This isn't the first time real life has intruded on this special. In 2017, it dealt with Hurricane Harvey and the Route 91 Harvest music festival.
Update (May 12): Brandi Carlile, Carrie Underwood, Darius Rucker, Kane Brown, Kristen Bell, Lauren Daigle, Luke Combs, Sam Hunt and Tim McGraw have joined the lineup.
The annual "CMT Artists of the Year" special, now in its 11th year, will turn its focus outward this year to honor heroes who have done so much to help during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brothers Osborne, Florida Georgia Line, Kelsea Ballerini, Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett and more artists to be announced will appear on "CMT Celebrates Our Heroes: An Artists of the Year Special," which is set for June 3 at 8:00 p.m. EST.