Miranda Lambert, who has won more Academy of Country Music Awards than anyone else in history (33), may well collect even more trophies when the 2026 ACM Awards are presented at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on May 17. She’s nominated for eight awards, including female artist of the year and song of the year.
Brooks & Dunn, who are nominated for duo of the year, have a chance to add to their records for most wins in that category (17) and most overall wins by a duo (26).
Old Dominion, which last year surpassed Rascal Flatts for the most wins for group of the year (eight), is nominated in that category again this year and could extend their lead.
Chris Stapleton is within striking distance of two big records. If he converts even one of his six nominations this year into a win, he’ll tie George Strait’s record for the most ACM Awards by a male artist (19). And if he wins male artist of the year, he’ll tie Merle Haggard’s record as the artist with the most wins in that category (six).
Billboard is taking a deep dive into the ACM record book. The Academy of Country Music has a couple of rules to keep in mind. They count as “wins” only awards that were voted on by ACM members. Honorary awards, such as milestone awards, decade awards and humanitarian awards, while nice to get, don’t count as “wins.”
Also, the ACM gives artists credit for two wins in certain categories if they were also involved in other creative capacities. Artists can win a second award as a producer in album of the year, single of the year and music event of the year; as a producer or director in visual media of the year and as a songwriter in song of the year.
Here are top winners at the ACM Awards — four overall distinctions, followed by the top winners in 13 specific categories.
The ACM Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.
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Most overall wins: Miranda Lambert (33)
Lambert won her first ACM Award, top new female vocalist, in 2007. She won her two most recent awards, entertainer of the year and video of the year, in 2022. The latter award was for “Drunk (and I Don’t Wanna Go Home),” a collab with Elle King. Lambert is nominated for eight more awards this year.
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Most overall wins by a male solo artist: George Strait (19)
King George won his first ACM Award, top male vocalist, in 1985. He won his most recent, video of the year, in 2017, for the all-star “Forever Country” video.
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Most overall wins by duo: Brooks & Dunn (26)
Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn won their first two ACM Awards, top vocal duet and top new vocal duet or group, in 1992. They won their most recent, duo of the year, in 2025. They are nominated in that category again this year.
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Most overall wins by a group: Alabama (18)
The quartet won their first ACM Award, top vocal group, in 1981. They won their most recent, video of the year, in 2017, for “Forever Country.”
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Most wins for entertainer of the year: Garth Brooks (6)
Brooks took the top award four years running – 1991 through 1994. He won again in 1998, which enabled him to tie Alabama’s record as the only five-time winners in the category. He won again the following year, allowing him to set a new record.
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Most wins for female artist of the year: Miranda Lambert (9)
Lambert won every year from 2010 through 2018. During that streak, she broke Reba McEntire’s record of seven wins in the category. Lambert is nominated again this year and could add to her lead.
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Most wins for male artist of the year: Merle Haggard (6)
Hag won top male vocalist, as the award was then called, six times between 1967 and 1982. Stapleton has won five times since 2017, including the last two years in a row. He’s nominated again this year.
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Most wins for group of the year: Old Dominion (8)
The quintet won every year from 2018 (when the award was called vocal group of the year) to 2025. They’re nominated again this year and could extend their lead. Rascal Flatts, which has won seven times in the category, is also in the running. If they take it, they’ll tie Old Dominion’s mark of eight wins.
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Most wins for duo of the year: Brooks & Dunn (17)
Brooks & Dunn first won top vocal duet, as the award was then called, in 1992. They won most recently in 2025. They’re nominated again this year and could extend their lead. Note: The ACM combined their group and duo categories for three years near the turn of the century. Brooks & Dunn won in 1998, but lost in 1999 and 2000 to The Chicks, then called the Dixie Chicks. If the ACM had maintained a separate category for duos in those two years, Brooks & Dunn might have an even more eye-popping trophy total.
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Most wins for album of the year: Chris Stapleton (8)
Stapleton has won a record eight awards in this category, as both artist and producer on four different albums — Traveller, From A Room: Volume 1, Starting Over and Higher. Lambert has won with five different albums — Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Revolution, Four the Record, Platinum and The Weight of These Wings. But since she didn’t produce or co-produce these albums, she is credited with just five wins.
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Most wins for single of the year: Alan Jackson, Tim McGraw, George Strait (4 each)
Jackson has won as an artist on four different singles — “Don’t Rock the Jukebox,” “Chattahoochee,” “Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)” and “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere,” the latter a collaboration with Jimmy Buffett. Strait and McGraw won as both artist and producer of two singles each. Strait scored with “Check Yes or No” and “Give It Away”; McGraw with “It’s Your Love” (a collab with Faith Hill) and “Live Like You Were Dying.” Lambert has won three times in the category and could win a fourth award this year as one of the producers of Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas.”
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Most wins for song of the year: Miranda Lambert (7)
Lambert is credited with seven wins in this category – as the artist on “The House That Built Me” (which was written by Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin) and as both artist and songwriter on “Over You,” “Automatic” and “Tin Man.” She could extend her lead in this category this year. She’s nominated as a co-writer on Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” and as both artist and co-writer on “A Song To Sing,” a collab with Stapleton.
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Most wins for visual media of the year: Brad Paisley (5)
Paisley won video of the year, as the award was then called, five times between 2005 and 2017. He won for collabs with Alison Krauss (“Whiskey Lullaby”) and Dolly Parton (“When I Get Where I’m Going”) as well as the all-star “Forever Country” collective. He also won for his solo videos “Online” and “Waitin’ on a Woman.”
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Most wins for music event of the year: Keith Urban (5)
Urban has the most wins in this category — five, as an artist on “Start a Band” (a collab with Paisley) and as both artist and producer on “We Were Us” (Lambert) and “The Fighter” (Carrie Underwood). McGraw has four wins in the category, as an artist on four different singles — “It’s Your Love” (Faith Hill), “Just to Hear You Say That You Love Me” (also Hill), “Find Out Who Your Friends Are” (Kenny Chesney and Tracy Lawrence) and “May We All” (Florida Georgia Line).
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Most wins for songwriter of the year: Dallas Davidson, Jessie Jo Dillon, Hillary Lindsey, Shane McAnally (2 each)
Dillon, who has won in this category the past two years, is nominated in that category again this year. If she wins, she’ll become the first three-time winner in the category. She’s currently tied for that distinction with these three other songwriting pros. Ashley Gorley, who won three years ago, is also nominated this year. He could join the list of two-time winners. Note: Michael Hardy won once as songwriter of the year and once, as HARDY, as artist/songwriter of the year.
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Most wins for producer of the year: Jay Joyce (6)
Joyce won six times between 2013 and 2023. Dann Huff is in second place, with five wins.
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Most wins for audio engineer of the year: Justin Niebank (9)
Niebank won nine times between 2006 and 2023. Chuck Ainlay is in second place with five wins.

