STAPLETON, WILSON BIG WINNERS AT THE ACMs

Chris Stapleton and Lainey Wilson combined for seven trophies at the 59th ACM Awards, which took place last night (5/16) from the Dallas Cowboys headquarters in Frisco, Texas, and streamed live on Amazon’s Prime Video.

Stapleton led the night with four wins, among them Male Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for Higher (Mercury Nashville). The eight-time AOTY winner surprised the audience by bringing out Dua Lipa for a duet of “Think I’m in Love With You.”

Broken Bow’s Wilson took home Female Artist of the Year and the night’s most coveted award, Entertainer of the Year. She opened the show with performances of “God Blessed Texas” and “Hang Tight Honey.”

River House/Columbia Nashville’s Luke Combs and MCA Nashville’s Jordan Davis won two awards apiece.

Other highlights include the CMAs anointing of Post Malone, who once again proved to his country peers that he belongs in the genre, performing two original songs: the just-released “I Had Some Help” and the unreleased ballad “Never Love You Again.” The Texas native also joined host Reba McEntire for a rendition of “Ramblin’ Man,” a tribute to The Allman Brothers Band’s Dickey Betts, who died in April.

In another special moment, Kelsea Ballerini joined folk-rock breakout Noah Kahan to perform his smash, “Stick Season.”

WINNERS OF THE 59th ACM AWARDS

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

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Higher, Chris Stapleton

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
"Fast Car," Luke Combs

SONG OF THE YEAR
"Next Thing You Know," Jordan Davis

NEW DUO/GROUP OF THE YEAR
Tigirlily Gold

VISUAL MEDIA OF THE YEAR
"Burn It Down," Parker McCollum

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Jessie Jo Dillon

ARTIST-SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Chris Stapleton

MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR
"Save Me," Jelly Roll w/Lainey Wilson