The 2026 Academy of Country Music Awards are fast approaching, and this year brings several significant changes. Country music icon Shania Twain will take the helm as host for the first time, succeeding Reba McEntire. The ceremony will take place on May 17 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, moving from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, after a three-year stint there. Notably, women dominate the nominations this year.
How to Watch the 2026 ACM Awards
The awards show will stream live on Prime Video, the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, and the Amazon Music app on May 17 at 8 p.m. EDT.
Who Is Nominated?
Megan Moroney leads the pack with nine nominations, followed by Miranda Lambert, the most decorated artist in ACM Awards history, with eight. Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson each earned seven nods. Chris Stapleton received six, Zach Top five, and Cody Johnson four.
The entertainer of the year contenders include Moroney, Wilson, Stapleton, Johnson, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, and Morgan Wallen. Wilson won the top prize in 2025 for the second consecutive year.
In the album of the year category, Wallen's I'm the Problem competes against Top's Ain't In It For My Health, Riley Green's Don't Mind If I Do, Parker McCollum's Parker McCollum, and first-time nominee Carter Faith's Cherry Valley. Other first-time nominees include 49 Winchester, Avery Anna, Mackenzie Carpenter, Hudson Westbrook, and Stephen Wilson Jr.
What's Noteworthy This Year?
Beyond the move to Las Vegas and Twain's debut as host, the strong presence of female nominees stands out. Moroney, Lambert, Langley, and Wilson lead the nominations, sparking discussion about gender representation in country music. Singer Ashley McBryde told the Associated Press, "I think it is so cool," while noting that competition among women in the industry persists. She added, "We’ve been trying to build a table, and we’ve been trying for years to make the table bigger, and now it is."
Unlike last year, no single song dominates the nominations. In the single of the year category, Lambert and Stapleton's A Song to Sing faces Moroney's Am I Okay?, Langley's Choosin' Texas, Top's I Never Lie, and Wilson's Somewhere Over Laredo.
Who Is Performing?
Confirmed performers include Lambert, Langley, Top, Faith, Wilson, Johnson, Green, Kacey Musgraves, Little Big Town, Blake Shelton, Dan + Shay, Jordan Davis, Kane Brown, The Red Clay Strays, Thomas Rhett, Avery Anna, and Tucker Wetmore.
For more coverage of this year's ACM Awards, visit the AP News hub.
