Multihyphenate superstar Miranda Lambert, the most-decorated artist in Academy of Country Music history, earned eight nominations for the upcoming 61st ACM Awards, the second highest tally of any artist.
“Honored to wake up and be among the most nominated for the ACM Awards,” Lambert shares. “It’s always special to be recognized and it’s even better when it’s alongside friends and heroes.”
She received her 18th nomination for Female Artist of the Year as well as her ninth nomination for Song of the Year and 16th total nomination (including Artist and Songwriter credits) in the category.
“You’d have to look pretty far and wide to find anyone in music who has been as consistently good or eternally enjoyable as Miranda Lambert,” remarks Rolling Stone. “Almost 20 years into her run, she’s defined her career by always going her own way, both musically and lyrically.”
In addition to her own artistry, Lambert is also nominated for her work as both a songwriter and a producer, demonstrating her ongoing impact across the genre. “Choosin’ Texas,” the record-setting hit recorded by Ella Langley, earns nods for Lambert in both the Song and Single of the Year categories as the track’s co-writer and producer.
“Miranda held down women in country on a mainstream level for a decade and change; this is as much a win for her legacy as it is for Ella’s still-growing stardom,” shares Billboard of the song, continuing, “while she continues to make music of her own – she was nominated for a GRAMMY this year – she definitely seems to be thriving behind the scenes, including co-running Big Loud Texas. This is validation for her influence, her talent and underrated ability as a songwriter.”
Additionally, Lambert is honored for her “A Song to Sing” duet with longtime friend and collaborator Chris Stapleton, earning nods in the Song, Music Event and Visual Media of the Year categories for their co-write.
“At a time when country is so many things, Lambert and Stapleton seem both a true north and a hinge for the future of the same Outlaw culture Waylon and Willie conjured,” notes POLLSTAR. “Musically robust, they want to make actual country music with their roots firmly planted, but with the ability to create on their terms. It’s not fighting Music Row as much as fighting for greatness.”
Fittingly for year where four women lead the nomination counts, Lambert also earned a Music Event of the Year nod for her female-empowered collaboration with Reba McEntire and Lainey Wilson, “Trailblazer.”
“Wilson is just about inarguably the best thing to happen to country music since Miranda Lambert, who in turn was one of the best things to happen since Reba. So it felt intuitively natural – but by no means commercially inevitable – when those three teamed up,” declares Variety of the song praised by Music Row as “an utterly historic collaboration among three generations of female country excellence.”
The 61st ACM Awards will stream live exclusively for a global audience across 240+ countries and territories on Prime Video on Sunday, May 17, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT from the world-renowned MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fans will also be able to watch the broadcast on the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, as well as in the Amazon Music app.
Tickets for the 61st ACM Awards and ACM Awards week events are available for purchase on AXS.com, offering fans exclusive entry into a nonstop weekend packed with performances by their favorite Country stars.
