The 2026 ACM Awards honestly had everything. Career-defining wins, emotional speeches, and of course a few “how did they not win?” moments.
This year’s ACMs felt like a changing of the guard moment for country music, with newer artists officially stepping into spotlight territory while some long time favourites surprisingly missed out altogether.
The biggest headline of the night belonged to Ella Langley, who didn’t just win big, she rewrote ACM history in the process. Meanwhile, Cody Johnson cemented himself as one of the genre’s biggest names, while artists like Megan Moroney and Lainey Wilson left fans genuinely confused after going home empty handed.
Here’s the breakdown of the biggest snubs and surprises from the night.
SNUB: Megan Moroney
This one hurt.
Moroney entered the night as the most nominated artist with nine ACM nominations, which usually feels like a pretty good sign you’re about to have a massive evening. Instead, she somehow walked away with zero wins.
Considering the momentum she’s had over the past year, fans were genuinely shocked. Moroney has become one of the most streamed and talked about artists in country music thanks to her mix of heartbreak anthems, storytelling and catchy sad girl country vibes. Her live shows have continued selling out across the US, and she’s built one of the strongest fanbases in the genre right now.
So for her to leave empty handed? Country fans definitely noticed.
SURPRISE: Parker McCollum
Nobody was exactly mad about McCollum winning Album of the Year, people were just surprised.
The category was stacked with some of the biggest and most critically acclaimed releases of the year, which made his self-titled album pulling through all the more unexpected. McCollum has spent years steadily building one of the most loyal fanbases in modern country music, balancing mainstream success with a more traditional Texas-country edge.
McCollum has also opened up and admitted he had nearly given up music altogether a few times recently, so this win felt like a major moment for him.
SURPRISE: Cody Johnson
Johnson had one of the biggest nights of his entire career, taking home both Entertainer of the Year and Male Artist of the Year.
But it was his speech for his Entertainer win that was the real standout.
During his acceptance speech, Johnson gave a heartfelt shoutout to Luke Combs and reflected on their 2023 Australian tour together. He spoke about watching Combs deal with the defeat and anguish of being overseas while his wife Nicole gave birth to their second son back home.
Johnson then praised Combs for still getting on stage the next night and absolutely “murdering” the performance for Australian fans.
It also felt like there was a really wholesome energy throughout the entire ACMs this year, with artists constantly giving each other their flowers.
SNUB: Carter Faith
Honestly, Cherry Valley deserved way more love.
Faith has quietly become one of the most respected rising singer songwriters in Nashville thanks to her vulnerable writing style and stripped-back country sound. While she may not yet have the commercial numbers of some of the bigger nominees, critics and fans alike have spent the past year praising Cherry Valley as one of the strongest country records released recently.
And her ACM performance was easily one of, if not the best of the night.
SNUB: Lainey Wilson
This one might’ve confused fans the most.
Wilson has basically spent the last few years dominating country music. She’s headlined a sold out world tour, landed countless number one hits, sold out arenas, expanded into mainstream entertainment and even released a Netflix documentary.
Usually artists with that level of momentum absolutely clean up during awards season.
Instead, Wilson didn’t take home a single ACM award this year, which many fans online quickly labelled one of the biggest blunders of the night.
SURPRISE: The Red Clay Strays
Okay this was HUGE.
Old Dominion had won Group of the Year for eight straight years, so most people just assumed they’d continue the streak forever at this point.
Instead, The Red Clay Strays pulled off one of the biggest upset wins of the night.
The band has built a cult-like following thanks to their southern rock meets country sound and insanely passionate live performances, and this win feels like the moment they officially moved from “rising favourites” into country music heavyweights.
SURPRISE: Ella Langley
Look, nobody was shocked that Langley won awards at the ACMs this year. That part felt inevitable.
What nobody expected was the absolute demolition job she delivered.
Langley took home seven ACM awards in one night, officially setting the record for the most wins in a single year in ACM history. The previous record of six wins was held by Garth Brooks in 1991, Faith Hill in 1999 and Chris Stapleton in 2016.
Her breakout year has been impossible to ignore, with Choosin’ Texas becoming one of the biggest songs of the year.
This felt less like an awards sweep and more like country music officially announcing she’s the next big thing.
FULL LIST OF 2026 ACM AWARD WINNERS
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
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Ella Langley – Choosin’ Texas
SONG OF THE YEAR
Ella Langley – Choosin’ Texas
VISUAL MEDIA OF THE YEAR
Stephen Wilson Jr. – Cuckoo
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Jessie Jo Dillon
ARTIST-SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Ella Langley
MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR
Riley Green and Ella Langley – Don’t Mind If I Do
Countrytown brings you Australia’s best country music news, interviews, charts and more every week! This post was authored by Countrytown and originally published on the Countrytown website. It has been re-published with permission.
