Cody Johnson Wins Entertainer of the Year, Ella Langley Leads with Seven Awards at 61st ACM Awards—Rebroadcast Available Now on Prime Video
Here’s the biggest night in country music: the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards streamed live last night from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, with Cody Johnson taking home the evening’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year, for the first time. Hosted by legendary songwriter and best-selling female country artist Shania Twain, the show featured 17 performances from 19 artists across 240+ countries and territories on Prime Video. Ella Langley led the night in total wins with seven awards, followed by Johnson, Miranda Lambert, and Stephen Wilson Jr. with two wins each. The rebroadcast of the 61st ACM Awards is available to watch on Prime Video starting Monday, May 18, with the 62nd ACM Awards returning to Las Vegas in 2027.
Entertainer of the Year
Cody Johnson earned country music’s most coveted honor for the first time.
In an emotional acceptance speech, Johnson reflected on his journey, recalling childhood memories of singing Rick Trevino in his bunk bed and dreaming of being an entertainer. He noted that “music is the sound of emotion” before dedicating his award to fellow nominee Luke Combs.
Johnson doubled his hardware by also winning Male Artist of the Year, telling the audience, “Without sounding too cliché, I will say the rise has been worth the falls.”
His performance of “Travelin’ Soldier” added to a night that confirmed his position at country music’s summit.
Ella Langley’s Historic Night
Langley dominated the evening with seven wins across multiple categories.
Her hit “Choosin’ Texas” earned both Song of the Year and Single of the Year, the latter marking her second consecutive win in the category and first as producer. The back-to-back Single of the Year achievement makes Langley the first artist to accomplish this since Miranda Lambert in 2012/2013.
In accepting Female Artist of the Year, Langley tearfully thanked the women in the room, emphasizing how much she values support from Lainey Wilson, Miranda Lambert, Kelsea Ballerini, and the other nominees.
She also took home Artist-Songwriter of the Year and shared Music Event of the Year with Riley Green for “Don’t Mind If I Do.”
Additional Winners
The night distributed honors across country music’s established stars and emerging talent.
Brooks & Dunn claimed Duo of the Year for the 18th time, their second consecutive win extending their total ACM Awards to 32. “I don’t know why you aren’t getting sick of us,” they told the audience, “but God bless you for hanging with us, because we love it with y’all.”
Parker McCollum won Album of the Year for his self-titled record, presented by Keith Urban. He dedicated a sweet moment to his pregnant wife, Hallie Ray Light: “They ought to give you one of these with your name on it.”
The Red Clay Strays earned Group of the Year following their New Group of the Year win last year, noting that when “we started playing in bars, we never thought it would go this far.”
Riley Green shared Music Event of the Year with Langley, marking their second consecutive win together.
Jessie Jo Dillon won Songwriter of the Year for the third time. When Shania Twain congratulated her and reminisced about their old promise to write together, Dillon said her third win was “almost as good as the first time she heard ‘Any Man of Mine.'”
Stephen Wilson Jr. took Visual Media of the Year for “Cuckoo.”
Avery Anna and Tucker Wetmore won New Female Artist of the Year and New Male Artist of the Year respectively.
Performance Highlights
The evening featured 17 show-stopping performances across established and emerging artists.
Reigning Entertainer of the Year Lainey Wilson opened with a high-octane world premiere of her new single “Can’t Sit Still.” Host Shania Twain congratulated Wilson on her recent nuptials during her opening monologue.
Miranda Lambert, the most decorated artist in ACM Awards history, delivered a showstopping performance of her new country disco single “Crisco.”
Dan + Shay created the evening’s most powerful moment with “Say So,” a deeply personal track focused on suicide prevention performed in tribute to their late friend and mentor. Lauren Alaina introduced the performance, noting the song was “going to save lives.” The performance brought the audience to a standing ovation.
Thomas Rhett and Jordan Davis exclusively performed their first song together, “Ain’t A Bad Life.” Little Big Town debuted their new song “Hey There Sunshine.” The Red Clay Strays made their ACM Awards performance debut with a soulful rendition of “Demons In Your Choir,” accompanied by a gospel choir.
Parker McCollum and Lee Ann Womack performed “Killin’ Me” together for the first time live. Kacey Musgraves made her ACM Awards performance debut with “Dry Spell” from her upcoming sixth studio album.
Blake Shelton closed the show with a powerful rendition of Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” in tribute to the country music legend.
New Artist winners performed their breakout hits: Tucker Wetmore sang “Brunette” after being introduced by his mother alongside Twain, while Avery Anna delivered her hit sequence “Bang Bang” / “Blood Runs Thicker.”
The Host
Shania Twain brought perspective spanning three decades of ACM history.
In her opening monologue, she recalled her own first ACM Awards wins in 1996 for New Female Artist of the Year and Album of the Year. She celebrated the current moment: “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.”
Twain quipped that she “can’t sit still” because she was so excited to host, toasting the accomplishments of the year’s biggest artists and nominees.
Complete Winners List
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: Parker McCollum – Parker McCollum (Producers: Frank Liddell, Eric Masse)
Single of the Year: “Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley (Producer: Miranda Lambert, Ben West)
Song of the Year: “Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley (Songwriters: Ella Langley, Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Joybeth Taylor)
Visual Media of the Year: “Cuckoo” – Stephen Wilson Jr. (Director: Tim Cofield, Stephen Wilson Jr.)
Songwriter of the Year: Jessie Jo Dillon
Artist-Songwriter of the Year: Ella Langley
Music Event of the Year: “Don’t Mind If I Do” – Riley Green, Ella Langley
The Presenters
The star-studded lineup included Andrew Whitworth, Ashley McBryde, Carl Edwards, Corey LaJoie, Keith Urban, Lauren Alaina, Michael Bublé, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Shaboozey, The War And Treaty, and TJ Osborne.
Watch Now
The rebroadcast of the 61st ACM Awards is available on Prime Video starting Monday, May 18.
Cody Johnson’s first Entertainer of the Year. Ella Langley’s seven-win dominance. Brooks & Dunn’s 18th Duo of the Year. Seventeen performances from country music’s biggest names. Shania Twain hosting from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
The 62nd ACM Awards return to Las Vegas in 2027. The 61st is streaming now.
