{"id":882,"date":"2026-04-20T19:45:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:45:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/?p=882"},"modified":"2026-04-20T19:45:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:45:00","slug":"2026-acm-awards-nominations-will-voters-get-it-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/?p=882","title":{"rendered":"2026 ACM Awards Nominations: Will Voters Get It Right?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n<p>\tWhen the 2026 ACM Awards nominations were announced earlier this month, the overwhelming storylines were dominated by women as nominees. Megan Moloney, Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley and Laney Wilson were the leaders, each beating the closest male candidate, Chris Stapleton, by six points.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n<p>\tHowever, while the recognition of women by ACM voters this year was a positive sign, it does not necessarily mean that female artists will be given the same opportunities as male artists. In a special episode of <em>Rolling Stone\u201d<\/em>s <em>Nashville now<\/em> In the podcast, we pose five questions (call them &#8220;Featured Thoughts&#8221; if you like) about the nominations, categories, and races at the 61st Annual ACM Awards. ACM will be streamed on Prime Video from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 17th.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"2026 ACM Awards Nominations: When Will Voters Get It Right? | Rolling Stone Nashville Now\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/7k-4D3dullU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<h2 id=\"the-duo-of-the-year-category-continues-to-be-a-hot-mess\" class=\"heading larva \/\/   lrv-a-font-primary-l   \">\n<p>\t\tThe Duo of the Year category continues to be a hotly contested race.\t<\/h2>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n<p>\tAt last year&#8217;s ceremony, Brooks and Dunn, a duo whose re-recorded duets were last recorded in 2024, walked away with the ACM award for Duo of the Year. This year, it has been 18 months since the decline. <em>Reboot II,<\/em> The Country Music Hall of Famer has been nominated again. But The War and Treaty, who released a new album in 2025 and have appeared at award shows around the world every year, are nowhere to be found. All of this helps to highlight why this category is definitely a head-scratcher. Another example? The addition of new duo Thelma and James is a very promising group that should be nominated in the New Duo or Group of the Year race. If only that category existed this year&#8230; So here&#8217;s my fourth take.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n<p>\tThe Emerging Male Artist of the Year and Emerging Female Artist of the Year categories will give names like Avery Anna, Vincent Mason and Emily Ann Roberts a chance to win ACM trophies. But unlike last year, there will be no race for rookie duo or group of the year. Meanwhile, breakout artists such as Kaitlyn Butts and Carter Faith, and even Britney Spencer, who is set to open for Bob Dylan, are not included in the new category. Mainly chalk it up to the requirement that candidates have to have a song in the top 50. <em>signboard&#8221;<\/em>\u25a0 Hot Country Songs chart or Mediabase country chart.<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ editors-pick-module lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\tEditor&#8217;s picks<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<h2 id=\"the-2026-album-of-the-year-race-is-pretty-weird\" class=\"heading larva \/\/   lrv-a-font-primary-l   \">\n<p>\t\tThe 2026 Album of the Year race is pretty weird\t<\/h2>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n<p>\tIt&#8217;s heartening to see newcomers like Riley Greene, Parker McCollum, and Carter Faith getting nominated for their work here, but the scorn is damning. Two of the most groundbreaking albums released last year, Eric Church. <em>evangeline vs machine<\/em> and tyler childers <em>snipe hunter,<\/em> Didn&#8217;t get any nominations. On the other hand, his deluxe version is <em>I don&#8217;t mind<\/em> This album secured Green&#8217;s support. We are so excited to see Faith&#8217;s work <em>cherry valley,<\/em> which one <em>rolling stone<\/em> Ranked at No. 2 on the list of Best Country &#038; Americana Albums of 2025, it highlights Faith&#8217;s absence from the New Female scene.<\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-group pattern-block-tracking\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light has-custom-content-position is-position-top-center pmc-hide-mobile\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:0px;min-height:89px;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-black-background-color has-background-dim-0 has-background-dim\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large pattern-block-tracking\"><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover is-light has-custom-content-position is-position-top-center pmc-hide-desktop\" style=\"margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;padding-top:0;padding-right:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-bottom:var(--wp--preset--spacing--20);padding-left:0px;min-height:100px;aspect-ratio:unset;\"><span aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-cover__background has-black-background-color has-background-dim-0 has-background-dim\"\/><\/p>\n<div class=\"wp-block-cover__inner-container\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-image pattern-block-tracking\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1776748548_580_2026-ACM-Awards-Nominations-Will-Voters-Get-It-Right.jpg\" alt=\"Nashville Now: Click here for Rolling Stone's weekly country music podcast: interviews, news and must-hear songs.\" style=\"box-shadow:var(--wp--preset--shadow--crisp)\"\/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<h2 id=\"has-entertainer-of-the-year-lost-its-luster\" class=\"heading larva \/\/   lrv-a-font-primary-l   \">\n<p>\t\tHas the entertainer of the year lost its luster?\t<\/h2>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n<p>\tEntertainer of the Year, the top award at the ACM (and the competing CMA Awards), is typically considered to recognize country music&#8217;s best ambassadors of the year. Vague criteria are difficult to quantify and can lead to subjective victories. But if this category is actually meant to promote country music&#8217;s mission, there&#8217;s one major omission: Ella Langley. No one has done more in country music this year than Langley and her crossover smash hit &#8220;Choosin&#8217; Texas.&#8221;<\/p>\n<section class=\"brands-most-popular \/\/ recirculation-modules trending-in-article lrv-u-margin-tb-2 lrv-u-border-a-2 u-box-shadow-5-5 lrv-u-padding-lr-1 a-span1 u-padding-b-1@tablet u-overflow-hidden\">\n<h2 id=\"section-heading\" class=\"c-heading larva  lrv-u-text-align-center u-border-color-black a-font-theme-primary-xxs lrv-u-color-black lrv-u-text-transform-uppercase u-letter-spacing-0063 lrv-u-padding-t-050 u-padding-b-0375@tablet lrv-u-padding-b-050@mobile-max lrv-u-border-b-2\">\n<p>\t\ttrending stories<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n<\/section>\n<h2 id=\"women-dominated-the-nominations-but-is-radio-playing-them\" class=\"heading larva \/\/   lrv-a-font-primary-l   \">\n<p>\t\tWomen made up the majority of nominations, but are they being broadcast on radio?\t<\/h2>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n<p>\tMoloney has nine nominations, Miranda has eight nominations, and Langley and Wilson each have seven nominations, making them the clear leaders at the 61st ACM. But not all of them are necessarily played on the radio. Langley and Moloney are currently the only two women in Mediabase&#8217;s top 20. Let me be clear: As an author, <em>rolling stone <\/em>Contributor Marissa R. Moss says this isn&#8217;t an issue with the women themselves, but with the industry.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paragraph larva \/\/ lrv-u-line-height-copy  lrv-a-font-body-l   \">\n\t<em>ACM Awards is produced by Dick Clark Productions. Dick Clark Productions is owned by ACM&#8217;s parent company, Penske Media Corporation. <\/em>Rolling Stone magazine.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>#ACM #Awards #Nominations #Voters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When the 2026 ACM Awards nominations were announced earlier this month, the overwhelming storylines were dominated by women as nominees. Megan Moloney, Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley and Laney Wilson were the leaders, each beating the closest male candidate, Chris Stapleton, by six points. However, while the recognition of women by ACM voters this year was &#8230; <a title=\"2026 ACM Awards Nominations: Will Voters Get It Right?\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/?p=882\" aria-label=\"Read more about 2026 ACM Awards Nominations: Will Voters Get It Right?\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":883,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2297,2305,1765,2298,2299,2300,2301,2302,2303,2304,2306,2307],"class_list":["post-882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-academy-of-country-music-awards","tag-acm","tag-awards","tag-carter-face","tag-chris-stapleton","tag-ella-langley","tag-laney-wilson","tag-megan-moloney","tag-miranda-lambert","tag-nashville-now","tag-nominations","tag-voters"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/883"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/yasbou.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}