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Cody Johnson, Luke Combs, Carly Pearce & More Named 2022 ‘CMT Artists of the Year’

CMT revealed its 2022 “Artists of the Year” on Sept. 21. The five artists include first-time honorees Cody Johnson, Carly Pearce, and Walker Hayes, as well as three-time honorees Luke Combs and Kane Brown.

According to CMT, the five artists “collectively dominated the last 12 months in country music, leading across all CMT platforms, scoring chart-topping albums and singles, and performing music that entertains and inspires millions of fans.”

Carly, Cody, Kane, Luke, and Walker will be honored at the 2022 CMT Artists of the Year celebration at Nashville’s Schermerhorn Symphony Center. The show will air on CMT on Oct. 14 at 8 p.m. CT. The 90-minute special will feature some of music’s biggest stars performing in celebration of Carly, Cody, Kane, Luke, and Walker. Musical pairings, special guests, additional honorees, performers, and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

“We are honored to recognize the astounding achievements of this illustrious group of artists over the past year,” said Margaret Comeaux, CMT senior VP. “Carly, Cody, Kane, Luke, and Walker all represent the vibrant future of the country music format. They defy convention and blaze new trails, breaking industry records and genre barriers. We can’t wait to celebrate their extraordinary accomplishments alongside their fellow artists and friends.”

One notable name missing from the list is Morgan Wallen, who is having a monster year by most metrics, including multiple chart-topping hits and his record-setting Dangerous: The Double Album, which continues to reign atop the Billboard Top Country Albums chart (74 weeks and counting).

CMT: Artist Bios

CMT’s partial bios of their 2022 Artists of the Year are below.

Carly Pearce celebrated her third No. 1 single, continuing the success of acclaimed album 29: Written In Stone and adding multiple trophies to her growing collection. She also secured her third No. 1 hit with “Never Wanted To Be That Girl,” an award-winning song recorded with fellow star Ashley McBryde.

Cody Johnson earned a two-week No. 1 hit “Til You Can’t,” the lead single from his widely praised Human The Double Album. To date, the song has garnered  more than 400 million streams worldwide. It earned Male Video of the Year at the 2022 CMT Music Awards. He also received CMT Digital-First Performance of the Year for “Dear Rodeo” from CMT Campfire Sessions.

Kane Brown’s scope of influence continued growing at breakneck pace during the past year. He notched his seventh and eighth No. 1s with “Like I Love Country Music” and “One Mississippi.” Both song are from his new album, Different Man. Brown recently made history as the first-ever male country solo artist to perform on the 2022 MTV VMAs with  new single “Grand.”

Luke Combs is the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year. He released his latest album, Growin’ Up, and tallied his 13th No. 1 single “Doin’ This.” He scored two nominations at the CMT Music Awards. And he earned a Grammy nomination for Best Country Solo Performance for “Forever After All.” Combs is following his sold-out Middle of Somewhere Tour with an upcoming stadium World Tour, spanning 16 countries.

Walker Hayes‘ breakthrough hit, “Fancy Like,” turned the star into a household name. The song topped every country music sales and streaming chart. It also hit No. 1 at country radio, earned a CMT Music Award nomination, and his first Grammy Award nomination. Follow-up single, “AA,” and new song “Y’all Life,” have made Hayes one of the top artists in the genre. He will soon embark on his headlining arena tour, Glad You’re Here.