There is one country act that should be downright ticked today, and another that should buy a lottery ticket. This original list of 2025 ACM Awards snubs and surprises comes with a twist at the end.
We’ve got one suggestion that could elevate the awards show for the next 60 years.
Related: March Manness — Decide Country Music’s Hottest Male Artist!
Several years ago, the ACMs expanded the Entertainer of the Year category to eight nominees. It was a savvy move that rewards a larger group for their hard work and allows voters to recognize a deserving artist who may not have all the bonafides quite yet.
Expanding some of the other categories would water down the presentation, but it may be time for the show to return to its role as an innovator. Check out the official ACM website — there are dozens of categories from awards shows past.
Nobody is going to argue that it’s time for the next Country Comedy Act of the Year award (last given to Roy Clark, in 1971), but it may be time for something new.
In 2025, many of the artist-based categories (Entertainer, Male, Female, Group, etc. …) feature 80 percent of last year’s nominees. The result is that one awards show just runs into the next, and the next, and the next …
Find our fix after four snubs and four surprises from 2025.Reba McEntire is set to host this year’s ACM Awards, which are returning to the Star in Frisco, Texas. Blake Shelton, Lainey Wilson and Eric Church are among the first 2025 ACM Awards performers announced.
ACM Awards voters got a little crazy in 2025. At best, they forgot the rules. At worst, they have something against the most obvious candidates in one of five major awards.
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
Who had the most played country song during the year you were born? This list is a fascinating time capsule of prevalent trends from every decade in American history. Scroll through to find your birth year and then click to listen. Some of these songs have been lost through the years, many of them for good reason!
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes