CMT AWARDS:
ON A ROLL

Gwen Stefani, right, says it doesn’t matter that she's a long way from the Orange County punk clubs of No Doubt's beginnings; everybody loves “Just a Girl,” especially Carly Pearce.

Singer-songwriter Jelly Roll (pictured) was the big winner 4/2 at the CMT Music Awards, which featured an assortment of duets, Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown winning Video of the Year, a salute to Shania Twain and a lot of tributes to rock acts. Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini (pictured) hosted.

The liberally inked Jelly Roll took home three trophies—Male Video of the Year, Breakthrough Male Video of the Year and Digital-First Performance—while Lainey Wilson nabbed two, Female Video of the Year for “Heart Like a Truck” and Collaborative Video of the Year with HARDY.

Transpiring at the Moody Center in Austin, the ceremony opened with Blake Shelton delivering his first televised performance of “No Body.” The Browns followed up with a TV world premiere of their smash, “Thank God.”

The evening’s duets included Gwen Stefani and Carly Pearce doing the No Doubt chestnut “Just a Girl”; Wynonna Judd and Ashley McBryde joining forces on Foreigner’s “I Wanna Know What Love Is”; and Darius Rucker plus The Black Crowes on their hit “She Talks to Angels.”

Alanis Morissette and four of CMT’s Next Women of Country—Wilson, Madeline Edwards, Ingrid Andress and Morgan Wade—belted out “You Oughta Know” to celebrate 10 years of CMT’s NWOC initiative.

Ballerini, who made headlines by speaking out about gun violence at the top of the show, pushed more buttons when she performed "If You Go Down (I'm Goin' Down Too)" surrounded by a bevy of drag queens. The gesture was a pointed rebuke of the so-called drag bans in Tennessee and other states.

Since the festivities were in Texas, Austin local Gary Clark Jr. delivered a tip of the plateau hat to Dallas favorite son Stevie Ray Vaughan on “The House Is Rockin’.” Lone Star State native Megan Thee Stallion honored 2023 CMT Equal Play Award trailblazer Twain with a tribute highlighting her stellar career, advocacy and impact.

Billy Gibbons, Chuck Leavell, Cody Johnson, Paul Rodgers, Slash, Warren Haynes, LeAnn Rimes and Wynonna waved the flag for Lynyrd Skynyrd, with “Simple Man” and “Sweet Home Alabama” closing out the night.

Morissette (far right) rallies (l-r) Wilson, Wade, Andress and Edwards around her anthem “You Oughta Know.”

WINNERS OF THE 2023 CMT AWARDS

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown, “Thank God”

FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Lainey Wilson, “Heart Like a Truck”

MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Jelly Roll, “Son of a Sinner”

GROUP/DUO VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Zac Brown Band, “Out in the Middle”

BREAKTHROUGH FEMALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Megan Moroney, “Tennessee Orange”

BREAKTHROUGH MALE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
Jelly Roll, “Son of a Sinner”

COLLABORATIVE VIDEO OF THE YEAR
HARDY f/Lainey Wilson, “wait in the truck”

CMT PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Cody Johnson, "'Til You Can't" (from the 2022 CMT Music Awards)

CMT DIGITAL-FIRST PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR
Jelly Roll, “Son of a Sinner” (from CMT All Access)

Photo: Getty Images for CMT