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Ella Langley swept her nominations at the 61st ACM Awards, winning five trophies including Song of the Year for “Choosin’ Texas,” while Cody Johnson took home Entertainer of the Year in a Las Vegas ceremony hosted for the first time by Shania Twain.
The Academy of Country Music Awards made their choice clear Sunday night: wherever Ella Langley‘s name appeared on the ballot, she won. The “Choosin’ Texas” singer walked away from the 61st annual ceremony at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas with five trophies — Song of the Year, Single of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, Artist-Songwriter of the Year, and Music Event of the Year for her collaboration on Riley Green‘s “Don’t Mind If I Do.” She was nominated for seven categories in all and won every one she was eligible for on the night.
The top prize, Entertainer of the Year, went to Cody Johnson, who also claimed Male Artist of the Year. Accepting his entertainer honor at the climax of the two-and-a-half-hour show, Johnson described music as “the greatest drug that has ever been introduced on the planet earth” — then made a point of noting that he keeps his distance from the business side of it all. “When I go home, I take my phone and I turn it face down,” he said.
Parker McCollum won Album of the Year for his self-titled project. Brooks and Dunn took Duo of the Year. The Red Clay Strays won Group of the Year. In categories announced before the main show, Avery Ann was named New Female Artist of the Year and Tucker Wetmore took New Male Artist of the Year.
Langley’s sweep confirmed a dominant run that began with her 2025 breakout and has continued without interruption. Her pop crossover appeal, anchored by a voice and a writing sensibility that plays across genre lines, has given her the kind of momentum that the country industry awards cycle tends to reward heavily once it locks in. Sunday night was the lock-in, formalized in five consecutive wins.
Shania Twain hosted for the first time, taking over from Reba McEntire and bringing her own brand of country royalty to a ceremony that moved back to Las Vegas after three years at the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas. The show streamed live on Prime Video under the network’s deal with the ACM, extended through 2028.
Lainey Wilson, who opened the show with a performance of “Can’t Sit Still” and came in as one of the Entertainer of the Year favorites, did not take home the top prize. The full night belonged to Langley and Johnson, two artists who came from very different corners of the genre and left Las Vegas holding hardware that reflects exactly where country music’s audience is right now.
