CMT ‘Heroes’ Special Adds Carrie Underwood, Sam Hunt, Brandi Carlile, Luke Combs and Others

By Chris Willman

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – CMT has brought more music stars on board for a June special that is slated to pay tribute to first responders and other heroes of the pandemic, with Brandi Carlile, Carrie Underwood, Luke Combs and Sam Hunt among those being added to “CMT Celebrates Our Heroes: An Artists of the Year Special,” airing on June 3.

Tim McGraw, Lauren Daigle, Kane Brown, Darius Rucker and Kristen Bell are also joining the two-hour telecast, which replaces CMT’s traditional “Artists of the Year” live special with a show that takes the focus off awards and will have performances taped at home in a salute to non-celebrities shining in their roles during the coronavirus crisis.

Artist participants revealed in the initial announcement about the revamped show included Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett, Brothers Osborne, Florida Georgia Line, Kelsea Ballerini, Lady Antebellum and Little Big Town.

CMT is inviting submissions of everyday heroes for possible inclusion on the telecast at this page .

The network says it plans to salute workers in the areas of health care, first responders, education, the food industry, the military, community leaders, business and infrastructure.

“CMT Celebrates Our Heroes: An Artists of the Year Special” will premiere June 3 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

The “Artists of the Year” special traditionally airs live in October, but CMT is having it trade places with another annual special, “The CMT Music Awards,” an annual June show that will now take place in October, a time frame that offers more opportunity for preserving at least some of the lvie and in-person elements of an awards show.