The Academy of Country Music Awards, also known as the ACM Awards, were first held in 1966, honoring the industry's accomplishments during the previous year. It was the first

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

awards program held by a major organization. The academy's signature "hat" trophy was first created in 1968. The awards were first televised in 1972 on ABC. In 1979, the academy joined with

Dick Clark Productions Dick Clark Productions, LLC (DCP, stylized in lowercase as dick clark productions or dcp) is an American multinational television production company founded by radio and TV host Dick Clark. The studio primarily produces Awards ceremony, award sh ...

to produce the show.

Dick Clark Richard Wagstaff Clark (November 30, 1929April 18, 2012) was an American television and radio personality and television producer who hosted ''American Bandstand'' from 1956 to 1989. He also hosted five incarnations of the Pyramid (game show), ...

and Al Schwartz served as producers while Gene Weed served as director. Under their guidance, the show moved to

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

in 1979, then to CBS in 1998, and

Amazon Prime Video Amazon Prime Video, known simply as Prime Video, is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming television service owned by Amazon. The service primarily distributes films and television series produced or co-produced by ...

in 2022. The academy adopted a sleeker, modern version of the "hat" trophy in 2003, which is now made by the New York City firm

Society Awards Society Awards is an American company best known for designing and manufacturing high-profile entertainment industry awards, including the Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, GLAAD Media Award, and YouTube Creator Awards, among others. History So ...

. In 2004, the organization implemented online awards voting for its professional members, becoming the first televised awards show to do so. Entertainer of the Year was a fan-voted award for eight years, until 2016, when the ACM announced its decision to abandon Internet-voting for it and the three new-artist categories. The 59th ACM Awards were presented at the Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas on May 16th, 2024. LukeBryanApr10

Voting process

Voting members of the Academy of Country Music (ACM) elect the nominees. In 2016, after an eight-year experiment intended to improve consumer engagement, the ACM announced its decision to abandon fan-voting for Entertainer of the Year and its three new-artist categories, thanks to the cost of participation and several rifts that had developed among artists. The program was controversial from the start and included the web ballot stuffing encouragement infamous among awards of the same type presented in other ceremonies.

Kenny Chesney Kenneth Arnold Chesney (born March 26, 1968) is an American country singer. With 30 million albums sold worldwide, he released his debut, '' In My Wildest Dreams'', in 1994, and has since released 19 follow-ups. His albums spawned 27 singles tha ...

, after winning the first fan vote for entertainer in 2008, criticized the process backstage, complaining that instead of acknowledging artists' hard work, the vote had devolved into a marketing contest that rewarded people for "seeing how hard you can push people's buttons on the Internet." The winner, for example, of entertainer will now be voted on by the same people who select the male or female vocalist winner.

Broadcasting

The ACM Awards were previously broadcast by ABC from 1972 to 1978,

from 1979 to 1997, and CBS from 1998 to 2021. In June 2021, it was reported that CBS would not renew its contract to air the ceremony, citing declining viewership and demands from Dick Clark Productions for a higher rights fee. CBS' parent company ViacomCBS decided to prioritize its own CMT Music Awards (produced by its cable network CMT) as a competitor, announcing later that month that it would move to CBS and be held in April beginning 2022. After reports that the ACMs were being shopped to other networks such as NBC, it was announced on August 19, 2021, that the media rights to the ceremony had been acquired by

, making it one of the first major awards ceremonies on U.S. television to move exclusively to a streaming platform. The ceremony is streamed via Prime Video, and simulcast on Amazon Live,

Amazon Music Amazon Music (previously Amazon MP3) is a music streaming platform and digital music store operated by Amazon. As of January 2020, the service had 55 million subscribers. It was the first music store to sell music without digital rights manag ...

, and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch. In November 2023, Amazon renewed its rights through the 60th ceremony in 2025.

Awards

The most prestigious awards are for "Artist of the Decade" and "Entertainer of the Year." There are a number of other awards to recognize male and female vocalists, albums, videos, songs, and musicians. The awards are typically presented in April or May and recognize achievement for the previous year.

Major awards

* Source:

Special awards

Artist of the Decade

* 2010s:

Jason Aldean Jason Aldine Williams (born February 28, 1977), known professionally as Jason Aldean, is an American country music singer. Since 2005, he has been signed to BBR Music Group, Broken Bow Records, a record label for which he has released eleven alb ...

(presented 2019) * 2000s:

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...

(presented 2009) * 1990s:

Garth Brooks Troyal Garth Brooks (born February 7, 1962) is an American Country music, country singer and songwriter. His integration of pop and rock elements into the country genre has earned him his immense popularity, particularly in the United States, ...

(presented 1999) * 1980s:

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

(presented 1989) * 1970s:

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill (song), The P ...

(presented 1979) * 1960s:

Marty Robbins Martin David Robinson (September 26, 1925 – December 8, 1982), known professionally as Marty Robbins, was an American country and western singer and songwriter. He was one of the most popular and successful singers of his genre for most o ...

(presented 1969)

Triple-Crown Award

The Triple-Crown Award is an elite honor that has been presented to only nine country acts in the history of the Academy of Country Music Awards. The honor distinguishes the achievement of an artist, duo or group upon receiving the New Artist (or New Male Vocalist, New Female Vocalist, New Solo Vocalist, New Vocal Duo, New Vocal Group or New Vocal Duo or Group), and Male/Female Artist (or Vocal Duo, Vocal Group, Vocal Duo or Group) and Entertainer of the Year awards. Among the later recipients, Carrie Underwood received it at the ACM Awards, while Jason Aldean, Miranda Lambert, Chris Stapleton, and Lainey Wilson received their awards at the Annual ACM Honors. The following list shows the artists that have won the award and the first year winning each of the categories required.

The Chicks The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. The band consists of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar, bass guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and Emily Strayer ...

have reached the milestones needed to receive the award, but they have not yet been awarded. *

(presented 2005) :Top New Male Artist: 1998 :Top Male Artist: 2003 :Entertainer of the Year: 2005 *

Merle Haggard Merle Ronald Haggard (April 6, 1937 – April 6, 2016) was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and fiddler. Widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential figures in country music, he was a central pioneer of the Bakersfield ...

(presented 2005) :Top New Male Artist: 1966 :Top Male Artist: 1967 :Entertainer of the Year: 1971 * Mickey Gilley (presented 2005) :Top New Male Artist: 1975 :Top Male Artist: 1977 :Entertainer of the Year: 1977 * Barbara Mandrell (presented 2005) :Top New Female Artist: 1972 :Top Female Artist: 1979 :Entertainer of the Year: 1981 * Brooks & Dunn (presented 2005) :Top New Vocal Duet or Group: 1992 :Top Vocal Duet: 1992 :Entertainer of the Year: 1996 * Carrie Underwood (presented 2010) :Top New Female Artist: 2006 :Top Female Artist: 2007 :Entertainer of the Year: 2009 *

(presented 2016) :Top New Male Artist: 2006 :Top Male Artist: 2013 :Entertainer of the Year: 2016 *

Miranda Lambert Miranda Leigh Lambert (born November 10, 1983) is an American country music, country singer. Born in Longview, Texas, she started out in early 2001 when she released her self-titled debut album independently. In 2003, she finished in third place ...

(presented 2022) :Top New Female Artist: 2007 :Top Female Artist: 2010 :Entertainer of the Year: 2022 * Chris Stapleton (presented 2023) :Top New Male Artist 2015 :Top Male Artist: 2015 :Entertainer of the Year: 2023 *

Lainey Wilson Lainey Denay Wilson (born May 19, 1992) is an American country music, country singer-songwriter. She performed at an early age, before going to Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville to pursue a career as a country performer. In 2014, she released her f ...

(presented 2024) :Top New Female Artist: 2022 :Top Female Artist: 2023 :Entertainer of the Year: 2024 *

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban ( né Urbahn; 26 October 1967) is an Australian and American country singer, songwriter and guitarist. Recognised with four Grammy Awards, he has also received 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, including the Jim Reeves Int ...

(to be presented 2025) :Top New Male Artist: 2001 :Top Male Artist: 2005 :Entertainer of the Year: 2019

Venues

The Academy of Country Music Awards were originally held at various locations in

Greater Los Angeles Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the eas ...

through 2002. In 2003, the ceremony moved to

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

, first at the

Michelob Ultra Arena The Michelob Ultra Arena, formerly the Mandalay Bay Events Center, is a 12,000-seat multi-purpose indoor arena at the Mandalay Bay, Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by MG ...

Mandalay Bay Mandalay Bay is a 43-story luxury resort and casino at the south end of the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned by Vici Properties and operated by MGM Resorts International. It was developed by Circus Circus Enterprises and complete ...

through 2005 and later at the

MGM Grand Garden Arena The MGM Grand Garden Arena is a 17,000-seat multi-purpose arena within the MGM Grand Las Vegas, MGM Grand resort, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The venue opened on December 31, 1993, with a concert by Barbra Streisand, and s ...

at the MGM Grand from 2006 to 2014. In 2015, the ACMs were held at

AT&T Stadium AT&T Stadium is a retractable roof stadium in Arlington, Texas, United States. It serves as the home of the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL), and was completed on May 27, 2009. It is also the home of the Cotton Bowl Classic ...

Arlington, Texas Arlington is a city in Tarrant County, Texas, Tarrant County, Texas, United States. It is part of the Mid-Cities region of the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington metropolitan statistical area, and is a principal c ...

, in the

Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex The Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, officially designated Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget, is the most populous metropolitan statistical area in the U.S. state of Texas and the Southern United States, ...

to celebrate its 50th anniversary. It broke the Guinness record that year for Most Attended Awards Show, with 70,252 attending. The ceremony returned to the MGM Grand Garden Arena for 2016, then moved to

T-Mobile Arena T-Mobile Arena is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Paradise, Nevada, United States. Opened on April 6, 2016, it is the home arena of the Vegas Golden Knights of the National Hockey League (NHL). A joint venture between MGM Resorts International ...

in Las Vegas for 2017. In 2018 and 2019, the show was again broadcast from the MGM Grand Garden Arena. In 2020 and 2021, the in-person ceremony in Las Vegas was not held due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

; the two ceremonies were held at various sites in Nashville, with the primary venues being the

Grand Ole Opry House The ''Grand Ole Opry'' is a regular live country music, country-music Radio broadcasting, radio broadcast originating from Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, Tennessee, on WSM (AM), WSM, held between two and five nights per week, depending on the ...

Ryman Auditorium Ryman Auditorium (originally Union Gospel Tabernacle and renamed Grand Ole Opry House for a period) is a historic 2,362-seat live-performance venue and museum located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in the downtown core of Nashville, Tennesse ...

, and the Bluebird Café. The ACM confirmed a return to Las Vegas for 2022, with the ceremony held at

Allegiant Stadium Allegiant Stadium is a domed multi-purpose stadium located in Paradise, Nevada, southwest of adjacent Las Vegas. Opened in 2020, it is the home field of the Las Vegas Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) and the University of Nevada ...

. In 2023, the ceremony moved to Texas, having been hosted by the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex.

References

External links

Academy of Country Music – Official Website
{{musicawards Awards established in 1966 American annual television specials 1966 establishments in the United States