Both artists bring home three awards each, with the 'Things a Man Oughta Know' songstress being named Entertainer of the Year and the 'Broken Halos' crooner winning Album of the Year.
- May 17, 2024
AceShowbiz - Lainey Wilson and Chris Stapleton have ruled the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards. As the complete list of winners was announced at a ceremony which took place on Thursday, May 16, both artists bagged the most awards with three apiece.
Wilson won the coveted Entertainer of the Year award, edging out the likes of Stapleton, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson and Morgan Wallen. She was also named Female Artist of the Year and won Music Event of the Year for being featured on the remix of Jelly Roll's "Save Me".
Wilson, who kicked off the show with her medley performance, reflected on being a little girl and looking up at the sky as she dreamed of leaving her small hometown in her emotional speech. "I remember being a little girl and I would climb out on the top of our roof. I'd open my window and climb out and I would count all the stars," she said. "I would look up and I'd see the planes flying over my little town of 200 people and I'd dream about being up there in one of those planes."
The Baskin native continued, "And the funny thing is, I still feel like that little girl. I really do. I still climb out on the roof and I look at the stars, except I feel like I'm a little more eye level with them now."
The 31-year-old concluded by thanking her fans and praising her fellow nominees, saying, "Everybody in this category has loved me... took me on the road, sang songs with me, wrote with me, encouraged me every step of the way. And I love y'all for that."
Stapleton took home Album of the Year prize for his 2023's effort "Higher". He also bagged an award from Male Artist of the Year category and was named Artist-Songwriter of the Year.
After winning Male Artist of the Year, he thanked the ACMs, his wife Morgane, his label and management. He also thanked his mother, whom he said was "feeling a little bit under the weather." He closed his speech, "Thank you, Mama, for always telling me I could be whoever I wanted to be."
Dan + Shay won Duo of the Year, while Tigirlily Gold shined as New Duo or Group of the Year. In their speech, Dan Smyers told the crowd, "I'm freaking out right now." Turning to his partner, he said, "Shay, I love you so much brother. I'm so proud to be back up on this stage with you. We've been on quite a wild journey over the past 10 years, we've seen a lot of highs and a lot of lows, but the one thing that has remained the same is the love and support of this country music community. You all are family to us."
Smyers went on to shout out his family and give a special message to his dog Joy, who is "kicking cancer's a** right now."
Shay Mooney, for his part, admitted, "I'm so nervous right now. You'd think you'd get less nervous the more you do this." He continued, "I'm a little overwhelmed and I'm looking out here and see all my friends. You guys are my family, man. Thank you guys for getting us here and thank you for allowing us to make country music. God bless Texas, God bless country music and God bless Reba McEntire!"
Other winners included Luke Combs for Single of the Year ("Fast Car"), Megan Moroney as New Female Artist of the Year, and Nate Smith as New Male Artist of the Year. Old Dominion also took home an award for Group of the Year.
Reba McEntire hosted and performed at the show, which also featured performances from Jelly Roll, Kelsea Ballerini and Noah Kahan, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani as well as Post Malone among others. Jason Aldean paid tribute to Toby Keith by singing "Should've Been a Cowboy".
The Complete List of 2024 ACM Awards Winners:
- Entertainer of the Year: Lainey Wilson
- Female Artist of the Year: Lainey Wilson
- Male Artist of the Year: Chris Stapleton
- Duo of the Year: Dan + Shay
- Group of the Year: Old Dominion
- New Female Artist of the Year: Megan Moroney
- New Male Artist of the Year: Nate Smith
- New Duo or Group of the Year: Tigirlily Gold
- Album of the Year [Awarded to Artists/Producers/Record Company-Label]: "Higher" - Chris Stapleton. Producer: Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb, Morgane Stapleton. Record Company-Label: Mercury Nashville
- Single of the Year: "Fast Car" - Luke Combs
- Song of the Year: "Next Thing You Know" - Chase McGill, Greylan James, Jordan Davis, Josh Osborne
- Music Event of the Year: "Save Me" - Jelly Roll with Lainey Wilson
- Visual Media of the Year: "Burn It Down" - Parker McCollum
- Songwriter of the Year: Jessie Jo Dillon
- Artist-Songwriter of the Year: Chris Stapleton
