Hunter Hayes: CMT Artists of the Year 2013 - Pics & Performance!

Hunter Hayes suits up with a bow tie for the 2013 CMT Artists Of The Year held at Music City Center on Tuesday night (December 3) in Nashville, Tenn.

“This kind of thing is something you dream about,” the 22-year-old musician shared on stage after accepting his award. “I don’t just make music, but I live it, I breathe it. It’s all I do. It’s all I know. It’s all I’ll ever know and all I want to know.”

Hunter added, “Being included in this group of people is pretty stunning, as you can tell by the quivering in my voice and the complete nerves that I’m fighting every second here, but there’s this line that happiness is only good when it’s shared. And the coolest thing about the thing I get to do is that I not only get to make music, but I get to go on the road with some of my favorite people in the world, some of my favorite musicians, my road crew, everybody that’s on my team. Since I’ve moved to Nashville, I’ve met the best people in the world. They’ve let me do what I do. They’ve believed in me, and I get to share this music every night with everybody watching — all these fans. You guys are amazing.”

30+ pics inside…