The Academy of Country Music Awards were choosing Ella Langley every chance they got, as the “Choosin’ Texas” charttopper won all seven trophies she was nominated for before and during Sunday night’s ceremony at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The top prize of the night, however, went to Cody Johnson, who was awarded the coveted entertainer of the year award. (Langley was not up for that particular honor.) Johnson also picked up best male vocalist earlier in the evening.
Music “is the greatest drug that has ever been introduced on the planet earth,” Johnson said in picking up his entertainer of the year trophy at the climax of the two-and-a-half-hour show. But, establishing that he does not consider himself immersed in the business, Johnson said, “When i go home, I take my phone and I turn it face down. When I go home, I am a husband, I am a father, i am a cattle rancher.”
Langley’s wins included female artist of the year, artist songwriter of the year, both single of the year and song of the year for “Choosin’ Texas,” and music event of the year for her featured appearance on Riley Green’s “Don’t Mind if I Do.”
Although she had already taken multiple trips to the podium, Langley was tearful and initially at a loss for words when she accepted her final award of the night, female vocalist. “I’m trying to say something but I can’t,” she admitted. “The women in this category, the women in this life… I was having a strange day,” she noted, before adding that Lainey WIlson “wrapped me up and started praying for me,” and then she got a further boost she needed from “all of a sudden Miranda Lambert in her little pink hat.” Lambert was with Langley for some of those trips to the stage, as the co-writer of “Choosin’ Texas,” which remains the No. 1 song on the Hot 100.
Parker McCollum was a surprise winner for album of the year for the critically acclaimed “Parker McCollum,” beating Zach Top, Morgan Wallen, Riley Green and Carter Faith in that category.
“I was starting to think y’all weren’t gonna let me up here,” McCollum quipped when he got to the stage.
Other winners awarded on the Prime Video webcast included the Red Clay Strays for group of the year and Brooks & Dunn for duo of the year.
Winners announced in the days leading up to the ceremony included Avery Anna as new female vocalist of the year, Tucker Wetmore as new male vocalist of the year, Jessie Jo Dillon as songwriter of the year, and Stephen Wilson Jr.’s “Cuckoo” as visual media of the year.
