Winners Announced For the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards
Chris Stapleton named ACM Entertainer of the Year for the first time
Lainey Wilson and HARDY tied for the most wins, taking home four awards each, followed by Cole Swindell with three wins for the night
Fans can relive ‘Country Music’s Party of the Year’ now on Prime Video, and starting tomorrow,
Friday, May 12 at 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT, on the Amazon Music App and for free on Amazon Freevee
FRISCO, TX —May 11, 2023—Winners have been announced for the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards. Hosted by global superstars Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks, the two-hour commercial-free concert event streamed live for an international audience across 240+ countries and territories exclusively on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, from the world headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
The Academy’s highest honor, Entertainer of the Year, was awarded to Chris Stapleton. Lainey Wilson and HARDY led the night in total wins with four awards apiece, followed by Cole Swindell with three wins. The show celebrated country music’s biggest stars and emerging talent and featured 18 show-stopping performances from 25 artists, along with exclusive collaborations and unexpected moments that captivated fans worldwide.
Fans can relive all of the excitement of the 58th ACM Awards with the full rebroadcast now available to watch on Prime Video, and starting tomorrow, Friday, May 12 at 8 p.m. EDT/5 p.m. PDT, on the Amazon Music App and for free on Amazon Freevee.
Winner Highlights of the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards:
- This is Chris Stapleton’s first win for ACM Entertainer of the Year, and his win qualifies him for the coveted ACM Triple Crown Award, celebrating artists who have won New Female/Male Artist of the Year, Female/Male Artist of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year. His win tonight brings his total ACM Awards count to 15.
- This marks Lainey Wilson’s first wins for ACM Female Artist of the Year, ACM Album of the Year, ACM Music Event of the Year, and ACM Visual Media of the Year. Her four wins tonight tie her for the most-awarded artist of the evening and bring her total ACM Awards count to seven.
- After being named ACM Artist-Songwriter of the Year and a winner for ACM Visual Media of the Year in pre-televised categories, HARDY took home an additional two ACM Awards during the show for ACM Music Event of the Year, where he won both as an artist and a producer for “wait in the truck.” That ties him with Lainey Wilson for the most-awarded artist of the evening and brings HARDY’s total ACM Award count to five.
Following is the full list of winners in the 14 categories voted on by Academy members:
MAIN AWARDS:
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
- Chris Stapleton
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
- Lainey Wilson
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
- Morgan Wallen
DUO OF THE YEAR
- Brothers Osborne
GROUP OF THE YEAR
- Old Dominion
NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
- Hailey Whitters
NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
- Zach Bryan
ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
- Bell Bottom Country - Lainey Wilson
Producer: Jay Joyce
Record Company-Label: Broken Bow Records
SINGLE OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
- She Had Me At Heads Carolina - Cole Swindell
Producer: Zach Crowell
Record Company-Label: Warner Music Nashville
SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
- She Had Me At Heads Carolina - Cole Swindell
Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Cole Swindell, Jesse Frasure, Mark D. Sanders, Thomas Rhett, Tim Nichols
Publishers: Ashley Gorley Publishing Designee; Be A Light Publishing; Colden Rainey Music; EMI Blackwood Music Inc; Songs Of Roc Nation Music; Sony Tree Publishing; Telemitry Rhythm House Music; Universal Music Corp; WC Music Corp; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp
VISUAL MEDIA OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]
- wait in the truck - HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson
Producer: Inkwell Productions
Director: Justin Clough
SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
- Ashley Gorley
ARTIST-SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
- HARDY
MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]
- wait in the truck - HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson
Producers: Derek Wells, HARDY, Joey Moi, Jordan Schmidt
Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records
Show performance highlights included:
- In honor of the ACM Awards’ return to Texas, Keith Urban opened the show with an electrifying performance of his song “Texas Time” that included him being raised into the air on a platform while shredding a guitar solo.
- Cole Swindell and Jo Dee Messina moved the sold-out crowd to enthusiastically sing along to their hit "She Had Me At Heads Carolina - REMIX” with karaoke lyrics displayed throughout the Ford Center encouraging the audience to join in.
- Kane Brown sang “Bury Me In Georgia” in a powerful full-band performance that showed the audience why he earned his first-ever ACM Entertainer of the Year nomination this year.
- Last year’s ACM Female Artist of the Year winner Carly Pearce and Trisha Yearwood performed a special medley of Yearwood’s hits including “Wrong Side Of Memphis,” “XXX’s And OOO’s,” and “She’s In Love With The Boy,” in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Yearwood winning Female Artist of the Year.
- HARDY rocked the ACM Awards stage with a head-banging performance of his latest single, “Truck Bed.”
- Cody Johnson performed “Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Cowboys” in a tribute to Willie Nelson, who recently celebrated his 90th birthday. Nelson also surprised attendees with a special, cheeky Facetime moment with Dolly and Garth, where he thanked the two hosts for special birthday gifts.
- Miranda Lambert performed "Carousel,” a song she described as one of her favorite songs she has ever written. She announced on social media that she’d be releasing the live version of the song on Amazon Music on May 16.
- New Female Artist of the Year winner Hailey Whitters made her ACM Awards stage debut decked out in pink with a performance of her fan-favorite song, “Everything She Ain’t.”
- Luke Combs gave a heartfelt performance of his current radio single, “Love You Anyway.”
- Global superstar Ed Sheeran performed “Life Goes On” from his newly-released album “-” (Subtract) and surprised the crowd when he brought Luke Combs back to the stage to join him in a moment that immediately became a fan-favorite across social media.
- The War And Treaty captivated the audience with an incredibly powerful, stripped-back performance of their song “Blank Page.”
- Reigning ACM Artist of the Decade Jason Aldean rocked the stage with the epic TV debut of his newly released song “Tough Crowd” which had the audience on their feet.
- Ashley McBryde, along with an all-star ensemble featuring Brandy Clark, Caylee Hammack, Pillbox Patti, and John Osborne, delivered a stunning and empowering performance of the critically-acclaimed “Bonfire at Tina's” from McBryde's ACM Award-nominated album Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville.
- Jelly Roll and Lainey Wilson performed “Save Me” in a touching moment highlighting Academy philanthropic partner ACM Lifting Lives that brought the two together for an emotional embrace at the end.
- Lainey Wilson electrified the stage with her showstopping performance of “Grease,” complete with pyrotechnics and sizzling choreography in the background, marking its TV debut.
- Bailey Zimmerman, the next Breakthrough Artist from Amazon Music, performed his hit single “Rock And A Hard Place” in a stirring performance.
- Jordan Davis touched the crowd with his intimate performance of his latest hit, “Next Thing You Know.”
- As promised, ACM Awards host Dolly Parton delivered one of her biggest performances to date with the world premiere of “World On Fire,” the lead single from her highly anticipated forthcoming rock album Rockstar, featuring over-the-top production, pyrotechnics, backup dancers, and confetti.
Tonight’s presenters included Gabby Barrett (former Amazon Music Breakthrough Artists of the Year and ACM Award winner), BRELAND (former Amazon Music Breakthrough Artist of the Year), Brandy Clark (four-time ACM Award nominee), Jordan Davis (ACM Male Artist of the Year nominee), Mickey Guyton (host of the 56th ACM Awards), Tyler Hubbard (10-time ACM Award winner as part of Florida Georgia Line), Dustin Lynch (ACM Music Event of the Year nominee), TJ Osborne (seven-time ACM Award winner as part of Brothers Osborne, 58th ACM Awards Duo of Year Winner), Jon Pardi (ACM Album of the Year nominee), Carly Pearce (2021 ACM Female Artist of the Year and 2021 ACM Music Event of the Year winner), MacKenzie Porter (ACM Music Event of the Year nominee), Dak Prescott (Dallas Cowboys Quarterback, 2022 Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year), Emmitt Smith (Pro Football Hall of Fame Member, Legendary Dallas Cowboys Running Back, NFL All-Time Leading Rusher), Mitchell Tenpenny (ACM Music Event of The Year nominee), Tanya Tucker (Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee), Keith Urban (15-time ACM Award winner), Trisha Yearwood (three-time ACM Award winner), and Chris Young (ACM Music Event of The Year nominee). Plus, four-time ACM National On-Air Personality of the Year winner Bobby Bones was featured throughout the night. The segment, “Backstage with Bobby Bones,” showcased brief interviews with Kane Brown, Miranda Lambert, and Luke Combs.
For a complete list of past and present wins and nominations, please visit ACMcountry.com and search the ACM Awards Database located on the Homepage.
Prime Video and the Academy of Country Music Awards partnered with TikTok to celebrate the ACM Awards nominees and the creativity of the #countrymusic community through a special in-show moment featuring artists and creators. Show viewers were encouraged to check out the ACM Awards TikTok hub and Trending Country Sounds playlist. You can access the hub and playlist at acmcountry.com/TikTok. TikTok also brought country singer and TikTok trending artist Drew Baldridge (@drewbaldridge) to the ceremony.
The 58th Academy of Country Music Awards is produced by Dick Clark Productions, with Raj Kapoor, Barry Adelman, and Fonda Anita serving as executive producers, and Damon Whiteside serving as executive producer for the Academy of Country Music. Patrick Menton is co-executive producer.
Established in 1966, the Emmy-nominated Academy of Country Music Awards is the longest-running country music awards show and made history in 2022 as the first major awards ceremony to exclusively livestream, in partnership with Prime Video. This year’s show marks its return to Texas since the landmark 50th ACM Awards, which broke a Guinness World Record in 2015 for being the most-attended awards show with more than 70,000 attendees at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
The Academy of Country Music would like to thank its partners Albertsons Companies, Aristocrat Gaming, Ashley HomeStore, Coors Light, North Texas Ford Dealers, Fritos®, Kendra Scott, Korbel California Champagne, Lucas Oil, Security Benefit, Tequila Herradura, and Wrangler for their support of ACM Awards week in Texas.
Follow the Academy of Country Music on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok, join the conversation with #ACMawards, and sign-up for the FREE ACM A-List for the latest news and updates in your email inbox. For more information, visit ACMcountry.com.
About the Academy of Country Music
Founded in Southern California in 1964 as a regional trade organization, the ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC (ACM) has grown in the almost-60 years since into a leading association for the country music industry. Now headquartered in Nashville, TN and boasting record-high membership of nearly 5,000 nationwide, the Academy serves as a powerhouse advocate for country fans, artists, and all facets of the business, as well as a supporter of philanthropic work through charitable partner ACM LIFTING LIVES, dedicated to improving lives through the power of music and providing aid in times of need, with a focus on health initiatives. 2023 looks to be another monumental year for the Academy, with the ACM Awards returning to Texas on May 11 and streaming live for a global audience on Prime Video, still the only major awards show to livestream. The Academy also remains relentlessly committed to creating a more inclusive environment for underrepresented groups in country music, from the boardroom to the stage, and over the last year has launched both ACM LEVel Up, a two-year professional development and enrichment curriculum for rising leaders, and OnRamp, a guaranteed income program for Black members of the Nashville music community, in partnership with the Black Music Action Coalition. For more information, log onto ACMcountry.com or ACMLiftingLives.org.
