On Thursday night, the Academy of Country Music will celebrate its 60th ACM Awards in Frisco, Texas, with country music’s rodeo queen, Reba McEntire, at the helm for the 18th time.
An early winner with eight nods, Ella Langley enters the show with the most nominations. Cody Johnson, Morgan Wallen, and Lainey Wilson follow with seven nominations, and Chris Stapleton has six. Green and Post Malone earned five nominations each.
Fans can find out who wins Thursday night when the 60th ACM Awards will air Thursday at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on Twitch and Prime Video. The 2025 ACM Awards have expanded to two-and-a-half hours.
The Academy of Country Music has already distributed a handful of awards, with Langley jumping to an early lead. She’s already collected trophies for New Female Artist of the Year and Visual Media of the Year for her Riley Green collaboration “You Look Like You Love Me.”
“Every day of my life, I’ve just prayed about this and thought about it,” Langley said in a video posted on Instagram after she won New Female Artist of the Year. “Everything I’ve ever done was to do this. I’m grateful for the team I have around me. I’m just really grateful to have fans who are listening to the music and see that it is truth.”
Zach Top won New Male Artist of the Year, and Red Clay Strays took New Duo or Group of the Year.
Will Langley’s winning streak continue Thursday night, or will another artist emerge as the night’s top winner?
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American Songwriter Predicts Who Will Win at the 60th ACM Awards
(The eligibility period for the 60th ACM Awards is Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2024.)
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Kelsea Ballerini
Luke Combs
Cody Johnson
(COULD WIN) Jelly Roll – Jelly Roll’s star continued to climb in 2024 with his new Beautifully Broken album, a tour with Post Malone, cross-genre collaborations, and his high-profile television gig on American Idol. His positive attitude, overflowing gratitude, and dedication to rebuilding his life while giving back make it impossible not to cheer him on.
Chris Stapleton
(SHOULD WIN) Morgan Wallen – Wallen won the night’s top honor at the CMA Awards in November, which many people thought he should have captured in the years before. His chart success, streaming numbers, ticket sales, and fan adoration made him possible to ignore for CMA voters. ACM voters could follow them. However, given that Wallen never acknowledged his win in November, they may choose to cast their vote elsewhere.
Lainey Wilson
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
(SHOULD WIN) Kelsea Ballerini – Between her magazine covers, new coaching job on The Voice, her sold-out arena headlining tour, and her new Patterns album, Ballerini has been waiting for her spotlight moment for years. She had to build an undeniable package – and she did.
Ella Langley
Megan Moroney
Kacey Musgraves
(COULD WIN) Lainey Wilson – Wilson also notched a stellar year, celebrating No. 1 songs, tours, her engagement, and more. She’s country music’s darling and the reigning winner in this category.
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Luke Combs
Cody Johnson
(COULD WIN) Jelly Roll – Jelly Roll continued to come into his own in 2024, starting work on American Idol, releasing his Beautifully Broken album, and fighting to expunge his criminal record to make international touring more surmountable.
Chris Stapleton
(SHOULD WIN) Morgan Wallen – After a career riddled with questionable behavior, Wallen largely settled down this year and focused on touring and new music. He wrapped an international sold-out stadium headlining tour and released hit songs including “I Had Some Help” and “Love Somebody.”
DUO OF THE YEAR
(COULD and SHOULD WIN) Brooks & Dunn– The Country Music Hall of Famers have 20 No. 1 hits and are more than 30 years into their career. Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn recently wrapped their sold-out 2025 Neon Moon Tour and will headline Fenway Park in the coming weeks. They recently released their cross-genre REBOOT II album featuring collaborations with Megan Moroney, Jelly Roll, Warren Zeiders, and more.
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Muscadine Bloodline
The War And Treaty
GROUP OF THE YEAR
Flatland Cavalry
Little Big Town
(COULD WIN) Old Dominion – Country music voters are often creatures of habit, and Old Dominion has already taken this trophy seven times over the last few years.
(SHOULD WIN) Rascal Flatts – Country music loves nothing more than a comeback story, and Rascal Flatts gave it to voters this year when the trio rebounded from a contentious hiatus to announce a new album and mount a tour. The pandemic suspended what was supposed to be the group’s farewell run. Now they’re back on the road and releasing new music, including “I’m Movin’ On” with Kelly Clarkson and “Mayberry” with Blake Shelton.
The Red Clay Strays
NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Kassi Ashton
Ashley Cooke
Dasha
Ella Langley – WINNER
Jessie Murph
NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Gavin Adcock
Shaboozey
Zach Top – WINNER
Tucker Wetmore
Bailey Zimmerman
NEW DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR
Restless Road
The Red Clay Strays – WINNER
Treaty Oak Revival
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Am I Okay? (I’ll Be Fine), Megan Moroney
Beautifully Broken, Jelly Roll
Cold Beer & Country Music, Zach Top
(SHOULD WIN) F-1 Trillion, Post Malone – Will Post Malone have a Texas-sized advantage given the ACM Awards are in his home state? He may not need it. Malone dropped his debut country album in August – a largely duets project that included the genre-crossing Malone with Luke Combs, Blake Shelton, Morgan Wallen, and more. When F-1 Trillion came out, it landed at No.1 on Billboard Hot 100 and earned the highest weekly sales and streams since 2020. The album stayed at the top of the charts for six consecutive weeks.
(COULD WIN) Whirlwind, Lainey Wilson – We already know the Academy of Country Music loves Lainey Wilson as she’s their reigning Entertainer of the Year. Throw in the fact that Whirlwind already has two No. 1 songs to its credit, and she may be impossible to beat.
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
“A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Shaboozey
“Dirt Cheap,” Cody Johnson
(SHOULD WIN) “I Had Some Help,” Post Malone, Morgan Wallen – Wildly popular Wallen and Malone teamed for their four-week Billboard No. 1, a true song of 2024. The catchy sing-along favorite was impossible to miss.
“White Horse,” Chris Stapleton
(COULD WIN) “You Look Like You Love Me,” Ella Langley, Riley Green – A winner before the show even started, “You Look Like You Love Me” feels like the genre’s theme song, and was definitely a star-maker for top ACM nominee Ella Langley.
SONG OF THE YEAR
“4x4xU,” Lainey Wilson (Jon Decious, Aaron Raitiere, Lainey Wilson)
(SHOULD WIN) “The Architect,” Kacey Musgraves (Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves, Josh Osborne – The Nashville Covenant School shooting inspired the writers to craft this deeply original and thoughtful ballad about trying to understand why things happen.
(COULD WIN) “Dirt Cheap,” Cody Johnson (Josh Phillips)—The finely-crafted storytelling in “Dirt Cheap” already won Song of the Year at the CMA Awards for the Texas-bred cowboy and could pull a repeat at the ACM Awards.
“I Had Some Help,” Post Malone, Morgan Wallen (Louis Bell, Ashley Gorley, Hoskins, Austin Post, Ernest Keith Smith, Morgan Wallen, Chandler Paul Walters, Ryan Vojtesak)
“You Look Like You Love Me,” Ella Langley, Riley Green (Riley Green, Ella Langley, Aaron Raitiere)
MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR
“Cowboys Cry Too,” Kelsea Ballerini, Noah Kahan
(SHOULD WIN) “I Had Some Help,” Post Malone, Morgan Wallen – The song of the summer, delivered by two of the biggest music stars in the world, how could a vote for them be wrong?
“I’m Gonna Love You,” Cody Johnson, Carrie Underwood
“We Don’t Fight Anymore,” Carly Pearce, Chris Stapleton
(COULD WIN) “You Look Like You Love Me,” Ella Langley, Riley Green – Ella Langley and Riley Green are country music’s power couple—who aren’t a couple. They are everywhere, as is this song. They already won one award, so we know voters like them!
VISUAL MEDIA OF THE YEAR
“4x4xU,” Lainey Wilson
“Dirt Cheap,” Cody Johnson
“I’m Gonna Love You,” Cody Johnson, Carrie Underwood
“Think I’m in Love With You,” Chris Stapleton
“You Look Like You Love Me,” Ella Langley, Riley Green –WINNER
ARTIST-SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Luke Combs
(COULD WIN) ERNEST -ERNEST and HARDY are in-demand songwriters, responsible for many of Morgan Wallen’s biggest hit songs.
(SHOULD WIN) HARDY – The case for Ernest and HARDY is the same – both are successful artists in their own right. But Morgan Wallen’s music catalog wouldn’t be anywhere near as rich if they weren’t also songwriters. I just feel like HARDY has more name recognition.
Morgan Wallen
Lainey Wilson
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Jessi Alexander
(COULD WIN) Jessie Jo Dillon – Jessie Jo Dillon is songwriting royalty, the daughter of Dean Dillon. She was a crucial part of Kelsea Ballerini’s Patterns album and multiple other projects in 2024, and is a multiple Grammy nominee, including Songwriter of the Year, the last two years.
(SHOULD WIN) Ashley Gorley – This man has written so many No. 1 songs that even he doesn’t know how many he has. Music Row reports Gorley has penned 80. Gorley was just honored at the CMA Triple Play Awards for songwriters for having three No. 1 songs in a calendar year. He’ll also be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in June.
Chase McGill
Josh Osborne
(Photo by Jeff Hahne/Getty Images)
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