Winners of the ACM Awards are Lainey Wilson, Hardy and Chris Stapleton

At the 58th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, the top prize, Entertainer of the Year, was awarded to Chris Stapleton, while Lainey Wilson and Hardy won in the most categories, with four each – sharing two. for the duet “Wait in the Truck.”

Technically, Hardy walked away with six trophies, as the ACMs give double awards to artists who co-write their nominated songs.

Accepting for album of the year, Wilson said, “I wrote 300 songs during the pandemic.” Noting that some fans have said that listening to her “Bell Bottom Country” album saved their lives, Wilson said, “Writing these songs saved mine.” She quoted one of her own lines: “Be who you are, because everyone is taken.”

The two categories in which Wilson and Hardy tied for victory were Visual Media of the Year and Music Event of the Year. Separately, Wilson won Female Artist of the Year and Hardy won Best Artist-Songwriter.

(Scroll down for a photo gallery of winners, nominees, and performers.)

The unofficial award for the most high-profile collaboration of the night might have gone to Ed Sheeran and Luke Combs, who exchanged verses on Sheeran’s latest single, “Life Goes On,” a ballad about accepting death as part of life. The pop star’s performance had been teased a few days in advance, but not who he’d be singing with, or what song. Fans of either or both immediately began clamoring for an official release of a duet version.

The ceremony was broadcast live on Prime Video and Amazon’s Twitch channel from the Ford Center in Frisco, Texas. It will be available for repeat viewing on Amazon Freevee starting Friday night.

“I can’t believe I first and foremost met Dolly Parton,” cheered Lainey Wilson, who accepted the award for Best Female Artist. “I’m here because of people like Dolly Parton paving the way.” She also praised her fellow nominees, who have missed many weddings and funerals – not that I want to visit them all anyway.” She encouraged “little girls” to believe in their dreams, with a caveat: “If you want to be a dreamer, you better be a doer.”

Hardy agreed with Wilson, the artist on their double-winning song “Wait in the Truck”, saying “Thank you Lainey, you absolutely killed it. There was no question that you were always the one to make people believe this song Wilson, speaking on the song’s domestic violence theme, said: “I think it’s really important to sing about things that are hard to talk about. I didn’t want people to identify with this song, but a lot of people do, and this one is for all of you.

The Best Male Artist award went to Morgan Wallen, who had to cancel because he was put on vocal rest, which he announced this week will force him to cancel about six weeks worth of shows, as well as his ACM performance. To win it and not be here has to kill him,” Brooks said. “Let’s all celebrate for him tonight.”

After a Keith Urban opening number, “Texas Time,” hosts Brooks and Parton did an opening comedy routine that took off in earnest when Brooks dubbed his co-host “the GOAT.” She led a real goat on a wagon, then became a bit of a racer when she mentioned that Brooks had arranged with his wife Trisha Yearwood that Parton could be her “gang pass,” and that Yearwood had supposedly earned the same pass. The punchline landed up with the “T” in Goat, which stands for “trio”.

On a more sane note, a mention of the greats who died in the past year, including Parton’s girlfriend Loretta Lynn, led the singer to apparently spontaneously break into an a cappella “Precious Memories.” “I just felt I had to sing that,” Parton explained. “Jiminy Christmas, we’re so lucky to have you in this format,” Brooks replied.

Highlights of the performance included Cody Johnson doing “Mammas, Don’t Let Your Boys Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” after a brief conversation between Willie Nelson and the hosts (with a particularly strong recommendation from Brooks’ young star); Cole Swindell is joined on “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” by the original singer of the interpolated “Heads Carolina, Tails California”, Jo Dee Messina; and a duet between last year’s Singer of the Year, Carly Pearce, and Yearwood; and the IRL duo who hit multiple duets out of the park every night on tour, the war and the treaty.

Wilson also proved a big hit with her own “Cookin’ With Grease”. The show was closed by Parton premiering her own new single “World on Fire” from her forthcoming album “Rockstar”.

A full list of the winners awarded on Thursday night:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR

Chris Stapleton

FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Lane Wilson

MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Morgan Wallen

DUO OF THE YEAR

Brothers Osborne

GROUP OF THE YEAR

Ancient lordship

NEW FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Hailey Whitters

NEW MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR

Zak Bryan

ALBUM OF THE YEAR

Bell Bottom countryLaine Wilson

ONLY OF THE YEAR

“She had me at Heads Carolina,” Cole Swindell

SONG OF THE YEAR

“She Had Me at Heads Carolina,” Writers: Ashley Gorley, Cole Swindell, Jesse Frasure, Mark D. Sanders, Thomas Rhett, and Tim Nichols; artist: Cole Swindell

VISUAL MEDIA OF THE YEAR

“Wait in the Truck,” Hardy with Lainey Wilson

MUSIC EVENT OF THE YEAR

“Wait in the Truck,” Hardy with Lainey Wilson

LONGWRITER OF THE YEAR

Ashley Gorley

ARTIST SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR

Hardy