Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton Among Nominees for 2016 CMT MUSIC AWARDS; Full List

On the heels of her historic and record-setting sixth "Video of the Year" win last year (her fourth consecutive win), reigning champ, Carrie Underwood, is set to protect her crown against powerhouse first-time nominees Chris Stapleton and Cam, who top nominations for the fan-selected "2016 CMT Music Awards." With three nominations each, including "Video of the Year," they will face off in top categories against superstars Blake Shelton,Brothers Osborne, Florida Georgia Line, Keith Urban, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Maren Morris, Old Dominion,Sam Hunt and Thomas Rhett, who each garnered two nominations, live from Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday, June 8th at 8pm ET/PT.

The battle for the highly coveted CMT MUSIC AWARDS buckle for "Video of the Year" is intense with previous "Video of the Year" winners Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban fending off superstars like Blake Shelton, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean,Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Thomas Rhett and Tim McGraw, who've never walked away with the night's top prize.

This year's awards span multiple genres and decades of unparalleled music talent. "CMT Performance of the Year" nominees include Grammy-nominated pop stars Adam Lambert and Leona Lewis for their duet of "Girl Crush" from CMT's 2015 "Artists of the Year." Going head-to-head against the duo are country music icons Lynyrd Skynyrd and star Brantley Gilbert for their performance of "What's Your Name" from "CMT Crossroads."

Fan voting begins today at CMT.com and continues until Monday, June 6 at 12:01 AM ET. On Wednesday, June 1, CMT will announce a brand-new surprise awards category. In the coming weeks, CMT will reveal this year's host, performers, presenters and more.

The nominees for the 2016 CMT MUSIC AWARDS are:

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
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.

• Blake Shelton - "Sangria"
• Cam - "Burning House"
• Carrie Underwood - "Smoke Break"
• Chris Stapleton - "Fire Away"
• Florida Georgia Line - "Sippin' On Fire"
• Jason Aldean - "Tonight Looks Good On You"
• Keith Urban - "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16"
• Little Big Town - "Girl Crush"
• Luke Bryan - "Strip It Down"
• Sam Hunt - "Break Up In A Small Town"0
• Thomas Rhett - "Die A Happy Man"
• Tim McGraw - "Humble and Kind"

MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a male artist; awarded to the artist

• Blake Shelton - "Sangria"
• Eric Church - "Like A Wrecking Ball" (From 2015 CMT Music Awards)
• Keith Urban - "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16"
• Luke Bryan - "Kick The Dust Up" (From 2015 CMT Music Awards)
• Sam Hunt - "Break Up In A Small Town"
• Thomas Rhett - "Die A Happy Man"

FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a female artist; awarded to the artist

• Cam - "Burning House"
• Carrie Underwood - "Smoke Break"
• Jana Kramer - "I Got The Boy"
• Kacey Musgraves - "Biscuits"
• Kelsea Ballerini - "Dibs"
• Maren Morris - "My Church"

GROUP / DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video by a group or duo; awarded to the artists

• Brothers Osborne - "Stay A Little Longer"
• Dan + Shay - "Nothin' Like You"
• Florida Georgia Line - "Sippin' On Fire"
• Little Big Town - "Girl Crush"
• Old Dominion - "Break Up With Him"
• Zac Brown Band - "Loving You Easy"

BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Best video from an artist's major BREAKTHROUGH album; awarded to the artist (male, female or group/duo)

• Brothers Osborne - "Stay A Little Longer"
• Cam - "Burning House"
• Chris Janson - "Buy Me A Boat"
• Chris Stapleton - "Fire Away"
• Maren Morris - "My Church"
• Old Dominion - "Break Up With Him"

CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Musical performance on a television show, series or variety special on CMT; awarded to the artist (individual, group or duo)

• Adam Lambert and Leona Lewis - "Girl Crush" (From 2015 CMT Artists of The Year)
• Brantley Gilbert and Lynyrd Skynyrd - "What's Your Name" (From CMT Crossroads)
• Carrie Underwood - "Smoke Break" (From CMT Instant Jam)
• Cheap Trick and Jennifer Nettles - "I Want You To Want Me" (From CMT Crossroads)
• Chris Stapleton - "Nobody To Blame" (From CMT Artists of the Year)
• Darius Rucker - "Alright"(From CMT Instant Jam)

Fans can vote online at CMT.com and on their mobile device to determine the winners. The six finalists for Video of the Year will be announced at the beginning of the live show and fans can then vote throughout the live telecast (ET/CT only) to determine the night's big winner.

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

To post a comment, you must register and login.