ACM Executive Reveals The Real Reason One Award Was Cut In 2026
on May 15, 2026
The Countdown Is On For The 2026 ACM Awards On May 17th
We’re just days away from the 2026 ACM Awards!
This year’s ACM Awards will air live at 8 PM ET/7 PM CT on May 17th. The ceremony will be available to watch on Amazon Prime Video or the Amazon Music channel on Twitch.
The ACM got a new host this year (Shania Twain) and moved locations, trekking back to Las Vegas after spending the past few years in Texas.
“We’ve been looking at opportunities since I’ve been here to go back to Vegas,” ACM CEO Damon Whiteside told Billboard in a recent interview.
RELATED: 10 ARTISTS WHO STAND THE CHANCE TO MAKE HISTORY AT THE 2026 ACM AWARDS
The nominees for this year’s ceremony were announced on April 9th. Megan Moroney leads the pack with the most nominations, totaling nine.
Miranda Lambert came in second place with eight nominations, followed by Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson, with seven each.
When the nominees were unveiled, fans were surprised to find the list was a little shorter than before. That’s because one of the categories was eliminated!
The ACM will not present the New Duo or Group of the Year award in 2026.
Why Did The ACMs Get Rid Of The New Duo/Group Category In 2026?
Those who’ve followed the ACM Awards for years know that this category has a history of disappearing.
The ACM Award for New Duo or Group of the Year was first presented in 1967 to Bob Morris & Faye Hardin. 23 years passed before the award was presented again, when it went to The Kentucky Headhunters in 1990.
The award continued to be presented throughout the ’90s and early 2000s. Some of the winners were Lady A, Rascal Flatts, Montgomery Gentry, Lonestar, and Brooks & Dunn.
After a 2009 presentation to Zac Brown Band, the ACM didn’t hand out another New Duo or Group award until 2013 (when it went to Florida Georgia Line).
Following another brief hiatus, the trophy was bestowed on Old Dominion in 2016. It continued to be presented from 2017 to 2019, then took another break before returning in 2024 and 2025 (with Tigirlily Gold and The Red Clay Strays winning).
But the category was cut in 2026. Damon Whiteside, the CEO of the ACM, explained the reason why during his interview with Billboard.
To put it simply, they have enough qualified candidates submit for consideration this year (they need at least three).
“An artist or an act needs to submit to be considered for a category, so there’s always some cases where, especially in the new categories, that they choose not to submit in a given year because they may want to wait until they have even more going on,” Whiteside said, “because you can only be nominated twice in the category.”
Whiteside added, “We expect [the category] will be back next year.“
Although there won’t be a New Duo or Group of the Year winner in 2026, there are still ten trophies to hand out. Four of the awards have already been presented!
Watch the ACM Awards on May 17th to see who wins in the remaining categories.
