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NASHVILLE – (September 16, 2021) – CMT today revealed it will honor Chris Stapleton, Gabby Barrett, Kane Brown, Kelsea Ballerini and Luke Combs as the premier country artists celebrated at “CMT ARTISTS OF THE YEAR” special, live from Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center on Wednesday, October 13 at 9p/8c. These five “Artists of the Year” collectively dominated the last 12 months in country music, leading across all CMT platforms, scoring chart-topping albums and singles, while simultaneously finding creative ways to connect with fans and meet the personal and professional challenges posed by the pandemic. 

Margaret Comeaux, Vice President, Production, CMT notes: “’We are honored to recognize these five incredible artists who have entertained and inspired millions through their music this past year. We look forward to returning to the Schermerhorn with a live show as we celebrate the accomplishments of Chris, Kane, Kelsea, Gabby and Luke.” 

The 90-minute special will return to its original format after adapting last year to honor some of the most vital and inspirational Americans on the frontlines of the pandemic. This year, some of music’s biggest stars will celebrate Stapleton, Brown, Ballerini, Barrett and Combs with never-before-seen performances and collaborations, and congratulatory moments. Musical pairings, special guests, additional honorees, performers and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

2021 “CMT Artists of the Year” is executive produced by CMT’s Margaret Comeaux, Switched On Entertainment’s John Hamlin and Amy Lin Johnson. The Executives in Charge of Production are Jackie Barba and Heather D. Graffagnino. Leslie Fram is Executive in Charge of Talent; Shanna Strassberg is Talent Producer. 

For more information, visit CMT.com, follow @CMT on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and TikTok, use hashtag #CMTAOTY and ‘like’ CMT Artists of the Year on Facebook.

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About CMT:
CMT is the leading authority on country music and lifestyle, offering a mix of original series, music events and specials. CMT is everywhere its fans are, including two cable channels (CMT and the 24-hour music channel, CMT Music), radio (CMT Radio), digital (CMT.com) and social (@CMT on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube). CMT is a unit of ViacomCBS Inc. (Nasdaq: VIACA, VIAC) (“ViacomCBS”). For more information, please visit cmtpress.com.

Press contacts:

Ali Marszalkowski, Ali.Marszalkowski@viacomcbs.com

Rebecca Lawlor, Rebecca.Lawlor@viacomcbs.com