No one was surprised when Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” won single of the year or song of the year at the 2026 Academy of Country Music Awards, which were presented at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday (May 17). The superbly crafted, universally relatable song is one of the biggest country crossover hits in history. It would have been a shock if it hadn’t won.
And many pundits figured The Red Clay Strays, Brooks & Dunn and Cody Johnson would repeat their CMA Awards win from Nov. 19 as group of the year, duo of the year and male artist of the year, respectively. Indeed, they all won here as well. The only handover in the top categories was female artist of the year. Lainey Wilson won in that category at the 2025 CMA Awards for the fourth year in a row. Langley took the award at the ACM Awards.
That doesn’t mean there weren’t some snubs and surprises among the results at the ACM Awards. It wouldn’t be an awards show without ’em.
Shania Twain hosted this year’s awards show, which was held at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The show streamed live via Prime Video for the fifth consecutive year.
Here are some of the biggest snubs and surprises at the 2026 ACM Awards.
The ACM Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.
