CMA Awards: 20 star-studded performances lined up for country music's biggest night

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Country music's biggest night is just hours away! With some of the biggest names in music descending on Nashville Wednesday, the 55th Annual CMA Awards begin at 7 p.m. CT.

The awards show at Bridgestone Arena will feature more than 20-star studded performances. "Bluebird" singer Miranda Lambert will open the show with host Luke Bryan also taking the stage for a solo performance.

Chris Stapleton, Thomas Rhett, Dan + Shay, Eric Church, Gabby Barrett, Jimmie Allen, Brothers Osborne, Luke Combs, Jennifer Hudson, Old Dominion, Keith Urban and Zac Brown Band all plan to perform. Special collaborations from Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley featuring BRELAND and HARDY, Mickey Guyton featuring Brittney Spencer and Madeline Edwards, Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde, as well as Chris Young and Kane Brown are also expected.

Trace Adkins, Ingrid Andress, Kelsea Ballerini, Deana Carter, Lauren Daigle, Russell Dickerson, Faith Fennidy, Florida Georgia Line, Freddie Freeman, Amy Grant, Dulé Hill, Alan Jackson, Elle King, Lady A, Zachary Levi, Scotty McCreery, Hayley Orrantia, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Darius Rucker, Susan Sarandon, Saycon Sengbloh, Kurt Warner, Lainey Wilson, and Trisha Yearwood will present the night's honors.

Eric Church and Chris Stapleton top the list of CMA Awards nominations this year with five each.

Church is up for Entertainer of the Year,Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year for Heart, Single of the Year for “Hell Of A View”, and Song of the Year for “Hell Of A View”. With 35 CMA Awards nominations under his belt, Church has taken home four previous CMA Awards wins. This year marks his eighth nomination in the Male Vocalist of the Year category and fifth nomination in theAlbum, Single and Song of the Year categories.

Stapleton received nominations for Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Album of the Year for Starting Over, Single of the Year for "Starting Over” and Song of the Year for "Starting Over”. The 10-time CMA Awards winner has already won the Male Vocalist category four times. Stapleton has a total of 26 CMA Awards nominations.

Other top nominees include Gabby Barrett with four nominations forNew Artist of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, Single of the Year and Song of the Year for “The Good Ones”.Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Chris Young, Ashley McBryde, Maren Morris and Miranda Lambert each have three nominations.

Lambert remains themost nominated female of all time for CMA Awards and now ties for third in overall CMA Awards nominations. This year, she earned nominations forEntertainer of the Year, Female Vocalist of the Year, and Musical Event of the Year for “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” which add to her previous 55 nominations and 14 wins. The "Kerosene" singer has received five nominations for Entertainer of the Year and 15 nominations for Female Vocalist of the Year, which she has previously won seven times.

While many await the results of the awards show, the Country Music Association revealed the winners of two categories early Wednesday morning.

East Tennessee natives Kelsea Ballerini and Kenny Chesney scored CMA Musical Event of the Year and CMA Music Video of the Year awards for "half of my hometown," Ballerini's song about Knoxville, Tennessee.

Find a full list of CMA Awards nominees below:

Entertainer of the Year

• Luke Combs
• Miranda Lambert
• Carrie Underwood
• Eric Church
• Chris Stapleton

Single of the Year

• “Famous Friends”–Chris Young with Kane Brown, Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young, Mix Engineer: Sean Moffitt
• “The Good Ones”–Gabby Barrett, Producers: Ross Copperman, Zach Kale, Mix Engineers: Buckley Miller
• “Hell Of A View”–Eric Church, Producer: Jay Joyce, Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
• “One Night Standards”–Ashley McBryde, Producer: Jay Joyce, Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
• “Starting Over”–Chris Stapleton, Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton, Mix Engineer: Vance Powell

Album of the Year:

• 29–Carly Pearce, Producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne andJimmy Robbins, Mix Engineer: Ryan Gore
• Dangerous: The Double Album–Morgan Wallen, Producers: Dave Cohen, Matt Dragstrem, Jacob Durrett, Charlie Handsome andJoey Moi, Mix Engineer: Joey Moi
• Heart –Eric Church, Producer: Jay Joyce, Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
• Skeletons – Brothers Osborne, Producer: Jay Joyce, Mix Engineers: Jason Hall, Jay Joyce
• Starting Over–Chris Stapleton, Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton, Mix Engineer: Vance Powell

Song of the Year

• “Forever After All” Songwriters: Luke Combs, Drew Parker, Robert Williford
• “The Good Ones” Songwriters: Gabby Barrett, Zach Kale, Emily Landis, Jim McCormick
• “Hell Of A View” Songwriters: Casey Beathard, Eric Church, Monty Criswell
• “One Night Standards” Songwriters: Nicolette Hayford, Shane McAnally, Ashley McBryde
• “Starting Over” Songwriters: Mike Henderson, Chris Stapleton

Female Vocalist of the Year

• Gabby Barrett
• Miranda Lambert
• Ashley McBryde
• Maren Morris
• Carly Pearce

Male Vocalist of the Year

• Dierks Bentley
• Eric Church
• Luke Combs
• Thomas Rhett
• Chris Stapleton

Vocal Group of the Year

• Lady A
• Little Big Town
• Midland
• Old Dominion
• Zac Brown Band

Vocal Duo of the Year

• Brooks & Dunn
• Brothers Osborne
• Dan + Shay
• Florida Georgia Line
• Maddie & Tae

Musical Event of the Year

• *Winner* “half of my hometown”–Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney), Producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Ross Copperman, Jimmy Robbins
• “Buy Dirt”–Jordan Davis and Luke Bryan, Producer: Paul DiGiovanni
• “Chasing After You” – Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris, Producers: Aaron Eshuis, Teddy Reimer
• “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)”–Elle King & Miranda Lambert, Producer: Martin Johnson and Brandon Paddock
• “Famous Friends”–Chris Young with Kane Brown, Producers: Corey Crowder, Chris Young

Musician of the Year

• Jenee Fleenor, Fiddle
• Paul Franklin, Steel Guitar
• Aaron Sterling, Drums
• Ilya Toshinskiy, Banjo
• Derek Wells, Guitar

Music Video of the Year

• *Winner* “half of my hometown”–Kelsea Ballerini (featuring Kenny Chesney), Director: Patrick Tracy
• “Chasing After You”–Ryan Hurd with Maren Morris, Director: TK McKamy
• “Famous Friends”–Chris Young with Kane Brown, Director: Peter Zavadil
• “Gone”–Dierks Bentley, Directors: Wes Edwards, Travis Nicholson, Ed Pryor, Running Bear, Sam Siske
• “Younger Me”–Brothers Osborne, Director: Reid Long

New Artist of the Year

• Jimmie Allen
• Ingrid Andress
• Gabby Barrett
• Mickey Guyton
• HARDY