Lainey Wilson and Ella Langley were the big winners at the 2025 ACM Awards, which were held on Thursday (May 8) at Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Wilson won four awards, including entertainer of the year and album of the year. Langley won five, including four for “you look like you love me,” her flirty duet with Riley Green.

Wilson won entertainer of the year for the second year in a row. She’s the first person to win back-to-back awards in that top category since Jason Aldean scored a threepeat from 2016-18. She’s the first woman to win back-to-back awards for entertainer of the year since Taylor Swift achieved the feat in 2009-10.

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Wilson also won album of the year for Whirlwind. She also won for her previous studio album, Bell Bottom Country. She’s the seventh artist in ACM history to win for back-to-back studio albums (whether they won the ACMs in consecutive years or not). Miranda Lambert won with five consecutive studio albums. Chris Stapleton won with two consecutive studio albums – and he did that twice. Winning with two consecutive studio albums once were Alabama, Alan Jackson, George Strait and The Chicks.

Wilson won female artist of the year for the third year in a row. She’s the first artist to achieve that feat since Lambert won nine years in a row from 2010-18. Wilson’s fourth award was for artist-songwriter of the year.

Langley and Green won in three categories for their hit “you look like you love me.” The duet won single of the year, music event of the year and visual media of the year. (Langley won two awards in the visual media category, as both artist and one of the directors.) Oddly, they didn’t perform the song on the show, perhaps because they performed it on the CMA Awards in November. Langley’s fifth award on the night was new female artist of the year.

Hosted by Reba McEntire, the ACM Awards streamed live on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch.

Here are other acts that made history at the ACM Awards:

Old Dominion won group of the year for the eighth year in a row, which allowed them to break out of a tie with Rascal Flatts for the most wins in the history of that category. By coincidence, Rascal Flatts was among the nominees this year. Old Dominion’s eight-year winning streak is the longest in any category since Lambert won female artist of the year nine years in a row from 2010-18.

Brooks & Dunn won duo of the year for the first time since 2010. The award had gone back and forth between Dan + Shay and Brothers Osborne for the past eight years. This extends Brooks & Dunn’s record number of wins in this category to 17. Brooks & Dunn won duo of the year at last year’s CMA Awards, setting the stage for this win.

Chris Stapleton won male artist of the year for the fifth time, which puts him in a four-way tie with Merle Haggard, George Strait and Brad Paisley for the most wins in the history of the category.

“Dirt Cheap,” written by Josh Phillips and recorded by Cody Johnson, won song of the year. It’s the first song written by a solitary songwriter to win since Jennifer Nettles won for “Stay” in 2008. Just one other song written by just one writer has won since 2000: Alan Jackson’s “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” in 2002.

Moreover, “Dirt Cheap” is the first song in 11 years that was not written or co-written by the artist to in in this category. The last was “I Drive Your Truck,” written by Jessi Alexander, Connie Harrington and Jimmy Yeary, and recorded by Lee Brice.

As previously announced, Zach Top won for new male artist of the year; The Red Clay Strays for new duo or group of the year; and Jessie Jo Dillon for songwriter of the year. This was the second year in a row that Dillon, the daughter of songwriting great Dean Dillon, has won in that category. She is the fourth two-time winner in that category, following Dallas Davidson, Shane McAnally and Hillary Lindsey.

Two non-competitive awards were also presented – a lifetime achievement award to Alan Jackson and a Triple Crown award to Keith Urban (signifying that he has won a new artist of the year award; an award for male, female, duo or group of the year; and entertainer of the year).

Morgan Wallen, Post Malone and Kelsea Ballerini were completely shut out, despite going into the show with a total of 16 nominations between them – seven for Wallen, five for Posty and four for Ballerini.

Brooks & Dunn caught up with Billboard’s Lyndsey Havens on the Winners Walk at the ACM Awards 2025.

Keith Urban caught up with Billboard’s Lyndsey Havens on the Winners Walk at the ACM Awards 2025.

Talk about the trailblazers! Country icon Reba McEntire joined Lainey Wilson and Miranda Lambert to debut the trio’s emotional new collaboration “Trailblazer” toward the end of the 2025 ACM Awards Thursday (May 8) at The Star in Frisco, Texas. The song had dropped on streaming services just hours earlier, at 8 p.m. ET.

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The celebrated country artists took to a stage that was dressed to appear like a barren desert, the skies behind them a warm orange as the silhouettes of birds fluttered through the the scene. Dressed in matching brown suede outfits accented with turquoise, the three women traded lyrics before harmonizing on the chorus, singing, “Talk about a trailblazer, cuttin’ one half at a time/ Running like a dream chaser, living on a prayer and a rhyme/ Put a flag in the ground to the country sound, to the rhythm of your own highway/ Talk about a trailblazer, I’m rolling down the road you paved.”

At the end of the song, McEntire, who was also hosting the show for the 18th time, took the hands of her collaborators, and together, the three women walked to the front of the stage and took a bow together.

The day before the ACM Awards, the trio spoke to Billboard‘s Melinda Newman about their new ballad, which pays tribute to those who influenced them and paved the way. “We wanted to lean in pretty hard to paying tribute to each person,” shared Lambert, who was the focus of Billboard‘s inaugural Power Pets feature alongside her dog Bellamy. “We had to do it strategically, though, because we didn’t want it to be so blatant — but more like a secret thing that you would have to listen to it twice.”

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“We were just having a conversation about how [Lambert and McEntire] have influenced me and [about] passing the torch and blazing trails for each other,” Wilson also noted. “Generation after generation, it’s going to continue, but we got to keep blazing those trails for the next one.”

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.

Shortly after taking the stage to give her three-way collaboration with Reba McEntire and Miranda Lambert, “Trailblazer,” its live debut, Lainey Wilson was called back up to the mic at the 2025 ACM Awards when Blake Shelton revealed that she was the evening’s big winner, nabbing the entertainer of the year award.

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Accepting the award, Wilson held the trophy in silence for a few moments, staring at it in disbelief. “Thank you so much. I love every single one of y’all in this category,” she said of her fellow entertainer of the year nominees. “You took me out on the road, asked me to be on songs, supported me in every way you can.”

Wilson also opened up about feeling “imposter syndrome” sometimes. “I’m sure everybody deals with a little bit of imposter syndrome,” she said. “I read something not long ago that if something is given to you, you need to accept it with an open heart and open mind.”

Wilson shared how entertaining has been a part of her life as long as she can remember — when she was a little girl, her sister used to shine a spotlight on her in the dark at “this old hunting spot” her parents would take them to. “I love making people laugh and smile and cry – I’m sorry I like to make you cry,” she said. “I love to make people feel things.”

Speaking of making people feel things, “Trailblazer” – a song about pioneering women in country music – is something Wilson hopes families share with each other. “I remember thinking that this could be a song that a grandmother and a daughter and a grandchild could listen to,” Wilson told Billboard‘s Melinda Newman of the song.

In addition to entertainer of the year, Wilson also won ACM Awards for female artist of the year, album of the year (Whirlwind) and artist-songwriter of the year.

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.

Some of the best harmonies in pop and country music joined forces on Thursday night (May 8) when Backstreet Boys hit the ACM Awards stage to close the 2025 show alongside Rascal Flatts.

The eight men teamed up for four songs, starting with 2006’s “What Hurts the Most” — which the two groups just re-recorded for Rascal Flatts’ June 6 album Life Is a Highway: Refueled Duets. Next up was Rascal Flatts’ “I Dare You,” which is the lead single from the upcoming duets album (but is recorded with Jonas Brothers for the project).

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They pivoted to BSB’s catalog for “Larger Than Life,” from the boy band’s 1999 album Millennium — which they’ll perform in full at their Las Vegas Sphere residency kicking off in July. Finally, they wrapped up the medley with the duets album’s namesake song, Rascal Flatt’s 2006 cover of “Life Is a Highway”; on the duets album, they’re joined by Halestrom frontwoman Lzzy Hale for the re-recording.

The men traded vocals on all the songs, with a series of lasers raining over them throughout the upbeat performance. They returned to the stage to keep “Life Is a Highway” going into the show credits, leading a fan sing-along on the song first released by singer/songwriter Tom Cochrane in 1991.

Ahead of Thursday’s performance at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, Rascal Flatts guitarist/vocalist Joe Don Rooney talked to Billboard about Backstreet Boys’ famous vocals. “They’re just such great singers and their melodies are so good,” he said. “They know how to stack them. It’s like a wall of vocals. It’s really, really cool and really an amazing, powerful sound.”

Rascal Flatts were nominated for group of the year at the 2025 ACM Awards; Old Dominion ended up taking home the award.

With 16 Hot Country Songs No. 1s and 21 Country Airplay No. 1s, Keith Urban has been a force in country music in the 21st century. On Thursday (May 8) night’s ACM Awards broadcast, the Aussie legend was saluted with the Triple Crown Award. That award goes to an artist who has been named new artist of the year, artist of the year and entertainer of the year, which Urban has – making him just the 12th person to do so.

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Before Urban took the stage to accept the award, Megan Moroney, Chris Stapleton and Brothers Osborne hit the stage of the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, to perform three of Urban’s many hits. Moroney sang an affecting, lovely version of “Stupid Boy,” with her voice in fine form as she delivered the bittersweet song. Chris Stapleton crooned “Blue Ain’t Your Color” as Urban and his wife, Nicole Kidman, held each other and swayed; Stapleton’s signature rasp suited the song beautifully, and Urban himself couldn’t help but sing along whenever the camera was on him. “We love you, Keith,” Stapleton said after he wrapped. Concluding the Triple Crown musical salute, Brothers Osborne rocked through “Where the Blacktop Ends,” ripping up the 2001 hit and ending the tribute on an energetic note.

Accepting the award, Urban thanked the Academy of Country Music and, of course, his wife. “I love you, babygirl,” he told the Oscar winner (and Babygirl star) as she looked on and smiled. “Our girls watching at home, Sunday and Faith, I love you both. I have a massive team I couldn’t possibly thank by name,” Urban said. Still, he made a point to shout out his behind-the-scenes players, noting that “there’s no such thing as a self-made man.” Additionally, ever the gentleman, he thanked Moroney, Stapleton and Brothers Osborne, as well as the other musicians on stage. “We’re gonna be out on tour by the end of the month!” he said before leaving.

As Billboard’s Paul Grein noted in his exclusive on this year’s Triple Crown Award, Urban qualified by winning top new male vocalist in 2001, male vocalist of the year in 2005 and 2006. and entertainer of the year in 2019. Additionally, he’s the first singer to get the Triple Crown Award on the ACM Awards telecast since 2010.

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.

Heading into Thursday night’s (May 8) 2025 ACM Awards, country rookie Ella Langley led the nominations pack with eight nods — and she picked up a whopping five prizes, for an impressive breakout night. Right behind her was Lainey Wilson, who nabbed four awards, including the coveted title of entertainer of the year.

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Who else emerged from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, a winner? Find Billboard‘s full list of 2025 ACM Awards winners below:

Main Awards

Entertainer of the Year

    Kelsea Ballerini

    Luke Combs

    Cody Johnson

    Jelly Roll

    Chris Stapleton

    Morgan Wallen

    WINNER: Lainey Wilson

Female Artist of the Year

    Kelsea Ballerini

    Ella Langley

    Megan Moroney

    Kacey Musgraves

    WINNER: Lainey Wilson

Male Artist of the Year

    Luke Combs

    Cody Johnson

    Jelly Roll

    WINNER: Chris Stapleton

    Morgan Wallen

Duo of the Year

    WINNER: Brooks & Dunn 

    Brothers Osborne 

    Dan + Shay 

    Muscadine Bloodline

    The War and Treaty

Group of the Year

    Flatland Cavalry

    Little Big Town 

    WINNER: Old Dominion 

    Rascal Flatts

    The Red Clay Strays

New Female Artist of the Year

    Kassi Ashton

    Ashley Cooke

    Dasha

    WINNER: Ella Langley

    Jessie Murph

New Male Artist of the Year

    Gavin Adcock

    Shaboozey

    WINNER: Zach Top

    Tucker Wetmore

    Bailey Zimmerman

New Duo or Group of the Year

    Restless Road

    WINNER: The Red Clay Strays

    Treaty Oak Revival

Album of the Year

Awarded to artist(s)/producer(s)/record company–label(s)

    Am I Okay? (I’ll Be Fine) – Megan Moroney; producer: Kristian Bush; Columbia Records / Sony Music Nashville

    Beautifully Broken – Jelly Roll; producers: BazeXX, Brock Berryhill, Zach Crowell, Devin Dawson, Charlie Handsome, Ben Johnson, mgk, The Monsters & Strangerz, Austin Nivarel, SlimXX, Ryan Tedder, Isaiah Tejada, Alysa Vanderheym; BBR Music Group / BMG Nashville / Republic Records

    Cold Beer & Country Music – Zach Top; producer: Carson Chamberlain; Leo33

    F-1 Trillion – Post Malone; producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins; Mercury Records / Republic Records

    WINNER: Whirlwind – Lainey Wilson; producer: Jay Joyce; BBR Music Group / BMG Nashville

Single of the Year

Awarded to artist(s)/producer(s)/record company–label(s)

    “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” – Shaboozey; producers: Sean Cook, Nevin Sastry; American Dogwood / EMPIRE

    “Dirt Cheap” – Cody Johnson; producer: Trent Willmon; CoJo Music LLC / Warner Music Nashville

    “I Had Some Help” – Post Malone, Morgan Wallen; producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins; Mercury Records / Republic Records

    “White Horse” – Chris Stapleton; producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton, Morgane Stapleton; Mercury Nashville

    WINNER: “you look like you love me” – Ella Langley, Riley Green; producer: Will Bundy; SAWGOD / Columbia Records

Song of the Year

Awarded to songwriter(s)/publisher(s)/artist(s)

    “4x4xU” – Lainey Wilson; songwriters: Jon Decious, Aaron Raitiere, Lainey Wilson; publishers: Louisiana Lady; One Tooth Productions; Reservoir 416; Songs of One Riot Music; Sony/ATV Accent

    “The Architect” – Kacey Musgraves; songwriters: Shane McAnally, Kacey Musgraves, Josh Osborne; publishers: Songs for Indy and Owl; Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing

    WINNER: “Dirt Cheap” – Cody Johnson; songwriter: Josh Phillips; publishers: Warner-Tamerlane Publishing; Write or Die Music; Write the Lightning Publishing

    “I Had Some Help” – Post Malone, Morgan Wallen; songwriters: Louis Bell, Ashley Gorley, Hoskins, Austin Post, Ernest Keith Smith, Morgan Wallen, Chandler Paul Walters, Ryan Vojtesak; publishers: Bell Ear Publishing; Master of my Domain Music; Poppy’s Picks; Sony/ATV Cross Keys Publishing; Universal Music Corporation

    “you look like you love me” – Ella Langley, Riley Green; songwriters: Riley Green, Ella Langley, Aaron Raitiere; publishers: Back 40 Publishing International; Langley Publishing; One Tooth Productions; Sony/ATV Tree; Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp

Music Event of the Year

Awarded to artist(s)/producer(s)/record company–label(s)

    “Cowboys Cry Too” – Kelsea Ballerini, Noah Kahan; producers: Kelsea Ballerini, Noah Kahan, Alysa Vanderheym; Black River Entertainment

    “I Had Some Help” – Post Malone, Morgan Wallen; producers: Louis Bell, Charlie Handsome, Hoskins; Mercury Records / Republic Records

    “I’m Gonna Love You” – Cody Johnson, Carrie Underwood; producer: Trent Willmon; CoJo Music LLC / Warner Music Nashville

    “we don’t fight anymore” – Carly Pearce, Chris Stapleton; producers: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Carly Pearce; Big Machine Records

    WINNER: “you look like you love me” – Ella Langley, Riley Green; producer: Will Bundy; SAWGOD / Columbia Records

Visual Media of the Year

Awarded to producer(s)/director(s)/artist(s)

    “4x4xU” – Lainey Wilson; producer: Jennifer Ansell; director: Dano Cerny

    “Dirt Cheap” – Cody Johnson; producer: Dustin Haney; director: Dustin Haney

    “I’m Gonna Love You” – Cody Johnson, Carrie Underwood; producers: Christen Pinkston, Wesley Stebbins-Perry; director: Dustin Haney

    “Think I’m In Love With You” – Chris Stapleton; producers: Wes Edwards, Angie Lorenz, Jamie Stratakis; director: Running Bear (Stephen Kinigopoulos, Alexa Stone)

    WINNER: “you look like you love me” – Ella Langley, Riley Green; producer: Alex Pescosta; directors: Ella Langley, John Park, Wales Toney

Artist-Songwriter of the Year

    Luke Combs

    ERNEST

    HARDY

    Morgan Wallen

    WINNER: Lainey Wilson

Songwriter of the Year

    Jessi Alexander

    WINNER: Jessie Jo Dillon

    Ashley Gorley

    Chase McGill

    Josh Osborne

The winners in the following two classifications, Studio Recording Awards and Industry Awards, should be announced at a later time. We’ll update this post when those winners are announced.

Studio Recording Awards

Producer of the Year

    Dave Cobb

    Ian Fitchuk

    Charlie Handsome

    Jon Randall

    Alysa Vanderheym

Audio Engineer of the Year

    Brandon Bell

    Drew Bollman

    Josh Ditty

    Buckley Miller

    F. Reid Shippen

Bass Player of the Year

    J.T. Cure

    Mark Hill

    Rachel Loy

    Tony Lucido

    Craig Young

Drummer of the Year

    Fred Eltringham

    Tommy Harden

    Evan Hutchings

    Aaron Sterling

    Nir Z

Acoustic Guitar Player of the Year

    Tim Galloway

    Todd Lombardo

    Mac McAnally

    Bryan Sutton

    Ilya Toshinskiy

Piano/Keyboards Player of the Year

    Dave Cohen

    Ian Fitchuk

    Billy Justineau

    Gordon Mote

    Alex Wright

Specialty Instrument Player of the Year

    Dan Dugmore

    Jenee Fleenor

    Josh Matheny

    Justin Schipper

    Kristin Wilkinson

Electric Guitar Player of the Year

    Kris Donegan

    Jedd Hughes

    Brent Mason

    Sol Philcox-Littlefield

    Derek Wells

Industry Awards

Casino of the Year – Theater

    Deadwood Mountain Grand – Deadwood, S.D.

    Foxwoods Resort Casino – Mashantucket, Conn.

    Harrah’s Cherokee Casino Resort – Cherokee, N.C.

    The Theater at Virgin Hotels – Las Vegas, Nev.

    Yaamava’ Theater – Highland, Calif.

Casino of the Year – Arena

    Golden Nugget Lake Charles – Lake Charles, La.

    Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena – Atlantic City, N.J.

    Harveys Lake Tahoe – Stateline, Nev.

    Mystic Lake Casino Showroom – Prior Lake, Minn.

    Turning Stone Resort Casino – Verona, N.Y.

Festival of the Year

    C2C Country to Country – London

    CMC Rocks – Ipswich, Queensland

    Stagecoach Festival – Indio, Calif.

    Two Step Inn – Georgetown, Tex.

    Windy City Smokeout – Chicago

Fair/Rodeo of the Year

    Calgary Stampede – Calgary, Alberta

    California Mid-State Fair – Paso Robles, Calif.

    Cheyenne Frontier Days – Cheyenne, Wy.

    Minnesota State Fair – Falcon Heights, Minn.

    Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo – Houston

Club of the Year

    Billy Bob’s Texas – Fort Worth, Tex.

    Brooklyn Bowl – Nashville

    Cain’s Ballroom – Tulsa, Okla.

    Georgia Theatre – Athens, Ga.

    Joe’s on Weed St. – Chicago

Theater of the Year

    The Caverns – Pelham, Tenn.

    MGM Music Hall at Fenway – Boston

    The Met Philadelphia – Philadelphia

    The Rave/Eagles Club – Milwaukee, Wisc.

    Tennessee Theatre – Knoxville, Tenn.

Outdoor Venue of the Year

    BankNH Pavilion – Gilford, N.H.

    CMAC – Constellation Brands Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center – Canandaigua, N.Y.

    Saint Augustine Amphitheatre – St. Augustine, Fla.

    The Wharf Amphitheater – Orange Beach, Ala.

    Whitewater Amphitheater – New Braunfels, Tex.

Arena of the Year

    Dickies Arena – Fort Worth, Tex.

    Moody Center – Austin, Tex.

    TD Garden – Boston

    Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center – Knoxville, Tenn.

    Van Andel Arena – Grand Rapids, Mich.

Don Romeo Talent Buyer of the Year

    Deana Baker

    Bobby Clay

    Gil Cunningham

    Weston Hebert

    Stacy Vee

    Taylor Williamson

Promoter of the Year

    Brent Fedrizzi

    Alex Maxwell

    Patrick McDill

    Anna-Sophie Mertens

    Rich Schaefer

    Aaron Spalding

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.

Some of the world’s biggest country music stars descended on the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, on Thursday (May 8) for the 2025 ACM Awards. This year’s ACM Awards is a big one, too, as the show is celebrating 60 years of country music excellence. 

As everyone from Reba McEntire, who hosted for the 18th time in her career, to ACM Triple Crown Award honoree Keith Urban rolled up, Billboard was there — and we’re giving viewers an exclusive look at all of the best snapshots from the official Boot Barn portrait studio.

Opening with 12 straight minutes of music honoring past song of the year winners, the 2025 ACM Awards featured performances from Clint Black, Dan + Shay, LeAnn Rimes, Little Big Town and Wynonna Judd, as well as collaborative showcases from Jelly Roll and Shaboozey, the Backstreet Boys and Rascal Flatts and Brooks & Dunn with Cody Johnson.  

The ceremony was filled with awards, too, naturally. Ella Langley has the most nominations of anyone this year with eight, while Johnson, Morgan Wallen, Lainey Wilson, Chris Stapleton have six; Riley Green, Post Malone and Kelsea Ballerini each have multiple nods as well. Among the biggest-ticket prizes being given away are entertainer of the year, male and female artist of the year, best duo and song and album of the year. Alan Jackson was honored with a lifetime achievement award — one the Academy of Country Music introduced this year called the Alan Jackson Lifetime Achievement Award, no less, and Keith Urban was saluted with the Triple Crown Award.

Below, see the best photos — the fabulous looks and dazzling smiles attendees wore at the 2025 ACM Awards. 

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.

Jelly Roll was living the dream on Thursday (May 8) when he performed “Heart of Stone,” the third single from his sophomore album, Beautifully Broken, at the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards held at at Ford Center at the Star in Frisco, Texas.

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“I’m wide awake and I’m dreamin’/ Wonderin’ where and when I fell apart/ Oh, I fell apart/ I had enough of my demons/ Angels only meet you where you are,” he sang emotionally, his voice powerful, during the chorus from the track about some very dark days in his life. As he belted out the chorus, Bunnie XO, who is married to the country star, sang along in the audience. “And I’m in the dark/ Least for now, Lord, I ain’t losin’ hope/ That somehow you can make a heart of gold/ From this heart of stone.”

As the tune ended, Jelly pointed to the heavens and mouthed, “Thank you.” The cameras then shifted to Shaboozey, who stood alone as he began his new single, the two men’s collaboration “Amen,” off the “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” singer’s Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going. After the chorus, Jelly joined in as he walked through the crowd, giving Wynonna Judd a hug before he made his way onto the stage next to ‘Boozey to finish the upbeat tune as Keith Urban and Nicole kidman sang along from the audience.

At the end of the Jelly and Shaboozey’s duet, the “Need a Favor” singer turned to his song partner, who turns 30 on Friday (May 9), and said, “Happy birthday, ‘Boozey!” before giving him a big hug.

Jelly Roll — who is nominated for entertainer of the year, male artist of the year and album of the year for his Billboard 200 chart-topper Beautifully Broken — spoke about “Heart of Stone” while appearing on The Jennifer Hudson Show in April. “I love the lyrics of this song,” he explained to the host, specifically pointing out the lyrics to the second verse. “When I hear ‘Lord, can you hear me? I’m shackled in these chains/ I’m haunted by the lies of every time I said I’d change.’ Wow, that just reminds me of all the times that I went and looked in the mirror and said, ‘I’m gonna be different today’ and I wasn’t different that day. … It still gives me goosebumps and it makes me want to stand up and do something about it. It makes me want to quit being a man that puts it off and start being a man that does it right now.”

Country icon and 16-time ACM Awards winner Reba McEntire is the host of the show; it is her 18th time helming the ceremony. The show streamed live on Amazon’s Prime Video.

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.