Acts such as Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood are virtual certainties when it comes to the 2011 CMT Music Awards, which announced its nominations Wednesday morning.
But Justin Bieber?
The pop phenomenon scored his first-ever country nod for his collaboration with Rascal Flatts on a reworked version of his track "That Should Be Me" for his EP, “Never Say Never –- The Remixes.”
Nominated in the collaborative video of the year category, Biebs is up against the Jason Aldean (who leads with four nominations) and Kelly Clarkson duet "Don't You Wanna Stay”; Kid Rock’s Sheryl Crow-assisted "Collide"; Aaron Lewis’ "Country Boy," which features George Jones and Charlie Daniels; and the Loretta Lynn, Miranda Lambert and Crow team-up, "Coal Miner's Daughter."
Swift trailed behind Aldean with three nods. Her video for "Mine" is vying for best web video of the year, a new category going to online performances of songs, female video of the year and video of the year.
Underwood is up for two trophies, with her video for "Undo It" up for female video of the year and video of the year.
Winners are determined by fan votes. The show takes place June 8 in Nashville, Tenn.
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