Megan Moroney, Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson are the leading nominees for the 2026 ACM Awards, the Academy of Country Music and Dick Clark Productions announced Thursday.

Moroney leads the pack with nine nods, followed closely by Lambert with eight and Langley and Wilson with seven each. The first male artist to show up on the list of top contenders is Chris Stapleton with six. Zach Top has five nominations for this year’s ACMs, and Riley Green and Cody Johnson are tied with four.

The ACMs take place May 17 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Prime Video once again has exclusive rights to the live airing, which begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, viewable on the Amazon Music channel on Twitch as well as the Amazon Music app.

Moroney’s nine nods include her first nomination for the top prize, entertainer of the year. She’ll compete in that category against Wilson — who is the reigning title-holder in that category — along with Stapleton, Johnson, Luke Combs, Jelly Roll and Morgan Wallen.

Lambert, who is described as “the most decorated artist in ACM Awards history,” got a boost in her nominations count this year by earning noms as a songwriter and producer on Langley’s smash hit “Choosin’ Texas,” on top of those she picked up as an artist and writer performing her own material.

Combs is the longest-running perennial nominee for entertainer of the year now, getting his seventh consecutive nomination for the top prize, which he has yet to go home with.

Some of the biggest surprises come in the album of the year category, one of the most prestigious. Relative newcomer Carter Faith is nominated for the critically acclaimed “Cherry Valley,” and Parker McCollum is up for his similarly hailed, self-titled album — in both cases, the only nomination that those artists received. Faith and McCollum are up against Top’s “AIn’t In It for My Health,” Green’s “Don’t Mind If I Do (Deluxe)” and Wallen’s blockbuster “I’m the Problem.”

Some might wonder where Moroney’s latest album is, since it’s MIA in that key category. The answer is, it came out in early 2026, and the eligibility cutoff was Dec. 31, 2025, or her nomination count likely would have been even higher than just nine.

If the tallies seem higher for top honorees than at other music awards shows, that’s in part because the ACM — unlike the CMA — counts nominations separately for musicians who may be an artist, songwriter and/or producer on the same track. For instance, every artist who has a single placed in the song of the year category this year is also a songwriter on that track, and therefore officially earns two nominations for the same tune.

The full list of 2026 nominations:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Luke Combs
Jelly Roll
Cody Johnson
Megan Moroney
Chris Stapleton
Morgan Wallen
Lainey Wilson

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Ella Langley
Megan Moroney
Lainey Wilson

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Luke Combs
Riley Green
Cody Johnson
Chris Stapleton
Zach Top

GROUP OF THE YEAR
49 Winchester
Flatland Cavalry
Old Dominion
Rascal Flatts
The Red Clay Strays

DUO OF THE YEAR
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Muscadine Bloodline
Thelma & James

NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Avery Anna
Mackenzie Carpenter
Dasha
Caroline Jones
Emily Ann Roberts

NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Gavin Adcock
Vincent Mason
Shaboozey
Hudson Westbrook
Tucker Wetmore

ALBUM OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

“Ain’t In It For My Health” – Zach Top
Producer: Carson Chamberlain
Record Company-Label: Leo33

“Cherry Valley” – Carter Faith
Producer: Tofer Brown
Record Company-Label: Gatsby Records / MCA

“Don’t Mind If I Do (Deluxe)” – Riley Green
Producer: Dann Huff, Michael Knox
Record Company-Label: Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment

“I’m the Problem” – Morgan Wallen
Producers: Joey Moi, Charlie Handsome, Jacob Durrett
Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records

“Parker McCollum” – Parker McCollum
Producers: Frank Liddell, Eric Masse
Record Company-Label: MCA

SONG OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]

“A Song to Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton
Songwriters: Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Jenee Fleenor, Jesse Frasure
Publishers: I Wrote These Songs; Pink Dog Publishing; Songs for the Munch Music; Songs of Influence; Sony/ATV Tree Publishing; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp

“Am I Okay?” – Megan Moroney
Songwriters: Megan Moroney, Luke Laird, Jessie Jo Dillon
Publishers: Big Ass Pile of Dimes Music; Big Music Machine

“Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley
Songwriters: Ella Langley, Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Joybeth Taylor
Publishers: Bada Bing & Bada Langley Publishing; Little Louder Songs; Sony Music Publishing

“I Never Lie” – Zach Top
Songwriters: Zach Top, Carson Chamberlain, Tim Nichols
Publishers: Music and Magazine Publishing; Rio Bravo Music Inc; Sony/ATV Tree Publishing; Too Broke to Quit Music; Zach Top Music

“Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson
Songwriters: Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson, Andy Albert, Harold Arlen & Yip Harburg
Publishers: Concord Sounds; Dtown Boogie Music; Emi Feist Catalog Inc; Songs Of Riser House; Songs Of Wild Cat Well Music; Sony/ATV Countryside; Story Farmer; Tacklebox Music Publishing

SINGLE OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

“6 Months Later” – Megan Moroney
Producers: Kristian Bush
Record Company-Label: Sony Music Nashville / Columbia Records

“Choosin’ Texas” – Ella Langley
Producers: Ella Langley, Miranda Lambert, Ben West
Record Company-Label: SAWGOD / Columbia Records

“I Never Lie” – Zach Top
Producers: Carson Chamberlain
Record Company-Label: Leo33

“Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson
Producers: Jay Joyce
Record Company-Label: BBR Music Group / BMG Nashville / Broken Bow Records

“The Fall” – Cody Johnson
Producers: Trent Willmon
Record Company-Label: CoJo Music / Warner Records Nashville

MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company–Label(s)]

“A Song to Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb
Record Company-Label: Republic Records

“Amen” – Shaboozey & Jelly Roll
Producers: Danny Majic, Nevin Sastry, Sean Cook
Record Company-Label: Empire

“Don’t Mind If I Do” – Riley Green feat. Ella Langley
Producers: Dann Huff, Michael Knox
Record Company-Label: Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment

“Trailblazer” – Reba McEntire, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson
Producers: Tony Brown, Reba McEntire
Record Company-Label: MCA

“You Had to Be There” – Megan Moroney & Kenny Chesney
Producers: Kristian Bush
Record Company-Label: Sony Music Nashville / Columbia Records

VISUAL MEDIA OF THE YEAR [Awarded to Producer(s)/Director(s)/Artist(s)]

“6 Months Later” – Megan Moroney
Producers: Christen Pinkston & Wesley Stebbins-Perry
Director: CeCe Dawson, Megan Moroney

“A Song to Sing” – Miranda Lambert & Chris Stapleton
Producers: James Stratakis
Director: Alexa King Stone, Stephen Kinigopoulos

“Cuckoo” -Stephen Wilson, Jr.
Producers: Tim Cofield
Director: Tim Cofield

“Somewhere Over Laredo” – Lainey Wilson
Producers: Katie Babbage
Director: TK McKamy

“The Fall” – Cody Johnson
Producers: Christen Pinkston & Wesley Stebbins-Perry
Director: Dustin Haney

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Jessie Jo Dillon
Ashley Gorley
Charlie Handsome
Chase McGill
Blake Pendergrass

ARTIST-SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Luke Combs
Riley Green
Ella Langley
Megan Moroney
Morgan Wallen

NOMINEES IN NUMERICAL ORDER:
Megan Moroney (9): Entertainer of the Year; Female Artist of the Year; Song of the Year (Artist and Songwriter nominations); Single of the Year, Music Event of the Year; Visual Media of the Year (Artist and Director nominations); Artist-Songwriter of the Year
Miranda Lambert (8): Female Artist of the Year; Song of the Year (“A Song To Sing” – Artist and Songwriter nominations); Song of the Year (“Choosin’ Texas” – Songwriter nomination); Single of the Year (Producer nomination); Music Event of the Year (“A Song To Sing” and “Trailblazer”); Visual Media of the Year
Ella Langley (7): Female Artist of the Year; Song of the Year (Artist and Songwriter nominations); Single of the Year (Artist and Producer nominations); Music Event of the Year; Artist-Songwriter of the Year
Lainey Wilson (7): Entertainer of the Year; Female Artist of the Year; Song of the Year (Artist and Songwriter); Single of the Year; Music Event of the Year; Visual Media of the Year
Chris Stapleton (6): Entertainer of the Year; Male Artist of the Year; Song of the Year (Artist and Songwriter nominations); Music Event of the Year, Visual Media of the Year
Zach Top (5): Male Artist of the Year; Album of the Year, Song of the Year (Artist and Songwriter nominations); Single of the Year
Riley Green (4): Male Artist of the Year; Album of the Year; Music Event of the Year; Artist-Songwriter of the Year
Cody Johnson (4): Entertainer of the Year; Male Artist of the Year; Single of the Year; Visual Media of the Year
Luke Combs (3): Entertainer of the Year; Male Artist of the Year; Artist-Songwriter
Morgan Wallen (3): Entertainer of the Year; Album of the Year; Artist-Songwriter
Jelly Roll (2): Entertainer of the Year; Music Event of the Year
Reba McEntire (2): Music Event of the Year; Music Event of the Year (Producer)
Shaboozey (2): New Male Artist of the Year; Music Event of the Year
49 Winchester (1): Group of the Year
Gavin Adcock (1): New Male Artist of the Year
Avery Anna (1): New Female Artist of the Year
Kelsea Ballerini (1): Female Artist of the Year
Brooks & Dunn (1): Duo of the Year
Brothers Osborne (1): Duo of the Year
Mackenzie Carpenter (1): New Female Artist of the Year
Kenny Chesney (1): Music Event of the Year
Dan + Shay (1): Duo of the Year
Dasha (1): New Female Artist of the Year
Carter Faith (1): Album of the Year
Flatland Cavalry (1): Group of the Year
Caroline Jones (1): New Female Artist of the Year
Vincent Mason (1): New Male Artist of the Year
Parker McCollum (1): Album of the Year
Muscadine Bloodline (1): Duo of the Year
Old Dominion (1): Group of the Year
Rascal Flatts (1): Group of the Year
The Red Clay Strays (1): Group of the Year
Emily Ann Roberts (1): New Female Artist of the Year
Thelma & James (1): Duo of the Year
Hudson Westbrook (1): New Male Artist of the Year
Tucker Wetmore (1): New Male Artist of the Year
Stephen Wilson Jr. (1): Visual Media of the Year