Who Won 2023 ACM Awards Male Artist Of The Year?

Academy of Country Music

The 2023 Academy of Country Music Awards was one for the books. As with every year, the show had its share of surprise winners and stellar performances.

One of the biggest surprises of the night came with the announcement of the new Male Artist of the Year winner. This award was first handed out in 1966 as the Top Male Vocalist and was given to Buck Owens.

This year’s nominees had the chance to secure their place in country music history, just like Owens and other Male Artist of the Year winners including, Merle Haggard, Kenny Rogers, Conway Twitty, George Jones, George Strait, Garth Brooks and others.

The nominees for the 2023 Male Artist of the Year are Chris Stapleton, Jordan Davis, Kane Brown, Luke Combs, and Morgan Wallen.

Co-host Garth Brooks had the honor of announcing this year’s winner. The Male Artist of the Year trophy went to….MORGAN WALLEN!

MORGAN wasn’t in attendance to accept the award due to being place on doctor-ordered vocal rest. But, the crowd celebrated on his behalf with a standing ovation.

This marks the first win in this category for Morgan Wallen, and a happy end to a tough week for the singer. On Tuesday, Wallen announced that he was on doctor-ordered vocal rest for six weeks and was unable to perform at the ACM Awards as scheduled. He was also forced to delay six weeks of tour dates while he recovers.

Morgan Wallen also earned nominations for Song of the Year (“Sand in My Boots”), Artist-Songwriter of the Year and the night’s biggest award, Entertainer of the Year.

How is the Male Artist of the Year winner chosen?

According to the Academy of Country Music, factors such as success at radio, consumption, success in digital media, live concert ticket sales and vocal performances are taken into account when nominees are chosen. The ultimate winner is determined by votes from the ACM membership.