Lainey Wilson Rules the ACM Awards Again as Country Music Honors Alan Jackson

At the 60th Academy of Country Music Awards, Lainey Wilson wasn’t just in the building, she owned it.

With three major wins, including the show’s top honor, Entertainer of the Year, Lainey Wilson cemented her position as the genre’s most visible and unstoppable force. She also took home Female Artist of the Year and Album of the Year, delivering a performance and presence that felt both commanding and grounded in humility.

“I really do have the best fans in the world,” she said as she accepted Entertainer of the Year for the second year in a row. “Country music has given me more than I deserve.”

That wasn’t modesty. That was reverence for the stage, the legacy, and the genre she now helps define.

Lainey Wilson Ascends, and the Industry Follows

A year ago, Lainey Wilson was a breakout with buzz. Now, she’s setting the tone for modern country, blending southern grit with arena-level showmanship and radio-ready appeal. Her reign comes at a time when the genre is shifting, recalibrating what mainstream success looks like for women in country.

And she’s not alone.

Ella Langley, the year’s breakout nominee, picked up Single of the Year and Music Event of the Year for her duet with Riley Green, “You Look Like You Love Me.” During her speech, Langley gave a nod to country roots, songs “with talking in them” that inspired the hit. Green followed with the same sentiment.

It was a line that could’ve doubled as the night’s thesis. Nostalgia and modernity ran side by side across the show’s biggest moments.

Alan Jackson Receives the First ACM Lifetime Achievement Award

Honoring the genre’s deep history, Alan Jackson was awarded the first-ever ACM Lifetime Achievement Award named in his honor. A longtime symbol of neotraditional country, Jackson received the accolade after performing his signature ballad, Remember When.

Jackson took the stage with his familiar low-key charm and dry humor. “A fan named a dog after me,” he said. “Having an award named after me? That isn’t half bad, either.”

In one night, Alan Jackson canonized, and Lainey Wilson coronated. The past and future of the country shine side by side.

The Performances Told a Bigger Story

This year’s ACM performances weren’t just filler, they were the emotional engine of the night.

Reba McEntire, still the country’s first lady, opened with Merle Haggard’s Okie from Muskogee. Then Clint Black brought back Rhinestone Cowboy, and LeAnn Rimes returned with Blue. From Wynonna Judd to Little Big Town to Dan + Shay, the opening medley was a six-decade crash course in country’s evolution.

Midway through the night, Lainey Wilson, McEntire, and Miranda Lambert premiered their new single, Trailblazer, a fiery anthem about women in country defying expectations.

Later, Lambert shared the stage with Langley for a fierce rendition of Kerosene, her 2005 debut track. It was a symbolic handoff, and a powerful one.

Chris Stapleton, who took home Male Artist of the Year, delivered a heartfelt duet with his wife, Morgane. Then came the crowd-pleasers: Blake Shelton paying tribute to George Strait with Texas, Kelsea Ballerini unpacking heartbreak with Baggage, and Jelly Roll teaming up with Shaboozey for Amen.

The night closed with a crossover surprise: Backstreet Boys and Rascal Flatts, uniting Y2K nostalgia with modern country sheen.

A Genre Bridging Generations

What set this year’s ACM Awards apart wasn’t just the winners. It was the way country music found balance between new blood and old legends, between tradition and disruption.

The Oak Ridge Boys passed the torch to Old Dominion for Group of the Year, a heartfelt moment following the 2024 death of Joe Bonsall. Brooks & Dunn, themselves recipients of Duo of the Year, performed Red Dirt Road with Cody Johnson, also picked up Song of the Year for Dirt Cheap.

Keith Urban, the genre’s global ambassador, was honored with the ACM Triple Crown Award, an elite distinction he now shares with only a handful of artists.

And then there was Reba, leading a packed house in a collective sing-along of Kris Kristofferson’s Me and Bobby McGee. A tribute. A thank you. A reminder of the voices no longer here.

A Night That Belonged to Lainey Wilson

This was Lainey Wilson’s night. But it wasn’t just about her dominance. It was about how she’s become the connective thread between what country music has been and what it’s becoming.

She isn’t just topping charts. She’s rewriting what mainstream country can sound like, and who it can belong to.

From newcomers like Langley to hall-of-famers like Jackson, the ACM Awards offered a simple message. Country music is big enough for all of them. And Lainey Wilson, for now, is the one carrying it forward.