CMT Artist of the Year to honour Carrie Underwood and more

Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert are among a host of female country stars set to be honoured at the ‘CMT Artist of the Year’ celebration.
The TV special will air on October 17 live from the home of country music, Nashville, Tennessee, and the likes of Kelsea Ballerini, Maren Morris, Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman and Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott are also going to be recognised for 2018.
Speaking about the all-female line-up this year, Leslie Frame, Senior Vice President of Music & Talent at CMT, commented: "In this monumental year for women, dedicating one of the biggest nights in the genre to applaud female country artists not only solidifies our commitment, but we hope will spark a much-needed change in the industry."
‘Blown Away’ singer Carrie – who is set to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 20 – added to her huge CMT Music Awards haul by winning the Female Video of the Year award for ‘The Champion’, which also featured Ludacris, at the main ceremony in June.
The 35-year-old star, who also performed ‘Cry Pretty’ at the spectacle, is the most decorated artist in the ceremony’s history after landing 18 prizes at the awards show over the years.
In her acceptance speech, she said: "Thank you God for all of us who are lucky enough who sit over here that we get to do what we get to do.
"And thank God for you guys – the fans. You guys really are the reason that we get to do what we do.
"Whoever went and voted for anybody, just thank you for taking the time. It means everything."
She also thanked Ludacris for "wanting to inspire" and joining her on the tune.
Carrie added: "It took a whole team of people to put all of this stuff together for the video, so thank you all so much.
"Thank you to the normal people and the heroes who were in the video for just doing what you do and allowing us to share your story with the world."
Blake Shelton was the big winner on the night.
The 42-year-old singer took home the major prize of the night, Video of the Year, as well as Male Video of Year for his hit song ‘I’ll Name the Dogs’, beating off competition from the likes of Thomas Rhett in both categories.