2022 CMT Music Awards
Final public performance of The Judds.
The 56th CMT Music Awards took place on April 11, 2022, in Nashville, Tennessee, with the main event at the Nashville Municipal Auditorium and additional locations around the city. Kelsea Ballerini hosted virtually, while Kane Brown and Anthony Mackie shared hosting duties in person. This ceremony was the final public performance for the country duo The Judds; Naomi Judd passed away on April 30.
Unlike other country music awards, the CMT Music Awards are determined entirely by fan votes. After the Academy of Country Music Awards left the network following 23 years, Paramount Global moved the live broadcast from CMT to CBS. CBS aired the show live, while CMT featured a week of special programming and later aired an exclusive "director's cut" of the ceremony.
On April 1, CMT announced that Wynonna and Naomi Judd would reunite for a performance, ahead of their Country Music Hall of Fame induction in May and a final tour in the fall. They performed "Love Can Build a Bridge" from the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. This was the duo’s first nationally televised award show performance in over twenty years. The reunion received strong praise, with People calling it "stunning" and Billboard describing it as a "glorious return and a welcome comeback." It was the last live performance for Naomi Judd and The Judds; she died nineteen days later.
On the day of the telecast, Ballerini announced she had tested positive for COVID-19 but was asymptomatic. She co-hosted and performed from her home with help from CMT and CBS. Kane Brown, who had co-hosted the previous year with Ballerini, stepped in to share the main stage with Mackie.
Nominees were announced on March 16, 2022. Winners are listed in bold. Performances included both the live CBS broadcast and extended cuts shown exclusively on CMT. The Ram Trucks Side Stage featured Priscilla Block, Breland, Jessie James Decker, Parker McCollum, Elvie Shane, and Caitlyn Smith.
Presenters, announced on April 7, included Rob Corddry, Jimmie Allen, Jordan Davis, Billy Gibbons, LeAnn Rimes, Dylan Scott, Craig Morgan and Mike Singletary, Lily Aldridge, Dennis Quaid, Martina McBride, Kacey Musgraves, Gabby Barrett and Dustin Lynch, Gayle King, Joel McHale, Taylor Lautner, Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, and Faith Hill and Isabel May.
Quick Facts
- Date
- April 11, 2022
- Location
- Nashville Municipal Auditorium, Nashville, Tennessee
- Most nominations
- Kane Brown (4)
- Most wins
- Jason Aldean
- Cody Johnson
- Carrie Underwood (2 each)
- Network
- CBS
- Host
- Kelsea Ballerini (virtually)
- Kane Brown
- Anthony Mackie
- Main
- CMTMA
- Viewership
- 5.5 million
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The CMT Music Awards is country music's only entirely fan-voted awards show. Following the departure of the Academy of Country Music Awards from the network after 23 years, Paramount Global announced that the live televised ceremony would move from CMT to CBS. While CBS carried the award show live, CMT aired week-long special programming and events capped by an exclusive 'director's cut' airing of the ceremony on the cable network.
On April 1, CMT announced that Wynonna and Naomi Judd would reunite for a performance on the 2022 CMT Music Awards. The reunion came ahead of the duo's Country Music Hall of Fame induction in May and Final Tour in the Fall. They performed their hit song 'Love Can Build a Bridge' from the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville. The performance marked The Judds' only nationally televised award show performance in more than twenty years. The reunion performance was met with positive reception; People magazine called it 'stunning', and Billboard called it a 'glorious return and a welcome comeback'. This would be the final live performance for Naomi Judd and for The Judds as a duo; Naomi died on April 30, 2022, just nineteen days after their performance.
On the day of the live telecast, Ballerini announced that she had tested positive for COVID-19. She was asymptomatic and said she would be able to co-host and perform from her home, with help from CMT and CBS. Kane Brown, who hosted the previous year's ceremony with Ballerini, stepped in and shared the main stage with Mackie as a co-host.
Reader's Guide
The 2022 CMT Music Awards hold significance as the final public performance of The Judds, one of country music's most celebrated duos. Naomi Judd's death nineteen days later gave the performance a poignant finality, marking the end of an era for fans and the genre. The ceremony also represented a shift in broadcast, moving from CMT to CBS after the Academy of Country Music Awards left the network. The event featured milestones: Carrie Underwood won her 24th and 25th CMT Music Award, extending her record as the most decorated artist in the awards' history. Kane Brown and Anthony Mackie became the first Black co-hosts of the CMT Music Awards. The ceremony's adaptation to Kelsea Ballerini's COVID-19 diagnosis, with her hosting virtually from home, demonstrated flexibility in live production. The Judds' reunion performance, their first nationally televised award show appearance in over twenty years, was widely praised and remains a lasting memory of the duo's legacy.
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