell, Florida Georgia Line, Keith Urban, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert and the CMA- produced 50^th anniversary video, “Artists of Then, Now & Forever.” If Underwood wins she will maintain her record of most “Video of the Year” wins, with seven won. Finalists were announced this morning on the Today Show with Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford, which aired lived from Nashville. Voting is now open at CMT.com for these seven finalists and voting will continue through the live show.

Voting is also open for the ‘#SOCIALSUPERSTAR Award Presented by Pepsi.’ Who will fans reward for their social engagement? Nominees are Brett Eldredge, Jake Owen, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Lauren Alaina and Thomas Rhett.

Hosted by Charles Esten, “2017 CMT Music Awards” will broadcast LIVE from Nashville tonight, June 7^th at 8:00 PM ET/PT.

2017 VIDEO OF THE YEAR FINALISTS
Best video of the year; awarded to the artist (male, female, group/duo or collaboration) and the video director. Final nominees announced during live telecast, with final voting held online at CMT.com during the show.

• Artists of Then, Now & Forever – “Forever Country”
• Carrie Underwood – “Church Bells”
• Cole Swindell –“Middle Of A Memory”
• Florida Georgia Line –“H.O.L.Y.”
• Keith Urban – “Blue Ain’t Your Color"
• Luke Bryan – “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day”
• Miranda Lambert – “Vice”

Music’s biggest stars will be on stage tonight including Blake Shelton, Brett Eldredge, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert and Thomas Rhett. Collaborations include Jason Derulo and Luke Bryan,The Chainsmokers and Florida Georgia Line, Keith Urban and Carrie Underwood, Peter Frampton and Brothers Osborne, and Earth, Wind & Fire and Lady Antebellum. There will also be a celebration of American musician Gregg Allman’s life, featuring Jason Aldean, Darius Rucker, Lady Antebellum’s Charles Kelley and Derek Trucks. New acts Brett Young, Chris Lane,Jon Pardi, Lauren Alaina and Midland will perform on the Firestone Stage.

Presenters include Ashton Kutcher, Clare Bowen, Danny Masterson, Dustin Lynch, Hoda Kotb , Jada Pinkett Smith, Johnny Galecki, Josh Henderson, Katherine Heigl, Kathie Lee Gifford, Kid Rock, Rachel Bilson, RaeLynn and Reba McEntire, along with country music personalities Bobby Bones and CMT’s own Cody Alan and Katie Cook.

For the first time ever, the “CMT Music Awards” Red Carpet Special will stream live on Facebook at 7:00pm ET on Wednesday, June 7. Hosted by CMT’s Cody Alan and Katie Cook, the star-studded, action-packed pre-show will be based around fan questions. To submit a question for your favorite artist, log into CMT’s Facebook and hashtag #CMTawards.

Follow @CMT on Twitter and Instagram, use hashtag #CMTawards and like the CMT Music Awards on Facebook.

About CMT

CMT, a unit of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and entertainment, reaching more than 92 million homes in the U.S. CMT, CMT.com and CMT Radio offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and are the top resource for country music on demand. The network’s digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Music, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.

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PRESS CONTACTS:

Cindy Finke
CMT
615-335-8404
Cindy.Finke@cmt.com

Tiffany Shipp/Izabel Tassy/Lauren Kelcher Stevenson/Samantha Steuer/Jenna Satnick
Sunshine Sachs
CMTMA@SunshineSachs.com
212-691-280