CMT will celebrate a remarkable year in country music by honoring Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Hunter Hayes and Tim McGraw as 2013's country music artists of the year in the 90-minute special, CMT Artists of the Year.

For the first time, the special will be premiering live. It will air Dec. 3 at 8 p.m. ET. This year's five honorees will gather in Nashville alongside their peers and notable luminaries for an evening filled with rocking performances, surprise guests and cheers to the achievements of each artist.

Over the past 12 months, Aldean, a four-time honoree, along with Bryan, Florida Georgia Line, Hayes and McGraw, have illustrated their impact in country music through massive radio airplay, chart-topping album sales and millions of individual downloads of their current singles.

Additionally, these acts have sold out concert tours, and collectively their videos have received hundreds of millions of streams, earning them the honor of being named one of CMT's Artists of the Year.

Aldean has been recognized with the honor every year since the first ceremony in 2010. Bryan was one of seven recipients last year, marking his first time to be recognized. Florida Georgia Line, Hayes and McGraw have been named CMT Artists of the Year for the first time this year.

Along with Aldean and Bryan, country stars named as previous CMT Artists of the Year include Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Toby Keith, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert, Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood and the Zac Brown Band.