It was Ella Langley’s night from the start. The first honor of the Academy of Country Music Awards Sunday night was for the coveted song of the year, given to Langley for the crossover hit “Choosin’ Texas,” presented to her by Michael Bublé.
“I’m not at a loss for words very often,” said Langley in her speech. “Thank you to the fans. I don’t know why you latched on to this song but thank you for doing it.”
Less than an hour later she was back on stage, winning single of the year for the same smash.
She also joined Riley Green shortly thereafter, as their duet “Don’t Mind if I Do” took home music event of the year.
And then she received her fourth on-stage trophy of the night for female artist of the year. “I’m trying to get to say something but I can’t,” she said while her voice cracked. “I would not be standing up here without the encouragement of so many women.”
Call it the ideal introduction to a night that promised appearances from the greatest names in contemporary country music. It started with Lainey Wilson — who took home the top prize of entertainer of the year for the last two years — opening the ACM Awards with “Can’t Sit Still,” her latest single, an anthemic stopper about ambition.
It was an exciting way to kick off the 61st annual awards ceremony at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. That’s a noted departure from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, just north of Dallas, where the ACM Awards were held the last three years.
Performances followed fast and fierce from there: Miranda Lambert, the most-decorated artist in ACM Awards history, performed “Crisco.” Then Thomas Rhett and Jordan Davis teamed up for “Ain’t A Bad Life.”
Avery Anna performed her new song “Bang Bang,” a country-rock reimagination of the Nancy Sinatra classic “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down).” Green tackled “Change My Mind” and Zach Top nailed his hit “Honky Tonk Till It Hurts.”
Little Big Town did “Hey There Sunshine”; The Red Clay Strays nailed “Demons in Your Choir.”
Host Shania Twain walked out to her 1997 single “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!,” congratulating Lainey on her wedding that took place last Sunday.
“What a time this is for country music!” Twain said in her intro speech, which quickly became reflective: She talked about winning her first ACM Award 30 years ago; she said she had her first top 10 hit at age 30.
“Make it loud for all our sheroes,” she cheered, directing her attention to the women of country. It made sense: This is Twain’s first time hosting. She’s taken over for Reba McEntire, who has hosted the show 18 times.
Male artist of the year was given to Cody Johnson. Group of the year was awarded to The Red Clay Strays; duo of the year went to none other than Brooks & Dunn.
“I don’t know why y’all aren’t getting sick of us,” Kix Brooks joked, “But we love y’all.”
The ACM festivities actually began ahead of Sunday’s event. Before the show, a few trophies were handed out. Langley was named artist-songwriter of the year. Jessie Jo Dillon was named songwriter of the year, becoming the first artist to win three times in a row. Stephen Wilson Jr. was awarded visual media of the year for “Cuckoo.” Anna and Tucker Wetmore were presented with new female and new male artist of the year, respectively.
Back on stage, Wetmore tackled “Brunette”; Parker McCollum and Lee Ann Womack dueted “Killin’ Me” from McCollum’s 2025 self-titled album.
Kacey Musgraves brought her cheeky wit to the ACM Awards stage with “Dry Spell,” performing atop a washing machine and in a grocery store; Langley performed “Be Her” acoustically.
Carter Faith’s “If I Had Never Lost My Mind” was a standout vocal performance. She was followed by Johnson’s emotive “Travelin’ Soldier” and Kane Brown’s “Woman.”
There’s still a lot to look forward to, including the top prize of entertainer of the year, where Megan Moroney will face off against Wilson, Stapleton, Johnson, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll and Morgan Wallen.
And in the album of the year category, Wallen’s “I’m the Problem” challenges Top’s “Ain’t in It for My Health,” Riley Green’s “Don’t Mind If I Do,” McCollum’s “Parker McCollum” and first-time nominee Carter Faith’s “Cherry Valley.”
The 2026 ACM Awards can be streamed on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, as well as the Amazon Music app.
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For more coverage of this year’s ACM Awards, visit https://apnews.com/hub/academy-of-country-music-awards.
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