Why the Most Nominated Artist at the 2026 ACM Awards Missed the Ceremony Altogether

Megan Moroney had a good reason for missing the 2026 ACM Awards. Ahead of the May 17 ceremony, Moroney took to her Instagram Story to reveal that she would not be in attendance.

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“I’m so honored to be nominated tonight at @acmawards & I’m rooting on all my friends from afar!” Moroney wrote. “I’m out of the country this week on MOH duty to get my bestie married.”

Alongside the message, Moroney shared a pic of her and her pal, Natalie King, in matching sweatsuits, with the former reading “bridesmaid” and the latter reading “bride.”

“I [love] you guys & can’t wait to see y’all in Columbus,” Moroney added. “Counting down the days.”

Though Moroney did not attend Sunday’s show, she was certainly a topic of conversation at the event. That’s because the singer was the most nominated artist of the night with nine nods.

Moroney was up for Entertainer of the Year, Female Artist of the Year; Song of the Year (Artist and Songwriter nominations), Single of the Year, Music Event of the Year; Visual Media of the Year (Artist and Director nominations), and Artist-Songwriter of the Year.

What to Know About the 2026 ACM Awards

Though she received many nominations, Moroney did not win a single award at the 2026 ceremony. Instead, Ella Langley came out on top, winning five awards.

Meanwhile, Cody Johnson took home the top award of the night, as he was named Entertainer of the Year. Other significant wins include Parker McCollum for Album of the Year, Avery Anna for Best New Female Artist, and Tucker Wetmore for Best New Male Artist.

Shania Twain hosted the ceremony, which aired live from Las Vegas on Sunday.  The show returned to Sin City after a three-year stint in Texas. Academy of Country Music CEO Damon Whiteside was behind the decision to get the show back to Vegas.

“It just feels like the place for a show like this and it does kind of tie back a little bit to our West Coast roots,” Whiteside told Billboard of the Los Angeles-founded Academy. “I’ve been hearing a lot of feedback from artists and the industry. They’re just super excited.”

“It’s like, ‘Oh, we can’t wait to go back to Vegas again. We can’t wait to be at the MGM again,’” he added. “I think it’s fun for the artists to be able to hang out.”

(Photo by John Shearer/Getty Images for ACM)