CMT Awards Hosts Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown Share Fellow Stars They're Most Excited to See at Show

The 2023 CMT Music Awards will air live on CBS at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 2, and is also available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+

Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown are a country dream team!

The singers, both 29, are set to co-host the CMT Music Awards on Sunday night, and they're more than ready for the star power set to take the stage alongside them.

"I'm excited to see my boy Blake [Shelton]!" Brown says. "We've gotten really close recently and I'm excited to see him. Blake's my guy."

Ballerini, meanwhile, has two people she's pumped to see, one a rising star and the other an established superstar.

"I'm excited to see Megan Moroney — she's performing. I think she's really, really special," she says. "And there's a performance with Alanis Morissette. That's going to be it for me."

The "Ironic" singer, 48, is set to make her CMT Music Awards debut with a performance of "You Oughta Know" with Ingrid Andress, Lainey Wilson, Madeline Edwards and Morgan Wade to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of CMT Next Women of Country franchise.

RELATED VIDEO: Kelsea Ballerini Says She Feels a 'Duty to Challenge Everything' as a Woman in Country Music

Shelton, meanwhile, will also take the stage with other performers including Ballerini and Brown (along with his wife Katelyn), Blake Shelton, Cody Johnson and Keith Urban. The award show will also feature a Lynyrd Skynyrd tribute including Billy Gibbons, Chuck Leavell, Cody Johnson, Paul Rodgers, Slash and Warren Haynes, plus LeAnn Rimes and Wynonna Judd as "The Honkettes," plus Gwen Stefani performing with Carly Pearce.

This is Ballerini's third time hosting the show and Brown's fourth. It's the first time, however, they'll be taking the stage from Austin as opposed to Nashville.

"I think it's really cool when country music awards are in other cities!" she says. "It's 20 years of being in Nashville. Change is good. Just to like, shake it up a little bit and see how it feels and see how people like it. And the music's gonna be great! I'm excited for it."

Adds Brown: "I feel like it's like a different award show. It just feels fresh now."

Ballerini is also thrilled to be teaming up once more with Brown, as she believes that the two share similar goals.

Related:Lily Rose, Chapel Hart and Jackson Dean Among Rising Stars to Perform at 2023 CMT Music Awards

"The CMT Awards are really a true snapshot of the sound of country music right now, and honoring newer artists and collaborations, and things that are pushing boundaries," she says. "I think I can probably speak for both of us to say that that's always where our music's really lain, and something that's important to us."

She continues: "To be able to be on stage and host the show with someone that I feel like I'm really similar to in that way is very cool."

In order to prepare for their big night, Brown says he and the "Blindsided" singer typically start by poring over scripts and bouncing around creative ideas.

Related:Lainey Wilson, Kane Brown, Carrie Underwood and More Stars Nominated at the 2023 CMT Music Awards

"Our goal is to highlight and complement all of the nominees and amazing performances of the artists there, and just tee them up to do their thing," he says. "I really just try and be me when it comes to hosting."

Lainey Wilson leads the pack this year with four nominations, including video of the year, female video of the year, collaborative video of the year and CMT performance of the year.

The 2023 CMT Music Awards will air live on CBS at 8 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 2, and is also available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+.

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