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Lainey Wilson kicked off the ACM Awards with a nod to the host state covering the Little Texas hit, “God Blessed Texas." She then rolled into her own song, “Hang Tight Honey," which could have been her mantra for the evening.
Lainey took three trips to the podium claiming the coveted Entertainer of the Year award, along with Female Artist and Music Event with Jelly Roll. However, Chris Stapleton matched her trip for trip winning Male Artist, Album for Higher and Artist-Songwriter.
Reba McEntire sparkled in her return to the hosting role joking that when she started, “Luke was one of the gospels, not half the guys in country music.” After singing the closing number, she announced that she would be returning as next year’s host.
WINNERS:
- Entertainer of the Year: Lainey Wilson
- Female Artist of the Year: Lainey Wilson
- Male Artist of the Year: Chris Stapleton
- Duo of the Year: Dan and Shay
- Group of the Year: Old Dominion
- New Male Artist of the Year: Nate Smith
- New Female Artist of the Year: Megan Moroney
- New Group/Duo of the Year: Tigirlily Gold
- Album of the Year: Chris Stapleton - Higher
- Single of the Year: Luke Combs – “Fast Car”
- Song of the Year: Jordan Davis – “Next Thing You Know”
- Music Event of the Year: Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson – “Save Me”
- Visual Media of the Year: Parker McCollum – “Burn It Down”
- Artist-Songwriter of the Year: Chris Stapleton