Jason Aldean was named Entertainer of the Year for the third consecutive time at the 53rd ACM Awards. “It’s been a rough year. Thanks to everyone who reached out and showed love and support to us, it meant a lot to us,” he said, accepting his trophy. “To my Route 91 people, you guys are in my hearts always, love you guys. And we love Las Vegas, Vegas strong. Thank you.” Aldean, who was onstage during the Route 91 Harvest festival shooting, was visibly emotional as he spoke.
Elsewhere, Miranda Lambert won her ninth consecutive Female Vocalist of the Year trophy, while Chris Stapleton triumphed in the Male Vocalist category. Stapleton’s From A Room: Volume 1 was also named Album of the Year at the ACMs and Lambert’s “Tin Man” won Song of the Year. “Thank you for sharing my broken heart with me,” Lambert said, accepting the award with co-writers Jack Ingram and Jon Randall. The track is a highlight of Lambert’s double album The Weight of These Wings.
Brothers Osborne and Rhett Akins were early winners at the awards. The sibling duo won their second consecutive Vocal Duo of the Year ACM trophy, as well as the award for music video for “It Ain’t My Fault.” Brothers Osborne faced stiff competition in the duo race, as superstar couple Tim McGraw and Faith Hill received their first nomination in the category.
“Us going against Tim alone would be impossible, but you throw Faith Hill in the mix,” John told Rolling Stone earlier, assessing their chances of victory. “But we’re appreciative of all of that and [winning has] changed our lives in a big way. I think it gave us a huge amount of validity to people who are not in the country industry. It opened people’s eyes and it opened the door to a lot of things.”
Elsewhere, Atkins was named Songwriter of the Year and Lauren Alaina, Brett Young and the trio Midland scored in the new artist categories. “You feel really proud, looking at two of your best friends and going, ‘This crazy idea of us doing a project over our love of country music is a testament to follow your ambitions, your dreams and going in full force,” Midland’s Mark Wystrach told Rolling Stone Country.
Here’s the complete list of winners:
Entertainer of the Year
Jason Aldean – WINNER
Garth Brooks
Luke Bryan
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban
Female Vocalist of the Year
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert – WINNER
Reba McEntire
Maren Morris
Carrie Underwood
(Excerpt) Read More in: Rolling Stone