Lainey Wilson beat out six other nominees to become Entertainer of the Year at the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards — and she was nearly speechless over the honor.
“Thank you so much. I love every single one of y’all in this category, and y’all have taken me under y’all’s wings, taken me out on the road with you, asked me to be on songs, supported me in every way that you possibly can,” Wilson, 32, said while accepting the award on Thursday, May 8. “I will tell you this, I’m sure everybody deals with a little bit of imposter syndrome, but I won’t lie to you — I have a little bit.”
Wilson — who also won trophies for Female Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for Whirlwind and Artist-Songwriter of the Year — proceeded to thank her support system.
“I really do have the best fans in the world,” she continued, noting that she’s only ever wanted to be a musician. “I dreamed about entertaining. I love making people feel things. I love making people laugh and smile and cry. I ‘m sorry, I like making people cry.”
Wilson, who is engaged to Duck Hodges, concluded by saying, “Country music has given me more than I deserve. … God bless every single one of y’all.”
To take home the biggest award of the night, Wilson had to beat out Kelsea Ballerini, Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Jelly Roll, Chris Stapleton and Morgan Wallen.
Stapleton, 47, and Wilson were both already Entertainer of the Year winners ahead of the 2025 awards show, taking home the honor in 2023 and 2024, respectively. Stapleton has a career total of seven nominations in the category, while Wilson has two.
As for the other nominees this year, Combs, 35, has been up for Entertainer of the Year for six consecutive years since 2020. Wallen, 31, has received a nod in the category for the past three years, beginning in 2023. Johnson, 37, and Jelly Roll, 40, were both previously nominated in 2024, while Ballerini, 31, earned her first Entertainer of the Year nod this year.
Among the group of Entertainer of the Year nominees, Johnson, Wallen and Wilson led the pack with seven total nominations each this year across all of the categories. Johnson received nods for Male Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, Song of the Year and Visual Media of the Year for “Dirt Cheap” and Music Event of the Year and Visual Media of the Year for “I’m Gonna Love You” with Carrie Underwood.
Wallen was up for Male Artist of the Year, Single of the Year, Song of the Year and Music Event of the Year for “I Had Some Help” with Post Malone and Artist-Songwriter of the Year.
Wilson, meanwhile, earned nominations for Female Artist of the Year, Album of the Year for Whirlwind, Song of the Year and Visual Media of the Year for “4x4xU” and Artist-Songwriter of the Year.
Stapleton trailed with six total nominations this year, including Male Artist of the Year, Single of the Year for “White Horse,” Music Event of the Year for “We Don’t Fight Anymore” with Carly Pearce and Visual Media of the Year for “Think I’m in Love With You.”
Ballerini followed closely behind with four nods, which included Female Artist of the Year and Music Event of the Year for “Cowboys Cry Too” with Noah Kahan.
Combs and Jelly Roll both landed three total nominations — Combs was up for Male Artist of the Year and Artist-Songwriter of the Year, and Jelly Roll competed for Male Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for Beautifully Broken.
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