The 2023 ACM Awards streamed on Prime Video on Thursday (May 11) and Lainey Wilson, Chris Stapleton, Brothers Osborne, Old Dominion, Cole Swindell and more were big winners.
Chris Stapleton was named Entertainer of the Year, while Wilson took home the award for both Female Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for Bell Bottom Country. She also won for Music Event of the Year (alongside Hardy) for "Wait in the Truck."
Morgan Wallen was named Male Artist of the Year, while Brothers Osborne took home the trophy for Duo of the Year. The award for Group of the Year went to Old Dominion.
Before the ceremony, Hardy was named Artist-Songwriter of the Year and the music video for his collaboration with Lainey Wilson, which features the two artists, was named Visual Media of the Year.
The most nominated artist at the 58th #ACMawards has just been named Artist-Songwriter of the Year! Congrats, @HardyMusic ?
Don't miss his performance free to stream LIVE tomorrow on @PrimeVideo. pic.twitter.com/LRuR3I26da
— ACM Awards (@ACMawards) May 11, 2023
Ashley Gorley, who's written hits for Thomas Rhett, Chris Stapleton, Luke Bryan and many more, was named Songwriter of the Year.
The winners of New Female Artist of the Year and New Male Artist of the Year were announced on Wednesday (May 10), making Hailey Whitters and Zach Bryan early winners for the 58th annual Academy of Country Music Awards.
Whitters was nominated alongside Priscilla Block, Megan Moroney, Caitlyn Smith and Morgan Wade. Whitters, who released her debut album The Dream in 2020, shared her excitement on social media.
Born and raised in Iowa and now based in Nashville, Whitters frequently draws inspiration from The Hawkeye State.
"It would be inauthentic for me to write a record about growing up in the south because I didn't grow up in the south," Whitters told Wide Open Country in 2022. "I think that hopefully a lot of the bigger elements are probably very universal and people from all over can feel them...But, for me, the scenery — it's cornfields, it's chert rock roads, it's boys in ball caps instead of cowboy hats. I think that's just me being able to talk through the lens of where I grew up, which was the midwest."
Zach Bryan was nominated alongside Jackson Dean, Ernest, Dylan Scott, Nate Smith and Bailey Zimmerman. 2022 was a huge breakout year for Bryan, seeing the release of American Heartbreak, which reached No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums and Top Rock Albums charts and peaked at No. 5 on the all-genre Billboard 200.
See the full list of winners below.
2023 ACM Award Winners & Nominees
Thursday (April 13) was a career-affirming day for Hardy. The singer-songwriter led all artists with seven ACM award nominations. He shares three of those with his "Heart Like a Truck" duet partner, Yellowstone star Lainey Wilson. Others bearing nomination fruit after years of hard work include first-time Male Artist of the Year nominee Jordan Davis and the first-ever Black group nominated for Duo of the Year, the War and Treaty.
"I did not expect to be in this category," Davis said on The Bobby Bones Show after the nominees were unveiled. "It definitely feels like a step. Tough to think back on where we started and that we're now up for Male Artist of the Year ... I was going [to the ACMs[ either way because my family's all in Dallas, but I was kinda expecting to just go and hang out."
In addition, Katelyn Brown scored the first three nominations of her career, all for "Thank God," a duet with her husband, Kane Brown.
More established names are represented, as well, with Luke Combs and Miranda Lambert picking up five nominations apiece. Most notably, Lambert is now a 17-time Female Artist of the Year nominee, breaking a record previously held by Reba McEntire.
Amazon Prime will broadcast the 58th Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards live from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Dolly Parton and Garth Brooks will co-host this year's event.
Entertainer of the Year
Jason Aldean
Luke Combs
Miranda Lambert
Chris Stapleton — WINNER
Carrie Underwood
Kane Brown
Morgan Wallen
Female Artist of the Year
Miranda Lambert
Ashley McBryde
Lainey Wilson — WINNER
Carly Pearce
Kelsea Ballerini
Male Artist of the Year
Luke Combs
Chris Stapleton
Kane Brown
Jordan Davis
Morgan Wallen — WINNER
Single of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company-Label(s)]
"Heart Like a Truck," Lainey Wilson (Producer: Jay Joyce, Record Company-Label: Broken Bow Records)
"Never Wanted to Be That Girl," Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde (Producers: Josh Osborne, Shane McAnally, Record Company-Label: Big Machine Records/Warner Music Nashville)
"She Had Me at Heads Carolina," Cole Swindell (Producer: Zach Crowell, Record Company-Label: Warner Music Nashville) — WINNER
"Thank God," Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown (Producer: Dann Huff, Record Company-Label: RCA Nashville)
"'Til You Can't," Cody Johnson (Producer: Trent Willmon, Record Company-Label: Warner Music Nashville/CoJo Music)
Duo of the Year
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne — WINNER
Dan + Shay
Maddie & Tae
The War and Treaty
Group of the Year
Lady A
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion — WINNER
Zac Brown Band
Album of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company-Label(s)]
Ashley McBryde, Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville (Producer: John Osborne, Record Company-Label: Warner Music Nashville)
Lainey Wilson, Bell Bottom Country (Producer: Jay Joyce, Record Company-Label: Broken Bow Records) — WINNER
Luke Combs, Growin' Up (Producers: Luke Combs, Chip Matthews, Jonathan Singleton, Record Company-Label: Columbia Records)
Miranda Lambert, Palomino (Producers: Jon Randall, Luke Dick, Miranda Lambert, Mikey Reaves, Record Company-Label: Vanner Records/RCA Records Nashville)
Jon Pardi, Mr. Saturday Night (Producers: Jon Pardi, Bart Butler, Ryan Gore, Record Company-Label: Capitol Records Nashville)
New Female Artist of the Year
Priscilla Block
Megan Moroney
Caitlyn Smith
Morgan Wade
Hailey Whitters — WINNER
New Male Artist of the Year
Zach Bryan — WINNER
Jackson Dean
Ernest
Dylan Scott
Nate Smith
Bailey Zimmerman
Song of the Year [Awarded to Songwriter(s)/Publisher(s)/Artist(s)]
Morgan Wallen, "Sand in My Boots" (Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Josh Osborne, Michael Hardy, Publishers: Relative Music Group; Sony/ATV Accent; Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing; Sony/ATV Tree Publishing)
Cole Swindell, "She Had Me at Heads Carolina" ( 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; WCMusic Corp; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp) — WINNER
Cody Johnson, "'Til You Can't" (Songwriters: Ben Stennis, Matt Rogers, Publishers: Anthem Canalco Publishing; Dead Aim Music; The Stennis Mightier Music)
Hardy feat. Lainey Wilson, "Wait in the Truck" (Songwriters: Hunter Phelps, Jordan Schmidt, Michael Hardy, Renee Blair, Publishers: Humerus Publishing Global; Nontypical Music; Pile of Schmidt Songs; Rednecker Music; Relative Music Group; Round Hill Verses Publishing; Sony/ATV Accent; Sony/ATV Tree Publishing; The Money Tree Vibez; WC Music Corp; Who Wants to Buy My Publishing)\
Chris Stapleton, "You Should Probably Leave" (Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Chris DuBois, Chris Stapleton, Publishers: One77 Songs; Sea Gayle Music; Songs of Southside Independent Music Publishing; Spirit Two Nashville; WC Music Corp)
Music Event of the Year [Awarded to Artist(s)/Producer(s)/Record Company-Label(s)]
Chris Young with Mitchell Tenpenny, "At the End of a Bar" (Producers: Chris DeStefano, Chris Young, Record Company-Label: RCA Nashville)
Cole Swindell & Jo Dee Messina, "She Had Me at Heads Carolina [Remix]" (Producer: Zach Crowell, Record Company-Label: Warner Music Nashville)
Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown, "Thank God" (Producer: Dann Huff, Record Company-Label: RCA Nashville)
Dustin Lynch feat. MacKenzie Porter, "Thinking 'Bout You" (Producer: Zach Crowell, Record Company-Label: Broken Bow Records)
Hardy feat. Lainey Wilson, "Wait in the Truck" (Producers: Derek Wells, HARDY, Joey Moi, Jordan Schmidt, Record Company-Label: Big Loud Records) — WINNER
Visual Media of the Year (Awarded to Artist(s) and Director(s))
Kelsea Ballerini, "Heartfirst" (Producers: Christen Pinkston & Wesley Stebbins-Perry, Director: P Tracy)
Cole Swindell, "She Had Me at Heads Carolina" ( Producer: Troy Jackson, Director: Spidey Smith)
Kane Brown and Katelyn Brown, "Thank God" (Producer: Luke Arreguin, Director: Alex Alvga)
Cody Johnson, "'Til You Can't" (Producer: Maddy Hayes, Director: Dustin Haney)
Hardy feat. Lainey Wilson, "Wait in the Truck" (Producer: Inkwell Productions, Director: Justin Clough) — WINNER
Carly Pearce, "What He Didn't Do" (Producer: Ryan Byrd, Director: Alexa Campbell)
Artist-Songwriter of the Year
Luke Combs
Ernest
Hardy — WINNER
Miranda Lambert
Morgan Wallen
Songwriter of the Year
Nicolle Galyon
Ashley Gorley — WINNER
Chase McGill
Josh Osborne
Hunter Phelps
