It is funny how we all just sort of assume the big names always walk away with the "Buckles." You see the same five faces on every awards show billboard and think, "Yeah, Carrie or Kane has this in the bag." But honestly, if you actually look at the winners of CMT awards over the last few years, the pattern is way more chaotic than the CMA or ACM ceremonies.
Since the CMT Music Awards are entirely fan-voted, the results usually feel less like a corporate high-five and more like a rowdy popularity contest that sometimes goes off the rails. It’s the one night where a viral TikTok country star can genuinely take down a legend who has been headlining stadiums for twenty years.
The Weird Power of the CMT Fan Vote
Most people confuse the CMTs with the CMAs. Don't.
While the CMAs are decided by industry "experts" in suits, the CMT winners are picked by people sitting on their couches with a smartphone. That is why you see such specific, sometimes head-scratching winning streaks.
Take Carrie Underwood. She is the undisputed queen of this specific show. She has over 25 wins. It’s almost a joke at this point. If she is nominated for Video of the Year, you might as well just etch her name into the glass before the show even starts. But then you have years like 2024 and 2025 where the "new guard" started kicking down the door.
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Why Lainey Wilson is Everywhere (Seriously)
Lainey Wilson is basically the mascot of country music right now. At the most recent cycles, her name was basically synonymous with the podium. But what’s interesting about her wins—specifically for things like Female Video of the Year—is that they weren't just about the music. They were about her "Bell Bottom Country" aesthetic.
CMT voters care about the visuals. It's a video award, after all. When Lainey won for "Watermelon Moonshine," it wasn't just because the song was a hit. It was because the video felt like a nostalgic, grainy movie that people actually wanted to watch more than once.
Breakthroughs and the "Shaboozey" Effect
Lately, there has been this massive shift toward genre-blending. You can't talk about the winners of CMT awards without mentioning the crossover acts.
- Jelly Roll: He dominated the 2023 and 2024 ceremonies. Coming from a rap background, his fans are notoriously aggressive voters. He didn't just win; he swept categories like Male Video of the Year and Breakthrough Male Video in the same night.
- Post Malone: His transition into country was cemented at recent awards. When he teamed up with Blake Shelton for "Pour Me A Drink," it was a lock for Collaborative Video of the Year.
- The Red Clay Strays: They represent the "roots" side of the fan base that is finally getting loud enough to beat out the Nashville pop-country machine.
Honestly, the most shocking thing recently wasn't who won, but who didn't. Morgan Wallen has arguably the biggest streaming numbers in the world, yet his CMT trophy cabinet is surprisingly thin compared to his peers. Why? Because fan-voting requires a specific kind of digital mobilization that doesn't always align with who is being played on the radio.
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What Actually Happens Behind the Scenes?
There’s a common misconception that these awards are "rigged" for whoever shows up to the ceremony. While it is true that producers love a winner who is actually in the building to accept the trophy, the CMTs have a "Final 3" voting system that happens during the live broadcast.
This creates a mad scramble. You’ll see artists like Kelsea Ballerini or Kane Brown (who often hosts) literally begging their Instagram followers to go vote in the final twenty minutes of the show. It’s desperate, it’s fast, and it’s why the winners of CMT awards often feel so current.
The "Buckle" Stats You Should Know
If you’re looking at the history books, here is how the landscape actually looks:
- Most Wins Ever: Carrie Underwood (25+ and counting).
- The Triple Threat: It’s rare, but acts like Jelly Roll and Megan Moroney have managed to win three awards in a single night recently.
- The Hosting Curse: Usually, if you host the show, you're almost guaranteed at least one win. It's a "thank you" from the network and the fans.
Why the CMT Winners List Still Matters in 2026
We live in a world where awards shows are losing viewers. People just check the results on Twitter (X) or TikTok the next morning. However, for a country artist, a CMT win is a metric of "stanship."
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If you win a CMT award, it means your fans are willing to go to a website, refresh the page, and click your name ten times a day. That level of engagement is what brands and tour promoters look for. It proves your audience isn't just passive listeners—they're a "hive."
Getting the Most Out of the Next Awards Cycle
If you want to keep up with who is actually winning and why, you have to look past the main stage.
- Check the Breakthrough Categories: This is where the real future of the genre is. If someone wins Breakthrough Female Video, they are usually headlining their own tour within 12 months.
- Watch the Collaborative Wins: These tell you where country music is heading. Is it leaning into Rock? Pop? Bluegrass? The winners here show you which "outsiders" the country fans are actually accepting.
- Follow the Directors: CMT is one of the few places where directors like TK McKamy or Alexandra Gavillet get a shoutout. A win for an artist is often a win for the specific creative team that built their visual brand.
To really see the impact, look at how Zach Top or Ella Langley utilized their recent momentum. They didn't just take the trophy; they dropped new content the very next morning to capitalize on the "winners of CMT awards" search traffic. It’s a business move, plain and simple.
Keep an eye on the mid-tier nominees during the next voting window. Usually, the artist who is most active on Discord or TikTok in the week leading up to the show is the one who walks away with the buckle, regardless of how "big" their song actually was on the charts.
Next Steps to Track CMT Winners:
- Audit the Visuals: Go back and watch the last three "Video of the Year" winners back-to-back. You’ll notice they all share a specific cinematic quality—high contrast, narrative storytelling, and heavy "Americana" imagery.
- Monitor Fan Portals: If you want to predict the next winner, join the Facebook groups or Discord servers for the top nominees. The artist with the most organized "voting blocks" is your winner.
- Cross-Reference with Touring: Check the tour schedules of the "Breakthrough" winners. Historically, a CMT win correlates with a 20-30% increase in ticket secondary market value within the first month.