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WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR 61ST ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS

WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR 61ST ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS

Cody Johnson Named ACM Entertainer of the Year; Ella Langley Took Home Most Wins with Seven Awards, Followed by Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert and Stephen Wilson Jr. with Two Wins for the Night

Ella Langley Sets Record for Most Wins in a Year by a Single Artist

Hosted by Shania Twain, the 61st ACM Awards, which Streamed Exclusively on Prime Video, Made Its Triumphant Return to Las Vegas, with 17 Performances by Country Music’s Biggest Stars

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LAS VEGAS, Nev. — May 17, 2026 — Tonight, the Academy of Country Music® (ACM), Prime Video, and Dick Clark Productions (DCP)hosted the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards. Hosted by legendary songwriter and best-selling female country artist Shania Twain, the show streamed live on Prime Video exclusively for a global audience across 240+ countries and territories from the world-renowned MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. The rebroadcast of the 61st ACM Awards will be available to watch on Prime Video starting Monday, May 18. The 62nd ACM Awards will return to Las Vegas in 2027.

The evening’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year, was awarded to Cody Johnson, marking the artist’s first time earning the coveted title. Ella Langley led the night in total wins with seven awards, followed by Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, and Stephen Wilson Jr. with two wins. Other winners included Avery Anna, Brooks & Dunn, Jessie Jo Dillon, Parker McCollum, Riley Green, The Red Clay Strays and Tucker Wetmore.

Returning to the Sunday night timeslot, the Emmy-nominated ACM Awards featured 17 show-stopping performances from 19 artists, including exclusive collaborations and unexpected moments from the biggest Country Music stars, including Blake Shelton, Carter Faith, Cody Johnson, Dan + Shay, Ella Langley, Jordan Davis, Kacey Musgraves, Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson, Lee Ann Womack, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Parker McCollum, Riley Green, The Red Clay Strays, Thomas Rhett, and Zach Top, along with Avery Anna (New Female Artist of the Year) and Tucker Wetmore (New Male Artist of the Year).

Legendary songwriter and best-selling female country artist, Shania Twain, took the stage for an opening monologue, congratulating Lainey Wilson on her recent nuptials and quipping that she “can’t sit still” because she was so excited to host the ACM Awards. She remembered her own first ACM Awards win in 1996 (New Female Artist of the Year and Album of the Year), and toasted the accomplishments of the year’s biggest artists and ACM Awards nominees. Twain celebrated the moment by saying “What a time it is in Country Music - our songs and storytellers are everywhere from your local honky tonk to this global stage and tonight we get to celebrate it all together.” 

Winner Highlights:

  • The evening kicked off with Ella Langley winning Song of the Year for her hit Choosin’ Texas. She returned to the stage to accept Single of the Year, marking her second win in the category and first as producer as well as her second consecutive win in the category as an artist. This win also marks the first back-to-back ACM Single of the Year winner since Miranda Lambert in 2012/2013. Later in the evening, in her acceptance speech for Female Artist of the Year, she tearfully thanked the women in the room and emphasized how much she values the support from Lainey Wilson, Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini and the other nominees. 
  • Cody Johnson was awarded the night’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year, marking his first win in the category. He reflected on his journey, recalling childhood memories of singing Rick Trevino in his bunk bed and dreaming of being an entertainer. In an emotional moment, he noted that “music is the sound of emotion” before dedicating his award to fellow nominee, Luke Combs. In accepting the award for Male Artist of the Year, Johnson said, “Without sounding too cliché, I will say the rise has been worth the falls”. 
  • Brooks & Dunn took home the Duo of the Year award for the 18th time, marking their second consecutive win and extending their total awards to 32. When thanking the audience for their win, they said “I don’t know why you aren’t getting sick of us, but God bless you for hanging with us, because we love it with y’all”. 
  • Parker McCollum took home the coveted Album of the Year award for the first time, presented by Keith Urban, for his self-titled record. During his acceptance speech, McCollum dedicated a sweet moment to his pregnant wife, Hallie Ray Light, saying, “They ought to give you one of these with your name on it”. 
  • The Red Clay Strays were awarded Group of the Year for the first time following their win last year for New Group of the Year, noting that “[when] we started playing in bars, we never thought it would go this far”. 
  • After winning Music Event of the Year, Riley Green thanked his co-winner, Ella Langley, and expressed his admiration, and remarked that she knew he was a perfect fit for the song. This marks their second consecutive win in the category for both artists. 
  • While congratulating Jessie Jo Dillon on her record-setting Songwriter of the Year win, Shania reminisced on their old promise to write together, and Dillon said her third year winning was “almost as good as the first time she heard Any Man of Mine.”

Following is the full list of winners in the 14 categories voted on by Academy members:

MAIN AWARDS:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

  • Cody Johnson

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

  • Ella Langley

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

  • Cody Johnson

DUO OF THE YEAR

  • Brooks & Dunn

GROUP OF THE YEAR

  • The Red Clay Strays

NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

  • Avery Anna

NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

  • Tucker Wetmore

ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

  • Parker McCollum – Parker McCollum

Producer: Frank Liddell, Eric Masse

Publisher: Warner Chappell Music Nashville

SINGLE OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

  • Choosin’ Texas – Ella Langley

Producer: Miranda Lambert, Ben West

Record Company-Label: SAWGOD / Columbia Records

SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]

  • Choosin’ Texas - Ella Langley

Songwriters: Ella Langley, Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Joybeth Taylor

Publishers: Bada Bing & Bada Langley Publishing; Little Louder Songs; Sony Music Publishing

VISUAL MEDIA OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]

  • Cuckoo -Stephen Wilson Jr.

Producer: Tim Cofield

Director(s): Tim Cofield, Stephen Wilson Jr. 

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR

  • Jessie Jo Dillon

ARTIST-SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR

  • Ella Langley

MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

  • Don’t Mind If I Do- Riley Green, Ella Langley

Producers: Dann Huff

Record Company-Label: Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment

Performance Highlights:

  • Reigning Entertainer of the Year and 16-time ACM Award recipient Lainey Wilson opened the show with a high-octane world premiere performance of her new single "Can't Sit Still.” 
  • Last year’s New Male Artist of the Year and New Female Artist of the Year returned to the ACM Awards stage - Zach Top performed his upbeat track "Honky Tonk Till It Hurts” and Ella Langley  performed her song "Be Her" from her sophomore album. The 2026 New Male Artist of the Year, Tucker Wetmore, was introduced by his mother alongside host Shania Twain, and went on to perform "Brunette” and 2026 New Female Artist of the Year, Avery Anna, performed her hit sequence "Bang Bang" / "Blood Runs Thicker."
  • Throughout the night, Country Music’s biggest names took the stage to perform. Miranda Lambert, the most decorated artist in ACM Awards history, delivered a showstopping performance of her new Country disco single "Crisco.” Seven-time ACM Award recipient Thomas Rhett teamed up with two-time ACM Awards recipient Jordan Davis to exclusively perform their first song together, "Ain't A Bad Life." Eight-time ACM Award-winning legendary group Little Big Town delivered a debut performance of their new song "Hey There Sunshine."  Accompanied by a gospel choir, The Red Clay Strays performed a soulful rendition of their new track "Demons In Your Choir," making their ACM Awards performance debut. Parker McCollum teamed up with Lee Ann Womack for their first live performance of "Killin' Me" from McCollum’s self-titled album. Seven-time ACM Award recipient Kacey Musgraves made her ACM Awards performance debut, singing “Dry Spell,” a new single from her upcoming sixth studio album, Middle of Nowhere.  Five-time ACM Awards winner and 2026 ACM Lifting Lives Country on the Green headliner, Riley Green, performed "Change My Mind," the hit single from his third studio album. Cody Johnson took the stage to perform his cover of "Travelin' Soldier." ACM Award winner Kane Brown performed his new Country-pop single “Woman.” First-time ACM Award nominee and Amazon Music Breakthrough Artist Carter Faith made her ACM Awards performance debut, singing "If I Had Never Lost My Mind."
  • Seven-time ACM Award recipients Dan + Shay, in collaboration with ACM Lifting Lives, the philanthropic partner of the Academy of Country Music, created a powerful moment spotlighting mental health as they performed their new single "Say So," a deeply personal track focused on suicide prevention in tribute to their late friend and mentor. Lauren Alaina introduced the performance, mentioning that when she first heard the song, she knew it was “going to save lives”. Dan + Shay’s powerful performance brought the audience to their feet with a standing ovation.  
  • Six-time ACM Award recipient and former ACM Awards host Blake Shelton closed out the show with a powerful rendition of Kenny Rogers’ "The Gambler" in tribute to the Country Music legend.

The star-studded lineup of presenters included Andrew Whitworth (Super Bowl champion and Thursday Night Football analyst), Ashley McBryde (three-time ACM Award-winning artist), Carl Edwards (NASCAR Hall of Famer), Corey LaJoie (NASCAR driver and Stacking Pennies podcast co-host), Keith Urban (2025 ACM Triple Crown Award recipient and 14-time ACM Award-winning artist), Lauren Alaina (ACM Award-winning artist), Michael Bublé (five-time GRAMMY Award-winning artist), Ryan Fitzpatrick (former NFL quarterback and Thursday Night Football analyst), Shaboozey (four-time ACM Award-nominated artist), The War And Treaty (Emmy Award-winning, three-time ACM Award-nominated duo), and TJ Osborne (member of seven-time ACM Award-winning duo Brothers Osborne).

Established in 1966, the Academy of Country Music Awards is the longest-running Country Music awards show and made history in 2022 as the first major awards ceremony to exclusively livestream, in collaboration with Prime Video. The 61st Academy of Country Music Awards is produced by Dick Clark Productions (DCP). Raj Kapoor and Patrick Menton are executive producers, with Kapoor also serving as showrunner. Damon Whiteside serves as executive producer for the Academy of Country Music, and Jay Penske and Barry Adelman serve as executive producers for DCP. John Saade will also continue to serve as consulting producer for Amazon MGM Studios.

The Mountain Valley® Spring Water (Instagram: @mountainvalleywater) is the Official Water of the Academy of Country Music Awards.

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