Carrie Underwood, Florida Georgia Line and Miranda Lambert were the evening’s big winners at last night’s (June 5) CMT Music Awards.
Underwood took home Video of the Year honors for “Blown Away.” Meanwhile, Lambert won for Performance of the Year, for “Over You” from the 2012 CMT Artists of the Year special. She also took home Female Video of the Year (presented by Lenny Kravitz) for “Mama’s Broken Heart.” “I just got a kiss from Lenny Kravitz. That was an award in itself,” said Lambert. “The only bad thing about the video [“Mama’s Broken Heart”] is that all the drinking was iced tea.”
Breakthrough Video of the Year and Duo Video of the Year honors went to Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise.”
The show was filled with performances and surprise guests, as co-host Jason Aldean debuted his single “Night Train,” and sang “American Woman” with Kravitz; Little Big Town welcomed Keith Urban as their guitarist for a rendition of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” and Lady Antebellum and Darius Rucker teamed up to get the audience singing along with “Wagon Wheel.”
The solo appearances were just as effective. Kacey Musgraves looked and sounded every inch the professional during her flawless “Blowin’ Smoke.” Hunter Hayes worked the outdoor crowd with confidence and energy during “I Want Crazy.” Taylor Swift dazzled with her spot-on, colorful rendition of “Red,” complete with her own color guard. Kree Harrison, Ashley Monroe, Dustin Lynch and Cassadee Pope performed snippets of their songs throughout the evening.
Blake Shelton, who won for Male Video of the Year for “Sure Be Cool If You Did,” couldn’t attend, so wife Lambert accepted on his behalf. “Honey, I’m drinkin’ for two tonight! I love you,” she said.
Underwood gave a moving version of “See You Again,” backed by choir members from Nashville’s Christ Church. Footage of the damage in Moore, Okla. from the recent tornadoes were shown on the screens behind her, along with the Red Cross logo.
The evening was capped with the remix version of Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise,” featuring rapper Nelly, graffiti artists and breakdancers.
Complete Awards List:
Duo Video of the Year: Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise”
Breakthrough Video of the Year: Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise”
Group Video of the Year: Lady Antebellum’s “Downtown”
CMT Performance of the Year: Miranda Lambert’s “Over You” (2012 CMT Artists of the Year)
Male Video of the Year: Blake Shelton’s “Sure Be Cool If You Did”
Female Video of the Year: Miranda Lambert’s “Mama’s Broken Heart”
Collaborative Video of the Year: Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan and Eric Church’s “The Only Way I Know” (from the 2012 CMA Awards)
Nationwide Insurance On Your Side: Hunter Hayes
Video of the Year: Carrie Underwood’s “Blown Away”
About the Author
Jessica Nicholson serves as the Managing Editor for MusicRow magazine. Her previous music journalism experience includes work with Country Weekly magazine and Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) magazine. She holds a BBA degree in Music Business and Marketing from Belmont University. She welcomes your feedback at jnicholson@musicrow.com.View Author Profile