Hunter Hayes says the fan-voted CMT Music Awards show is a way for artists to get direct input from the people who really matter.

"This is a very unique awards show," Hayes said Monday afternoon (June 2) during rehearsals at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. "It brings the concert element -- the wild concert element -- to life in a really interesting way. It's great. I mean, just little things. Everybody is standing up and having a party on the floor. They do the whole thing outside -- all that fun stuff.

"It is really all about the fans. It's all about how they feel about the music, which tells us a lot. It gives us a good idea for what we're doing right and what we need to work on. It's a great energy. It's absolutely brilliant. I think we look forward to this because of that. That's not something you can pretend is there. It's there, and it's real, and you can feel it when you walk in the room."

Hayes is just one of the top country artists who will be performing at the 2014 CMT Music Awards show airing live Wednesday (June 4) at 8 p.m. ET. Actress Kristen Bell will host the live broadcast.

Other performers include Blake Shelton, Brantley Gilbert, Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Florida Georgia Line, Jake Owen, Jennifer Nettles, Kacey Musgraves, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Lee Ann Womack, Little Big Town, Luke Bryan and Miranda Lambert. In addition, Brett Eldredge, Cole Swindell, Dan + Shay, Danielle Bradbery, David Nail, Thomas Rhett and Tyler Farr will be performing on the Nationwide Insurance Stage.

Presenters include Beth Behrs, Brooklyn Decker, Cassadee Pope, James Van Der Beek, Kate Walsh, LeAnn Rimes, Rascal Flatts, Steve Austin and others.