The pair were crowned ACM New Artist of the Year Female & Male, respectively, ahead of the show
The Academy of Country Music (ACM), Prime Video, and Dick Clark Productions (DCP) have revealed that Ella Langley and Zach Top will perform at next week’s 60th ACM Awards Presented by Carnival Cruise Line following their wins for ACM New Female Artist of the Year and ACM New Male Artist of the Year, respectively. Hosted by 16-time ACM Award-winning entertainment icon Reba McEntire, the 60th ACM Awards will stream live exclusively for a global audience across 240+ countries and territories on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch on Thursday, May 8th at 8 pm ET/5 pm PT from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas, the world headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys.
The Academy has a deep history of supporting new artists, offering the new artist winners the opportunity to perform on the ACM Awards following their first ACM Award win. Ella Langley, the top nominee at the upcoming 60th ACM Awards, was surprised with her ACM New Female Artist of the Year Award on Friday afternoon (Apr 25th) while on stage at Rock The Country in Knoxville, Tennessee. The news was revealed through a special video from the winningest artist in ACM history, Miranda Lambert, congratulating Langley for winning her first ACM Award. Zach Top, who is also nominated for ACM Album of the Year for his album Cold Beer & Country Music, was surprised with his ACM Male Artist of the Year Award on Thursday night (Apr 24th) prior to taking the stage for a sold-out show in Wilmington, North Carolina. The news was revealed by the winningest Duo in ACM history, Brooks & Dunn, through a special video congratulating Top for winning his first ACM Award.
Langley’s win arrives after the release of her debut album, Hungover, which features a full track-list of songs co-written by Langley. Her massive hit single from the album, “You Look Like You Love Me,” featuring Riley Green, marked her Billboard Hot 100 debut (Top 30), earned Langley her first No. 1 single on country radio, and made her the first of only two female artists to lead the Billboard Country Airplay Chart in 2024. Langley received the most nominations at the ACM Awards this year with eight nods, including New Female Artist of the Year, Female Artist of the Year, and six nominations for the track including Single of the Year, Song of the Year (as an artist and songwriter), Music Event of the Year, and Visual Media of the Year (as an artist and director).
Top’s win comes after the success of his acclaimed debut album, Cold Beer & Country Music, which garnered more than 3.5 million streams in its first week, alone. Meanwhile, his sold-out Cold Beer & Country Music headlining tour features stops at Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium (two nights), New York’s Terminal 5, and Boston’s MGM Music Hall at Fenway. Additionally, Top is supporting select dates with Alan Jackson on his Last Call Tour and will join Dierks Bentley’s Broken Branches Tour, when it kicks off next month.
The pair will join previously announced performers Alan Jackson, Blake Shelton, Brooks & Dunn, Chris Stapleton, Clint Black, Cody Johnson, Eric Church, Kelsea Ballerini, Lainey Wilson, LeAnn Rimes, Miranda Lambert, Rascal Flatts, and Wynonna Judd.
This Emmy-nominated, star-powered experience will feature unprecedented performances, exclusive collaborations, and unexpected moments from the biggest country music stars of the past, present, and future, all while celebrating the genre’s most iconic and emerging talent. A limited number of tickets to the landmark 60th ACM Awards are available for purchase on SeatGeek, offering fans exclusive entry into a nonstop celebration packed with performances by their favorite country stars and seats closer to the action than ever.
Established in 1966, the Academy of Country Music Awards is the longest-running country music awards show and made history in 2022 as the first major awards ceremony to exclusively livestream, in collaboration with Prime Video. The 60th Academy of Country Music Awards is produced by Dick Clark Productions (DCP).
