By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer
Cody Johnson won entertainer of the year, but it was Ella Langley’s night from the start. The first honor of the Academy of Country Music Awards Sunday 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.”
But it was Johnson who took home the top prize of entertainer of the year. “They say that music is the sound of emotion,” Johnson said in his speech. “I get to convey that through this thing that God gave me called music.” That was shortly after he was awarded the title of male artist of the year. Then he dedicated his entertainer of the year award to Luke Combs.
It was a night that promised appearances from the greatest names in contemporary country music and delivered on it. The show started with Lainey Wilson — who took home the top prize of entertainer of the year for the last two years — opening 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.
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.”
Album of the year was a hyper-competitive category, but ultimately, it went to McCollum for his self-titled release. He beat Morgan Wallen’s blockbuster “I’m the Problem,” Top’s “Ain’t In It for My Health,” Green’s “Don’t Mind If I Do” and first-time nominee Faith’s “Cherry Valley.” That’s no small feat.
Then two more final performances: Dan + Shay doing “Say So,” dedicated to Ben Vaughn, the late Warner Chappell president and CEO. It was followed by Blake Shelton’s powerful cover of “The Gambler,” most famously performed by Kenny Rogers and written by the late great Don Schlitz, the storied country music songwriter who died last month.
The song, which was recorded by Rogers in 1978 and certified five times platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, opened doors for country music in the ’70s, a track that was not only a huge genre hit but also a pop crossover one.
The 2026 ACM Awards streamed on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, as well as the Amazon Music app.
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This story has corrected the spelling of Shay.
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For more coverage of this year’s ACM Awards, visit https://apnews.com/hub/academy-of-country-music-awards.