Country music stars will shine at the 2006 CMT Music Awards, CMT's annual award show honoring the fans' choices for best videos of the year. The CMT Music Awards are country music's only fan-voted awards. Fans have the opportunity to vote on CMT.com in first-round voting, to choose the final four nominees in each category, then again in final-round voting to determine the winners in nine categories. Video of the year nominees are announced at the beginning of the live broadcast, and fans vote on CMT.com during the show to determine the night's big winner.

Country fans have been voting for their favorite videos since 2002 when comedian Kathy Najimi hosted the first annual awards show on CMT. Since then, Toby Keith, Pamela Anderson, Dolly Parton and Jeff Foxworthy have all hosted CMT's hottest night of the year. Country stars have always been the focus of the show, however, with hot performances by Kenny Chesney, Tim McGraw, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban and many more.

The Johnny Cash Visionary Award is also presented each year to recognize an artist's extraordinary musical vision, innovative and groundbreaking music videos and pioneering initiatives in entertainment. The award was named after the late Johnny Cash after he received the award in 2003. In tribute of his important impact on the music world, CMT presents this special honor in his name each year to an artist who exemplifies what Johnny Cash perfected -- a vision. Previous recipients include the Dixie Chicks, Reba McEntire and Loretta Lynn.

The 2006 CMT Music Awards will be the biggest year yet for CMT's annual party honoring the fans and the videos by today's hottest stars in country music. Country comedian Jeff Foxworthy will return as host for the awards, and the show will be packed with top-notch performances by Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Trace Adkins, Gretchen Wilson, Brooks & Dunn, Sugarland and more. This year, the show will take place at The Curb Event Center at Belmont University in Nashville.