Photo Credit: Lainey Wilson by KSON San Diego
The Academy of Country Music 60th awards ceremony took place last night—hosted by 16-time winner Reba McEntire. Here’s a peek at this year’s winners.
The 60th Academy of Country Music Awards (ACM), presented by Prime Video and Dick Clark Productions, took place last night in Frisco, Texas to celebrate the year’s biggest accomplishments. The show opened with a 12-minute all-star set celebrating the 60th anniversary with performances of ACM Songs of the Year from decades past.
Host Reba McEntire sang “Okie from Muskogee,” followed by Clint Black singing, “Rhinestone Cowboy,” Wynonna Judd singing “Why Not Me,” LeAnn Rimes singing “Blue,” Little Big Town singing “Girl Crush,” and Dan + Shay singing “Tequila.”
As for the night’s accolades, Lainey Wilson took home the night’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year—her second year in a row earning the highly coveted title. Wilson clocked four wins overall, while Ella Langley led the night in total wins with five. Riley Green took home three awards for his collaboration with Ella Langley, “you look like you love me,” while country mainstay Alan Jackson received the inaugural Alan Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award.
Brooks & Dunn won Duo of the Year, marking their first win in the category in 15 years, and their 17th win overall in the category. Old Dominion took home ACM’s Group of the Year award, their eighth consecutive win in the category, pushing them past Rascal Flatts for the most consecutive wins in that category.
Meanwhile, Chris Stapleton won ACM Male Artist of the Year marks his second consecutive win for the title and his fifth overall. Jessie Jo Dillon won Songwriter of the Year, her second win after securing the title in 2024.
First time winners this year included Texas native Cody Johnson, who won Song of the Year for “Dirt Cheap,” Zach Top with New Male Artist of the Year, and The Red Clay Strays with New Duo or Group of the Year.
Interestingly, country superstar Morgan Wallen seemed to ditch the ACM Awards in favor of hanging out with former NFL quarterback Tom Brady. Images of him tossing a football with the Super Bowl champ on a golf course appeared on his Instagram stories around the time the ACM Awards were set to begin. Wallen was among the most nominated artists this year, alongside Ella Langley, Cody Johnson, and Lainey Wilson—but he didn’t get any wins.
After her appearance in a pixie-cut bob at this year’s Met Gala, actress Nicole Kidman stunned at the ACM Awards with her signature long hair as she accompanied husband Keith Urban. Urban was honored with the coveted ACM Triple Crown Award, while Chris Stapleton, Megan Morony, and Brothers Osborne paid tribute to him with a melange of some of his greatest hits. These included “Stupid Boy,” “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” and “Where the Blacktop Ends.” Urban joined Brothers Osborne on stage for the latter.
The Academy of Country Music Awards were established in 1966 and remain as the longest-running Country Music awards show. In 2022, the event made history as the first major awards ceremony to exclusively livestream, in collaboration with Amazon’s Prime Video.