Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Florida Georgia Line, Luke Bryan and Thomas Rhett will be honoured Thursday on the annual CMT Artists of the Year telecast.
Kelsea Ballerini will receive the 2016 Breakout award, and Canada's Shania Twain will pick up the Artist of a Lifetime award.
Meghan Trainor, R&B star Jill Scott and Ballerini will pay tribute to Twain, and Swedish rising sensation Zara Larsson joins Rhett in a mashup of his CMA Song of the Year, “Die a Happy Man,” and her pop smash “Never Forget You.”
Karen Fairchild teams up with Bryan for a performance of their number-one duet “Home Alone Tonight.”
Olympic gold medalist gymnasts Aly Raisman and Madison Kocian join Little Big Town and comedian Arsenio Hall as presenters.
CMT's Artists of the Year are chosen on the basis of popularity on CMT's platforms, as well radio hits, chart-topping albums and sold-out concerts.
The show was taped Wednesday at Nashville's Schermerhorn Symphony Center.
Original article at iHeartRadio.