Lainey Wilson leads 2023 CMT Music Awards nominees

A woman with long blond hair holds a wide-brimmed hat on her head

By Nardine SaadStaff Writer

March 8, 2023 9:05 AM PT

“Heart Like a Truck” singer Lainey Wilson led Wednesday’s 2023 CMT Music Awards nominees with four nominations, including twice in the marquee video of the year category.

The fan favorite will face off with 15 other music videos in the top category during the annual fan-voted awards show, which will be broadcast live on CBS on April 2. Other nominees for video of the year include Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Carrie Underwood and the “Bonfire at Tina’s” collaborators Ashley McBryde, Caylee Hammack, Brandy Clark and Pillbox Patti.

Wilson, whose “Heart Like a Truck,” is nominated for video of the year, is also co-nominated with HARDY for their “wait in the truck” video.

While some awards shows are moving toward gender-neutral categories, the CMT Music Awards further divvied up its breakthrough video of the year category into male and female subcategories. The expansion, CMT said, is meant to “to more thoroughly celebrate country music’s new talent. This year, 12 nominees are recognized across the “twin categories.”

This year’s other top nominees include Cody Johnson, first-time nominee Jelly Roll and Kane Brown, all of whom scored three nods apiece on Wednesday. Brown, who is nominated alongside his wife Katelyn Brown for “Thank God,” is set to co-host the ceremony with singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas. (Ballerini is nominated twice for “Heartfirst.”)

With 25 wins, country superstar Underwood holds the record for the most wins for video of the year and has the most wins of any artist at the awards show. The “Hate My Heart” and “Ghost Story” singer is nominated twice this year for the songs’ respective music videos and she is set to perform at the awards show. In November, she and Ballerini announced that the ceremony would be relocating from Nashville, Tenn., to Austin, where it will be held for the first time.

The Judds, who memorably reunited to perform “Love Can Build a Bridge” at last year’s ceremony just weeks before matriarch Naomi Judd’s death, are among the 10 nominees for CMT performance of the year. The category recognizes a musical performance on a television show, series or variety special on CMT.

Winners will be selected by fans, who can vote daily across the nine categories on CMT’s website.

Here are the 2023 nominees:

Video of the year

Ashley McBryde, Caylee Hammack, Brandy Clark & Pillbox Patti - “Bonfire at Tina’s”
Blake Shelton - “No Body”
Carrie Underwood - “Hate My Heart”
Cody Johnson - “Human”
Elle King feat. Dierks Bentley - “Worth a Shot”
Gabby Barrett - “Pick Me Up”
HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson - “wait in the truck”
Jimmie Allen - “Down Home”
Kane Brown & Katelyn Brown - “Thank God”
Keith Urban - “Wild Hearts”
Kelsea Ballerini - “Heartfirst”
Little Big Town - “Rich Man”
Luke Bryan - “Country On”
Luke Combs - “The Kind of Love We Make”
Morgan Wallen - “You Proof”
Walker Hayes - “AA”

Female video of the year

Carly Pearce - “What He Didn’t Do”
Carrie Underwood - “Ghost Story”
Gabby Barrett - “Pick Me Up”
Kelsea Ballerini - “Heartfirst”
Lainey Wilson - “Heart Like a Truck”
Maren Morris - “Humble Quest”
Miranda Lambert - “Actin’ Up”

Male video of the year

Bailey Zimmerman - “Rock and a Hard Place”
Cody Johnson - “Human”
Cole Swindell - “She Had Me at Heads Carolina”
Jelly Roll - “Son of a Sinner”
Kane Brown - “Like I Love Country Music”
Luke Combs - “The Kind of Love We Make”
Morgan Wallen - “Wasted on You”

Group/duo video of the year

Dan + Shay - “You (Performance Video)”
Lady A - “Summer State of Mind”
Little Big Town - “Hell Yeah”
Parmalee - “Take My Name”
The War and Treaty - “That’s How Love Is Made”
Zac Brown Band - “Out in the Middle”

Female breakthrough video of the year

Avery Anna - “Narcissist”
Kylie Morgan - “If He Wanted to He Would”
MacKenzie Porter - “Pickup”
Megan Moroney - “Tennessee Orange”
Morgan Wade - “Wilder Days”
Tiera Kennedy - “Found It in You”

Male breakthrough video of the year

Bailey Zimmerman - “Fall in Love”
Corey Kent - “Wild as Her”
Drake Milligan - “Sounds Like Something I’d Do”
Jackson Dean - “Don’t Come Lookin’”
Jelly Roll - “Son of a Sinner”
Nate Smith - “Whiskey on You”

Collaborative video of the year

Elle King feat. Dierks Bentley - “Worth a Shot”
HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson - “wait in the truck”
Ingrid Andress with Sam Hunt - “Wishful Drinking”
Kane Brown & Katelyn Brown - “Thank God”
Midland feat. Jon Pardi - “Longneck Way to Go”
Russell Dickerson feat. Jake Scott - “She Likes It”
Thomas Rhett & Katy Perry - “Where We Started”

CMT performance of the year

Black Pumas & Mickey Guyton - “Colors” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
Chris Stapleton - “Whenever You Come Around” (from “CMT Giants: Vince Gill”)
Cody Johnson - “‘Til You Can’t” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
Cole Swindell & Lainey Wilson - “Never Say Never” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
Darius Rucker - “Let Her Cry” (from “CMT Storytellers”)
Emmy Russell & Lukas Nelson - “Lay Me Down” (from “Coal Miner’s Daughter: A Celebration of the Life and Music of Loretta Lynn”)
LeAnn Rimes with Ashley McBryde & Carly Pearce - “One Way Ticket” (from “CMT Crossroads: LeAnn Rimes & Friends”)
Keith Urban - “Wild Hearts” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
The Judds - “Love Can Build a Bridge” (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)
Wynonna Judd & Brandi Carlile - “The Rose” (from “Naomi Judd: A River of Time Celebration”)

CMT digital-first performance of the year

Charley Crockett - “Time of the Cottonwood Trees” (from “CMT Campfire Sessions”)
Chris Young - “Gettin’ You Home” (from “CMT Stages”)
Ingrid Andress - “Wishful Drinking” (from “CMT Studio Sessions”)
Jelly Roll - “Son of a Sinner” (from “CMT All Access”)
Megan Moroney - “Tennessee Orange” (from “CMT Viral to Verified”)
Scotty McCreery - “Damn Strait” (from “CMT Campfire Sessions”)