Ella Langley spent quite a lot of time on stage at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Sunday (May 17). Aside from performing her Billboard Hot 100 No. 2 hit “Be Her” (which was kept from the top spot by her own nine-week No. 1 hit “Choosin’ Texas”), the rising country superstar nabbed five Academy of Country Music Awards at the 2026 ACM Awards, including the coveted female artist of the year ACM Award.

Earlier in the night, while accepting song of the year, Langley said she was “at a loss for words.” When she was named the female artist of the year by presenter T.J. Osborne (who thanked the ACM Awards for inviting his “gay ass” on stage), Langley truly was unable to speak for a moment. Her eyes welling with tears, Langley sniffled and paused a moment to collect herself. “I’m trying to get to say something but I can’t,” she whispered.

“This is a weird thing to do. I was having a strange day,” she shared, admitting that awards shows sometimes lead to her having “strange days in the morning.” She found solace, however, in “the women in this category, the women in this life.” Langley continued, “I walked right into Lainey’s (Wilson) room and she hugged me. And all of a sudden, here comes Miranda Lambert in her pink hat. I would not be standing up here without the encouragement of so many women.” Langley also thanked Kelsea Ballerini, her parents, her “family, for showing up and being weird as always,” and Jesus, “for letting me do this for a living.”

The American Music Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.

Ella Langley could’ve easily hit the dancefloor for her victory lap at the ACM Awards on Sunday night (May 17) — but instead, she went the other direction with her performance of current crossover smash “Be Her.”

On record, the song — which reached a new No. 2 peak on the Billboard Hot 100 this week (dated May 16) — rides a double-clapping disco groove. But for the ACMs stage in Las Vegas, Langley went fully unplugged, performing the envy anthem on acoustic guitar with just another pair of backing guitarist-singers for accompaniment. The unexpectedly stripped-down and minor-sounding arrangement really brought out the hurt and yearning in the song, giving its “I just wanna be her so bad” pleas a near-“Girl Crush” level of emotional electricity.

Even before performing, Langley had been dominating the ACM Awards all evening, already being presented the trophies for song and single of the year (both for her globe-conquering smash “Choosin’ Texas”), as well as music event of the year (for “Don’t Mind If I Do” with Riley Green). Before the telecast, she had already won artist-songwriter of the year — and before the telecast was over, she also added one more statue to her haul with a W for female artist of the year.

“Be Her” is one of three hits Langley currently boasts in the top 10 of the Hot 100. While that hit climbs from No. 5-2 on the Hot 100 this week, it remains stuck behind her own “Choosin’ Texas” at No. 1 (for the ninth week total), and six spots ahead of her “I Can’t Love You Anymore” with Morgan Wallen at No. 8.

Music played and the people sang when Avery Anna took the stage for her performance at the 2026 ACM Awards in Las Vegas on Sunday (May 17).

The new female artist of the year winner — who claimed the crown over Mackenzie Carpenter, Dasha, Caroline Jones and Emily Ann Roberts — kicked off her rockin’ set with a cover of Cher’s 1966 Billboard Hot 100 No. 2 hit “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down),” which was also previously covered by Nancy Sinatra later that same year.

From there, with guitars blazing, the rising country music star went into her track “Blood Runs Thicker” off EP Forgive, Forget, which arrived earlier in the year. “Blood runs much thicker than water/ I am my father’s daughter,” she sang with power and edge during the chorus. “But you’re such a toxic talker/ So what do you do when you’re torn between the two, no?”

Dressed in a strapless black leather corset with matching pants, Avery Anna gave a rock n’ roll edge to her set not only with her choice of song and outfit, but also with her actions on stage. At one point, her blonde hair whipping around, she grabbed a pair of drumsticks and banged away on the drums as her drummer played along with her.

The 61st annual Academy of Country Music Awards were hosted by first-time host Shania Twain at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, and aired live on Prime Video. Megan Moroney led the night in nominations, boasting an impressive nine nods.

The ACM Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.