Kane Brown on Hosting the CMT Music Awards With Kelsea Ballerini and Performing With Wife Katelyn (Exclusive)

When Kane Brown was asked to return and host this year's CMT Music Awards, it was an "immediate yes!"

The country music star is preparing for his third consecutive hosting gig at the upcoming awards show, and he'll have friend and fellow performer Kelsea Ballerini by his side once again.

"My first CMT was my first award," Brown told ET's Cassie DiLaura, explaining what the show means to him. "[It's the] only award show I've hosted and it's just cool, getting to keep doing it and getting to keep getting more comfortable."

Noting that he hopes to "bring the excitement" to this year's show, Brown praised Ballerini as a "natural sweetheart" who is the perfect hosting partner.

"It's cool to be doing it with somebody I'm familiar with," he added. "I'm very shy. So if I was doing it with a stranger, I don't know how it'd go."

While he's had experience hosting the show before, this year's CMT Music Awards will feature an exciting first for Brown: performing alongside his wife, Katelyn.

The pair's duet, "Thank God," reached number one on the Country Airplay chart in February 2023, making it the second duet by a married couple to top the chart -- following Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's "It's Your Love" in 1997.

They'll take the stage at the CMT Music Awards for the first televised performance of the song, and Katelyn admitted to ET that she's a bit nervous about the moment.

"I think the difference is, at Kane's shows, I know that they're there for him. They love us. They love our family. And so it's just like a whole different audience," she shared. "[At the CMTs], I know he's out there in front of his peers and other artists and stuff like that. So it definitely adds a little bit more nerves to it."

The awards show producers have nothing but faith in the couple, however, saying in a statement, "Kane Brown is a genre-defying force and an electric live performer who continues to break barriers and smash records. He and Kelsea are both seasoned pros and an unstoppable duo with mega charisma, star power and global appeal to match. We couldn’t pick a more dynamic pair to helm our show’s first ever move to Austin in what is sure to be one of our most memorable yet – and can’t wait for him and Katelyn to share the stage for what will be an unforgettable, world premiere performance."

After the show comes another first: Brown's acting debut on Fire Country on April 7. 

But first, the 2023 CMT Music Awards will air live from the Moody Center in Austin, Texas, on Sunday, April 2 at 8 p.m. PT/ET on CBS and CMT, and will stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

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