Blake Shelton Is Officially Returning to the CMT Awards Stage After 5 Years

The 2023 CMT Music Awards just got taken to the next level because The Voice's Blake Shelton will be in the building. 

On April 2, Shelton will make his CMT Music Awards return after a five-year hiatus from performing at the awards ceremony. Shelton will show off his smash hit "No Body" from his 2022 album of the same name. Shelton's head-bang-worthy track is nominated for the prestigious Video of the Year Award, and many fans are excited to see whether or not he will take home the win against the 15 other competing nominees. 

Shelton performed "No Body" during the Live Top 8 Eliminations on Season 22 of The Voice, and it was a grand slam of a set, so fans have their eyes peeled for the performance. And he isn't the only country superstar making an exciting appearance at the CMT Music Awards, either. Kelsea Ballerini, who recently made her SNL musical guest debut, will perform and host the awards show alongside Kane Brown.

Shelton has been a busy man in 2023. He's nominated for one of the most coveted awards of the CMTs while wrapping up his Back to the Honky Tonk Tour. On top of this, the Coach is sitting in the red chair for the final time as a Coach in The Voice Season 23. Shelton's shenanigans have been a hallmark of the singing competition since its first season, so many fans are sad to see him go. 

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Fellow Voice Coach Kelly Clarkson, Shelton's longtime red chair rival, has mixed feelings about Shelton's exit. In an interview with NBC Insider in February 2023, the talk show host opened up about her friendly foe leaving.

"I actually have been talking to Blake a bit about this being his last season, and I'm like, 'It's not gonna hit you until afterwards...It's been a part of your life for so long, and it's gonna hit you after. I think he knows that, but I also think he knows that it's time," Clarkson told NBC Insider. "He's been doing it a long time, and I think it's a really cool way that we all know he's leaving so we get the time to, like—I mean, I can't stand him, but I also love him. So we get the time to actually, like, lift him up and say how great he is."

She continued, "He is the ultimate Coach on this show. Everybody knows that. He's won the most, and he, honest to God, helps the Artists afterwards. And it's an incredible thing that he's done for so many Artists. It's a loss for The Voice," she said, before playfully adding: "But it's a gain for humanity because we get to see less of him. So there's that!"

Watch Shelton's final season of The Voice on NBC Mondays at 8/7c, Tuesdays at 9/8c, and the next day on Peacock.