CMT Music Awards 2015: Luke Bryan, Darius Rucker and Others Look Forward to Tonight's Show

— -- Luke Bryan is one of the biggest stars performing on tonight's CMT Music Awards, but it wasn't that long ago he considered himself very lucky to get a slot on the show.

"They took a chance on me a few years ago and let me perform 'Country Girl (Shake It for Me)' on the show and really, kind of sent my career into another level," he said.

Since the CMT Music Awards mean so much to Bryan, he's chosen to premiere his brand-new single, "Kick the Dust Up," on this year's broadcast.

"It's gonna be a fun night," he said. "Got a lot of smoke, lot of lights. It's gonna be crazy."

Bryan is also looking forward to seeing some of the guest presenters at this year's CMT Music Awards, including Arnold Schwarzenegger, and co-hosts Erin Andrews, of "Dancing with the Stars," and "Pitch Perfect" actress Brittany Snow.

"They always have really, really interesting guests," he said. "They think outside the box on a lot of things, and it's a fun night for that reason."

Darius Rucker loves the fun vibe of the CMT Music Awards, too.

"It's really laid-back. I love getting to play the CMT Awards 'cause you get to play and you get to have a good time," he said. "They always put together these cool things."

This year, Rucker will deliver his performance on an outdoor stage in downtown Nashville during the show. Yes, he's already mentally prepared for what could happen.

"I'm sure [that] as soon as I hit the first note, a bug's gonna fly right into my mouth, right into my throat," he said with a laugh. "I want to play outdoors for the folks, so it's gonna be fun."

Jake Owen performed outdoors on last year's CMT Music Awards, so he's excited to move back inside to sing his new single, "Real Life," on Wednesday night. He promises the performance will have a lot of fun, summertime energy.

"We got a bunch of dancers and craziness going on," he hinted.

Brett Eldredge is presenting a trophy with his pal Thomas Rhett on this year's CMT Music Awards. While he used to be nervous about reading a teleprompter and being on camera, Eldredge has now mastered the art of being an awards show presenter. So, what's his secret?

"[You've got to] style yourself up a little bit, look good, turn up the charm, and go up there, and win 'em over and read those three lines with pizzazz!" he said.

In fact, Eldredge loves being on camera so much, you should probably expect to see him hosting an awards show some day.

"I'll do everything but dance on stage," he said.

The CMT Music Awards will open with Lady Antebellum and pop/EDM star Zedd performing a mashup of the group's current single, "Long Stretch of Love," and his hit, "Beautiful Now." While the songs are very different, Lady A's Hillary Scott said, "I think it really works. I think it'll be a really exciting start to the show. You know, we're huge fans of what he's doing."

Other performances on the show include Eric Church delivering his latest hit, "Like a Wrecking Ball," and Keith Urban debuting his brand-new single, "John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16." Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Sam Hunt, Florida Georgia Line, Zac Brown Band, Kelsea Ballerini, A Thousand Horses, Frankie Ballard and Reba are among the other performers on the 2015 CMT Music Awards. The show broadcasts live from Nashville tonight at 8 p.m. ET on CMT and CMT.com.

Here are the 2015 CMT Music Awards nominees: