ACM Awards 2026: Billboard's Predictions for the Top Honors

A banner year for women in country

The 2026 ACM Awards, set for Sunday May 17 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, shape up as one of the more competitive ceremonies in recent memory, and women are driving the conversation. According to Billboard, Megan Moroney leads all nominees with nine nods, followed by Miranda Lambert with eight, and both Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson with seven each. It is the second consecutive year a female solo artist tops the nominations field (last year that distinction went to Langley, with eight nominations).

The entertainer of the year race

The marquee category puts Wilson and Moroney up against Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton, Jelly Roll, and Morgan Wallen. The stakes are unusually high on both sides of that lineup.

If Combs wins, he would complete what the ACM calls its triple crown, having already claimed new male artist of the year and male artist of the year in previous cycles. If Wilson wins, she would join Carrie Underwood as the only woman to win entertainer of the year three times, and she would be the first woman ever to do it in three consecutive years. That is a real story either way.

Early winners already confirmed

Several awards were announced before the main broadcast:

• New male artist of the year: Tucker Wetmore
• New female artist of the year: Avery Anna
• Visual media of the year: Stephen Wilson Jr., "Cuckoo"
• Songwriter of the year: Jessie Jo Dillon

How to watch

Shania Twain hosts the ceremony. The show streams live on Prime Video, marking the fifth consecutive year the platform carries the ACM Awards. Billboard's predictions come from executive editor Melinda Newman and associate editor Jessica Nicholson.