Lainey Wilson and Chris Stapleton won the top honors at the 59th annual ACM Awards held in Frisco, Texas and hosted by Reba McEntire. Wilson won Entertainer of the Year, Female Artist of the Year and Event of the Year, the latter for “Save Me,” her duet with Jelly Roll; Stapleton took home Album of the Year, Male Entertainer of the Year and Artist-Songwriter of the Year.
Both artists delivered powerful performances during the show; other big winners include Megan Maroney and Nate Smith (female/male best new artists), Jessie Jo Dillon (best songwriter), Old Dominion (best group); and Luke Combs won Single of the Year for his cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” while Jordan Davis took Song of the Year for “Next Thing You Know.”
What was striking about this year’s awards was the number of non-traditional country artists who performed: Dua Lipa joined Stapleton and his wife Morgane on “Think I’m in Love With You,” Avril Lavigne showed off her powerful pipes singing with Nate Smith (while wearing a System of a Down hoodie, no less), Noah Kahan sang with Kelsea Ballerini, and Gwen Stefani channeled a literal purple iris with the dress she wore to sing “Purple Irises” with husband Blake Shelton.