If country music fans wonder where the genre is heading, they may want to look west from Music City, because this year’s CMT Awards had a demonstrable Lone Star State presence.
In two of the biggest categories, Miranda Lambert took home Female Video of the Year for “If I Was a Cowboy” and Cody Johnson won Male Video of the Year honors for “Til You Can’t.” But that was just the beginning. Of the nine awards handed out, six were won by Texans.
George Strait won his first CMT Award for Performance of the Year, for his cover of Charley Pride’s “Is Anyone Goin’ to San Antone”; Parker McCollum, who recently won Best New Artist at the ACM Awards, won Breakthrough Video of the Year for “To Be Loved By You”; and Maddie & Tae, featuring Sugar Land native Maddie Flower (now Maddie Font), took home Group/Duo Video of the Year for “Woman You Got.”
Johnson added a second award for Digital-First Performance of the Year for “Dear Rodeo.”
Texans enjoyed a number of additional nominations as well —
• Cody Johnson, Video of the Year, “Til You Can’t”
• Kacey Musgraves, Female Video of the Year, “justified”
• Maren Morris, Female Video of the Year, “Circles Around This Town”
• Mickey Guyton, Female Video of the Year, “Remember Her Name”
• Mickey Guyton (featuring Gladys Knight & BRELAND), Performance of the Year, “Friendship Train”
• Brooks & Dunn, Trending Comeback Song of the Year, “Neon Moon”
Texas performers at the event included Austin’s Black Pumas, who teamed with Guyton, Morris (with Ryan Hurd), Lambert, Johnson and McCollum.
