Chase Bryant and Cracker Barrel Honored 10 Expectant Military Mothers-To-Be During CMA Fest

Night one at CMA Fest’s free Cracker Barrel Country Roads Stage at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater featured an exciting evening of performances by some of Broken Bow Records’ brightest stars, including Chase Bryant, Craig Campbell, Lindsey Ell, Everette, Chase Rice, Runaway June, and Granger Smith.

On stage, Cracker Barrel and Chase Bryant organized a special, patriotic moment for 10 expectant mothers-to-be from Fort Campbell who were all active duty servicewomen and military spouses. They each received one of Cracker Barrel’s iconic rockers, free Cracker Barrel twice a month for a year, and gift cards to shop at the famous restaurant’s country store. Fans gave the women a standing ovation, and the moment was capped off with a heartwarming video showing 100 other military moms-to-be receiving rockers, too. 

Kane Brown Releases New Single “Lose It”, Announces Sophomore Album Release Date

On the heels of receiving his first CMT Music Award win for Collaborative Video for “What Ifs” featuring Lauren Alaina, breakthrough entertainer Kane Brown has released his new single, “Lose It,” which is available now to stream and download. Country radio’s official impact date for the song is June 25.

On social media, Brown just confirmed the November 9 street date for his sophomore album on RCA Nashville/Zone 4. Produced by multiple-award-winner Dann Huff, the 24-year-old singer/songwriter’s yet-to-be-titled new album is the follow-up to his RIAA Platinum-certified self-titled debut which this week returns to #1 for the 12th time on the Billboard Top Country Album chart. During the time period of December 2016 to now, Kane Brown has held the most weeks at #1 on the country album consumption chart and is the only country album to make its debut AND achieve Platinum status. His self-titled debut is 2018’s most-streamed country album and has yielded two chart-topping smashes to-date, the Platinum-selling, multi-week #1 hit “Heaven” and Double-Platinum, CMT-Award

Granger Smith To Perform On ABC’s “The Bachelorette”

Country music chart-topper artist, Granger Smith, will perform an upcoming episode of ABC’s The Bachelorette. The episode will feature a special one-on-one date during a Granger Smith concert with the newest Bachelorette, Becca Kufrin, and one of the men vying for her heart.

Smith serenaded the couple with his hit single “Happens Like That,” a song based on his own true, personal love story.  The crowd erupted as Becca walked in with her beau and Smith delivered the fitting tune with all the energy and showmanship his fans know and love. The episode of The Bachelorette, currently celebrating its 14th season, is scheduled to air Monday, June 18TH, 2018, at 8/7c, on ABC.

Winners of the 2018 CMT Music Awards

The loudest night in country music kicked it up a notch as the biggest stars in the genre and beyond took on Nashville for the “2018 CMT Music Awards.”

In a night of firsts, Blake Shelton won his first-ever Video of the Year Award for “I’ll Name The Dogs;” Little Big Town hosted for the first-time; and Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Florida Georgia Line, Kelly Clarkson, Little BigTown, Sam Hunt and Backstreet Boys seized the moment to debut new music for the first-time anywhere. A slew of new artists walked away with their first buckles, including Dan + Shay (Duo Video of the Year), Carly Pearce (Breakthrough Video of the Year), Kane Brown (Collaborative Video of the Year with Lauren Alaina), Backstreet Boys (CMT Performance of the Year with Florida Georgia Line) and Ludacris (Female Video of the Year with Carrie Underwood). Carly Pearce and Kane Brown won the first awards  of their careers. Carrie Underwood’s win for “Female Video of the Year” extends her record for most “CMT Music Awards” wins with a grand total of 18. 

Following is a complete list of winners for the 2018 CMT Music Awards.

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Bebe Rexha feat. Florida Georgia Line – “Meant To Be”
Blake Shelton – “I’ll Name The Dogs” – WINNER
Brett Young – “Mercy”
Brothers Osborne – “It Ain’t My Fault”
Carrie Underwood feat. Ludacris – “The Champion”
Dan + Shay – “Tequila”
Jason Aldean – “You Make It Easy”
Justin Timberlake feat. Chris Stapleton – “Say Something”
Kane Brown feat. Lauren Alaina – “What Ifs”
Kelsea Ballerini – “Legends”
Luke Combs – “When It Rains It Pours”
Thomas Rhett – “Marry Me”

MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Blake Shelton – “I’ll Name The Dogs” – WINNER
Dustin Lynch – “Small Town Boy”
Jason Aldean – “You Make It Easy”
Jon Pardi – “Heartache On The Dance Floor”
Luke Bryan – “Light It Up”
Thomas Rhett – “Marry Me”

FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Carly Pearce – “Every Little Thing”
Carrie Underwood feat. Ludacris – “The Champion” – WINNER
Kelsea Ballerini – “Legends”
Lauren Alaina – “Doin’ Fine”
Maren Morris – “I Could Use A Love Song”
Miranda Lambert – “Tin Man” From 2017 ACM Awards

DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Big & Rich – “California”
Brothers Osborne – “It Ain’t My Fault”
Dan + Shay – “Tequila” – WINNER
Florida Georgia Line – “Smooth”
High Valley – “She’s With Me”
Tim McGraw & Faith Hill – “Speak To A Girl”

GROUP VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Lady Antebellum – “You Look Good”
LANco – “Greatest Love Story”
Little Big Town – “When Someone Stops Loving You” – WINNER
Midland – “Make A Little”
Old Dominion – “No Such Thing As A Broken Heart”
Rascal Flatts – “Yours If You Want It”
Zac Brown Band – “My Old Man”

BREAKTHROUGH VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Carly Pearce – “Every Little Thing” – WINNER
Danielle Bradbery – “Sway”
Devin Dawson – “All On Me”
LANco – “Greatest Love Story”
Russell Dickerson – “Yours”
Walker Hayes – “You Broke Up With Me”

COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Bebe Rexha feat. Florida Georgia Line – “Meant To Be”
Carrie Underwood feat. Ludacris – “The Champion”
Cole Swindell feat. Dierks Bentley – “Flatliner”
Justin Timberlake feat. Chris Stapleton – “Say Something”
Kane Brown feat. Lauren Alaina – “What Ifs” – WINNER
Thomas Rhett feat. Maren Morris – “Craving You”

CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
From 2017 CMT Artists of the Year: Andra Day, Common, Little Big Town, Lee Ann Womack and Danielle Bradbery – “Stand Up For Something”
From CMT Crossroads: Backstreet Boys and Florida Georgia Line – “Everybody” – WINNER
From 2017 CMT Music Awards: Charles Kelley, Jason Aldean, Darius Rucker and Derek Trucks – “Midnight Rider”
From CMT Crossroads: Earth, Wind & Fire and Lady Antebellum – “September”
From 2017 CMT Artists of the Year: Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Chris Stapleton and Little Big Town – “I Won’t Back Down”
From 2017 CMT Music Awards: Keith Urban feat. Carrie Underwood – “The Fighter”

Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini Return To Host CMA Fest TV Special

The Country Music Association has announced Thomas Rhett and Kelsea Ballerini will return for a second year as hosts of “CMA Fest,” the three-hour special that brings Country Music’s Ultimate Fan Experience to a national television audience. “CMA Fest” airs Wednesday, Aug. 8 at 8/7c on the ABC Television Network and is executive produced by Robert Deaton.

“This year’s CMA Fest is our biggest yet, with many artists debuting full festival sets on the Nissan Stadium stage,” said Sarah Trahern, CMA Chief Executive Officer. “We’re thrilled once again to broadcast ‘CMA Fest’ and bring the festival to millions of Country Music fans not only here in the U.S. but all around the world.”

“Thomas and Kelsea are the embodiment of the summer fun that is CMA Fest, and we are so excited they’ll be back for year two,” said Rob Mills, ABC Entertainment Senior Vice President, Alternative Series, Specials & Late-Night Programming.

Filmed during Nashville’s annual CMA Fest Thursday through Sunday, June 7-10, the television special features more than 25 of Country Music’s biggest names as they hit the stage during the four-day event. 2018 marks the 15th consecutive year of the broadcast, a feat no other U.S. music festival has achieved. Last year’s broadcast of “CMA Fest” achieved three-year ratings highs.

Thomas Rhett returns to host “CMA Fest” for a third year, first hosting the special in 2016. Ballerini will perform at Nissan Stadium Saturday, June 9, in addition to appearing as Artist of the Day at Xfinity Fan Fair X Sunday, June 10. A limited number of four-day tickets for the nightly concerts at Nissan Stadium, which also includes four-day access to Xfinity Fan Fair X, are still available at CMAfest.com/tickets or through the CMA Box Office at 1-800-CMA-FEST.