Hardy and Lainey Wilson took home the first award of the evening Sunday for Collaborative Video of the Year at the CMT Music Awards.
Hardy called the award, for his song "wait in the truck," incredible. Wilson, who was up for a leading four awards Sunday, said she was "proud to be a small part of this song."
"When I heard this song I thought this is an opportunity for people who have been through this to think, 'I'm not alone.'"
For the first time this year, the CMTs split up the breakthrough video category into two subcategories for men and women. Megan Moroney won Female Breakthrough Video of the Year for her song "Tennessee Orange," and Jelly Roll won Male Breakthrough Video of the Year for "Son of a Sinner."
"This is more than an award ... this is for the underdogs, baby. This is for the losers and have-nots. God takes the impossible and makes it look small," Jelly Roll said.
Moroney and Jelly Roll were also separately nominated for CMT Digital-First Performance of the Year, while Jelly Roll also had a nod for Male Video of the Year.
Country stars Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown hosted the CMTs, which were broadcast from Texas for the first time. The event was held at the Moody Center in Austin.
At the beginning of the broadcast, co-host Ballerini opened with dedication to the victims of the Nashville school shooting that killed three children and three adults on March 27.
"Tonight's broadcast is dedicated to the ever-growing list of families friends survivors witnesses and responders whose lives continue to forever be changed to gun violence," she said.
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Ballerini added a call for action "that moves us forward together to create change for the safety of our kids and loved ones."
Ballerini was nominated for Video of the Year and Female Video of the Year for "HEARTFIRST," and Kane Brown received nods for Male Video of the Year for "Like I Love Country Music" and Video of the Year and Collaborative Video of the Year with his wife, Katelyn Brown," for "Thank God."
The CMTs broadcast had several performances before the first award was even handed out. Blake Shelton was the first on tap for the evening, performing "No Body," a song from his latest album of the same name. He received a nomination for Video of the Year for the song.
Tyler Hubbard -- known for being one-half of Florida Georgia Line -- sang "Dancin' in the Country" on a secondary outdoor stage in front of the Texas Capitol, and Lily Rose sang "Whatcha Know About That."
Back on the main stage, Gary Clark Jr. performed his own take on the Stevie Ray Vaughan and Double Trouble hit "The House Is Rockin," and Carly Pearce -- two-time nominee for the night -- sang her hit "What He Didn't Do."
Legend Wynona Judd and Ashley McBryde, meanwhile, collaborated on a rendition of Foreigner's "I Want to Know What Love Is." Wynona Judd was nominated with Brandi Carlile for CMT Performance of the Year for "The Rose," which they sang at a special tribute to the late Naomi Judd. McBryde also received a nod in the same category for her performance of "One Way Ticket" with Carly Pearce at the CMT Crossroads, as well as for Video of the Year.