NASHVILLE (AP) — Carrie Underwood, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Dan + Shay and Thomas Rhett will be honored as the country's top stars at the 10th annual CMT Artists of the Year television special.
The 90-minute special airing live from Nashville, Tennessee on Oct. 16 will include tribute performances to each of the honorees, which were selected by CMT for having chart-topping albums and singles and selling out arenas across the country.
Brown, Combs and Dan + Shay are all receiving this recognition from CMT for the first time, while Rhett has been honored before and Underwood will be receiving her fifth CMT Artists of the Year recognition.
Combs' 2017 record breaking debut album, "This One's For You," is double platinum and he has had six No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay singles in just two years. Dan + Shay picked up a Grammy Award this year for their performance of "Tequila," a pop radio crossover hit single.
And Brown, who has been snubbed for nominations at the upcoming CMA Awards in November, has had four No. 1 country airplay singles and has made a name for himself with cross-genre collaborations with Marshmello, Khalid, Becky G and more.
Rhett is one of country's most consistent hit-makers in recent years with 13 No. 1 singles and is the reigning Academy of Country Music male artist of the year. And Underwood, a seven-time Grammy winner, became the first woman ever to land four country albums at the top of the all-genre Billboard 200 chart last year with her latest record "Cry Pretty."
Performers for the show, to be held at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center, will be announced at a later date.