<h3>Predictions for the <strong>CMT Music Awards</strong>, Who&#8217;s It Gonna&#8217; Be?</h3>
<p>Yesterday the nominees for the <strong>2011 CMT Music Awards</strong> were announced. This is always an exciting time of the year for the artists and fans. People always say they are honored just to be nominated, but let&#8217;s get real&#8230;all the nominees want that CMT Belt Buckle in their trophy case!</p>
<p>Let&#8217;s just go ahead and jump on in! <strong>Video of the Year</strong> is THE award of the night. The nominees are not limited to males or females, solo artists, duets, or groups; it is simply the best videos out there. It&#8217;s hard to tell who will come out on top, but I&#8217;m going to give it a shot! <em>&#8220;Colder Weather&#8221;</em> could possibly be my favorite song right now, but it will have a hard time competing with videos that have been out a lot longer. The obvious front runners for this category are <em>&#8220;The House That Built Me&#8221;, </em>&#8220;<em>My Kinda Party</em>&#8220;, &#8220;<em>Mine</em>&#8220;, and &#8220;<em>If I Die Young</em>&#8221; because they did so well on the charts. <em>&#8220;The Boys of Fall</em>&#8220;, &#8220;<em>Hello World</em>&#8220;, &#8220;<em>Stuck Like Glue</em>&#8220;, <em>&#8220;Why Wait&#8221;</em> and &#8220;<em>Undo It&#8221;</em> each give us a story along with the lyrics that can&#8217;t be ignored. If it was up to me <strong><a title="Kenny Chesney" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSChesney/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fkenny-chesney-tickets%2F">Kenny Chesney</a></strong> would be the winner, &#8220;<em>The Boys of Fall</em>&#8221; was a great video that deserves recognition. It went above and beyond and had that certain something that the others just didn&#8217;t.</p>
<p><strong>Male Video of the Year</strong>, just like all the other categories, is a tough one. &#8220;<em>Bullets in the Gun&#8221;</em> puts us in the moment and <em>&#8220;Without You&#8221;</em> shows us a personal side to <strong><a title="Keith Urban" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSKUrban/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fkeith-urban-tickets%2F">Keith Urban</a></strong>. &#8220;<em>The Boys of Fall</em>&#8221; and &#8220;<em>My Kinda Party</em>&#8221; are sure to put some competition in this all male category, but to say that I would want anyone to win over <strong><a title="Blake Shelton" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSBlakeS/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fblake-shelton-tickets%2F">Blake Shelton</a></strong> would be a lie. He is a funny guy who is great at turning on a more serious and sensitive side when certain videos and songs call for it. My pick is &#8220;<em>Who Are You When I&#8217;m Not Looking</em>&#8220;.</p>
<p><strong>Female Video of the Year </strong>has both ends of the spectrum, from a hard hitting break up song like <strong><a title="Carrie Underwood" href="https://countrymusicontour.com/carrie-underwood-tour-dates/">Carrie Underwood</a>&#8217;s </strong>&#8220;<em>Undo It</em>&#8220;, to a love conquers all approach like <strong><a title="Taylor Swift" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSTSwift/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Ftaylor-swift-tickets%2F">Taylor Swift</a>&#8217;s </strong>&#8220;<em>Mine</em>&#8220;. In between we have &#8220;<em>Turn On the Radio</em>&#8220;, &#8220;<em>A Little Bit Stronger</em>&#8220;, and &#8220;<em>The House That Built Me</em>&#8220;. It&#8217;s hard not to sing along with all of these songs, but based on the video I think the clear choice is <strong><a title="Miranda Lambert" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSMLambert/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fmiranda-lambert-tickets%2F">Miranda Lambert</a></strong>, &#8220;<em>The House That Built Me</em>&#8220;.</p>
<p><strong>Group Video of the Year </strong>gives us the usual nominees for this category, <strong><a title="Lady Antebellum" href="https://countrymusicontour.com/lady-antebellum-concert-tour-tickets/">Lady Antebellum</a></strong>, <strong><a title="Little Big Town" href="https://countrymusicontour.com/new-little-big-town-tour-dates/">Little Big Town</a></strong>, <strong>Rascal Flats</strong>, the <strong><a title="Zac Brown Band" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSZBB/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fzac-brown-band-tickets%2F">Zac Brown Band</a></strong>, along with the new family trio, <strong><a title="The Band Perry" href="https://countrymusicontour.com/cmt-next-women-of-country-presents-kimberly-perry-of-the-band-perry-tour/">The Band Perry</a></strong>. I&#8217;m going to have to say they will take this category no questions asked. &#8220;<em>If I Die Young</em>&#8221; hit the charts like a ball of fire, there was no stopping this video or song!</p>
<p><strong>Duo Video of the Year </strong>has a known veteran in this category and that&#8217;s <strong><a title="Sugarland" href="https://countrymusicontour.com/sugarland-concert-tour-tickets/">Sugarland</a></strong>! Yes, they are good at what they do, but don&#8217;t think it will be that easy for them to take home the win. <strong>Steel Magnolia </strong>and <strong>The JaneDear Girls </strong>have two very lively videos and aren&#8217;t giving up without a fight! <strong>The Civil Wars </strong>have an absolutely amazing song and video with &#8220;<em>Barton Hollow</em>&#8221; that I would love to see win. But for my pick, it has to be, hands down, <strong>Thompson Square</strong>, &#8220;<em>Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not</em>&#8220;. This song was released last summer and isn&#8217;t going anywhere soon! </p>
<p><strong><em>USA</em>Weekend Breakthrough Video of the Year </strong>could have the closest competition of the night. &#8220;<em>Lover, Lover</em>&#8220;, &#8220;<em>Country Boy</em>&#8220;, &#8220;<em>Love Like Crazy</em>&#8220;, &#8220;<em>If I Die Young</em>&#8220;, and &#8220;<em>Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not</em>&#8221; all came out strong. There isn&#8217;t a song in this category that I don&#8217;t like. <strong><a title="Jerrod Niemann" href="https://countrymusicontour.com/jerrod-niemann-concert-tour-tickets/">Jerrod Niemann</a> </strong>really got me with &#8220;<em>Lover, Lover</em>&#8220;, it&#8217;s a great song that you can&#8217;t help but sing along with. But then again, all of these songs make you want to sing along! This will be a tough decision for the fans.</p>
<p><strong>Collaborative Video of the Year </strong>nominees include &#8220;<em>Country Boy</em>&#8220;, &#8220;<em>That Should Be Me</em>&#8220;, &#8220;<em>Don&#8217;t You Wanna Stay</em>&#8220;, &#8220;<em>Collide</em>&#8220;, and &#8220;<em>Coal Miner&#8217;s Daughter</em>&#8220;. These collaborations have artists from <strong>George Jones </strong>to <strong>Justin Bieber</strong>. <strong>Rascal Flatts</strong> and Bieber was a fail in my opinion. Yes, the song is catchy and I&#8217;m sure there is a group of people that this impresses, but to me, it&#8217;s a boy band video gone wrong! I loved the work of <strong><a title="Jason Aldean" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSAldean/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fjason-aldean-tickets%2F">Jason Aldean</a> </strong>and <strong>Kelly Clarkson </strong>in &#8220;<em>Don&#8217;t You Wanna Stay</em>&#8221; but this award is Collaborative VIDEO of the Year, I would have liked to see an actual video instead of a performance taped. Kelly Clarkson and <strong><a title="Reba" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSReba/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Freba-mcentire-tickets%2F">Reba</a> McEntire</strong> are supposed to be friends, well <a title="Reba" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSReba/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Freba-mcentire-tickets%2F">Reba</a> is the queen of collaborative videos and Kelly should have used that to her advantage! Who doesn&#8217;t love a <strong>Kid Rock </strong>and <strong><a title="Sheryl Crow" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSSCrow/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fsheryls-crow-tickets%2F">Sheryl Crow</a> </strong>duet? They nailed it again with &#8220;<em>Collide</em>&#8220;. I love <a title="Sheryl Crow" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSSCrow/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fsheryls-crow-tickets%2F">Sheryl Crow</a> and lucky for her she is nominated twice in this category, because my vote is for &#8220;<em>Coal Miner&#8217;s Daughter</em>&#8220;. There isn&#8217;t much to say about it besides the fact that it is fabulous! <strong>Loretta Lynn</strong>, Miranda Lambert and <a title="Sheryl Crow" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSSCrow/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fsheryls-crow-tickets%2F">Sheryl Crow</a> were amazing together and this classic with a twist deserves to win!</p>
<p><strong>CMT Performance of the Year </strong>is a unique category that includes musical performances on television show, series, or variety special on CMT. There are three nominees that came from <strong>CMT Crossroads</strong>, &#8220;<em>A Broken Wing</em>&#8220;, &#8220;<em>Sweet Thing</em>&#8220;, and &#8220;<em>Margaritaville</em>&#8220;. &#8220;<em>If I Were a Boy</em>&#8221; came from <strong>CMT&#8217;s Unplugged</strong> and &#8220;<em>Need You Now</em>&#8221; came from <strong>CMT Artist of the Year</strong>. My pick is for &#8220;<em>A Broken Wing</em>&#8221; because <strong><a title="Martina McBride" href="https://countrymusicontour.com/martina-mcbride-concert-tour-dates/">Martina McBride</a> </strong>and <strong>Train</strong> together blew me away!</p>
<p><strong>Best Web Video of the Year </strong>is a video created primarily for the internet. &#8220;<em>It&#8217;s A Shore Thing</em>&#8220;, &#8220;<em>Mine</em>&#8220;, and &#8220;<em>Stars Tonight</em>&#8221; are great videos that were successful enough to put themselves in this category. But I don&#8217;t know who would not want to be rockin&#8217; along with <a title="Jason Aldean" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSAldean/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fjason-aldean-tickets%2F">Jason Aldean</a> or <a title="Blake Shelton" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSBlakeS/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fblake-shelton-tickets%2F">Blake Shelton</a> sitting at their computer! Although I am a huge fan of Mr. Aldean, I haven&#8217;t given his hit &#8220;<em>My Kinda Party</em>&#8221; much praise until now. That&#8217;s because I found the video boring&#8230;this live video on the other hand is something I will compliment! &#8220;<em>Kiss My Country Ass</em>&#8220;, you can&#8217;t go wrong with that! <a title="Blake Shelton" href="https://stubhub.prf.hn/click/camref:1100ljXyr/pubref:WPSBlakeS/ar:CMNBAutoLink/destination:https%3A%2F%2Fwww.stubhub.com%2Fblake-shelton-tickets%2F">Blake Shelton</a> is a mountain of a man who shows his &#8220;don&#8217;t give a blank&#8221; attitude and I dig it!</p>
<p><strong>Video Director of the Year </strong>is a way of saying thanks to those behind the scenes. <strong>Deaton Flanigen </strong>is nominated based on &#8220;<em>Collide</em>&#8221; and &#8220;<em>Wildflower</em>&#8220;. <strong>Trey Fanjoy </strong>is nominated based on &#8220;<em>The House That Built Me</em>&#8221; and &#8220;<em>Who Are You When I&#8217;m Not Looking</em>&#8220;. <strong>Chris Hicky </strong>is nominated based on &#8220;<em>Undo It</em>&#8221; and &#8220;<em>Without You</em>&#8220;. <strong>David McClister </strong>is nominated for &#8220;<em>If I Die Young</em>&#8221; and &#8220;<em>Swingin</em>&#8216;&#8221;. Last we have <strong>Roman White </strong>nominated for &#8220;<em>Hello World</em>&#8221; and &#8220;<em>Makin&#8217; Me Fall In Love Again</em>&#8220;. My pick is for Chris Hicky because I love both videos that his nomination is based on.</p>
<p>The show will air on <strong>CMT</strong> and <strong>cmt.com </strong>on <strong>July 8</strong>! Voting is available now at <strong>cmt.com </strong>and will be open until <strong>July 7</strong>, remember your vote counts!</p>
<p>For a complete list of the nominees and categories be sure to check out the article <strong>&#8220;2011 CMT Music Awards Nominees&#8221;</strong> on our homepage!</p>