The long-delayed Academy of Country Music Awards will be handed out tonight, September 16, in a ceremony hosted by 2019 Entertainer of the Year champ Keith Urban. So who will this year’s winners be? Scroll down to see our predictions by category, listed in order of their racetrack odds with our projected winners highlighted in gold.
Our odds have been calculated by combining the predictions of hundreds of Gold Derby users who have placed their bets here in our predictions center. That includes the Editors who cover awards year-round for Gold Derby, the Top 24 Users who got the highest scores predicting last year’s ACM Awards and the All-Star Top 24 who got the highest prediction scores when you combine the last two years’ results. Then of course there are the everyday Users who make up our biggest and often smartest predictions bloc.
These kudos were originally scheduled for April 5, but the coronavirus pandemic put a kibosh on those plans. The ceremony was pushed back to September and changed locations from Las Vegas, Nevada, to multiple venues in Nashville, Tennessee: the Grand Ole Opry House, the Ryman Auditorium and the Bluebird Cafe. Will the event be worth the wait?
According to our predictions, it’ll be Carrie Underwood who enjoys the most delayed gratification. She’s the front-runner to win Entertainer of the Year for the third time in her career, which would make her the most awarded woman in that category in ACM Awards history. She’s also the odds-on favorite for Female Artist of the Year. And we’re anticipating a couple of victories for Dan and Shay too: Song of the Year (“10,000 Hours” with Justin Bieber) and Duo of the Year.
Thomas Rhett has a slight advantage over Luke Combs to claim Male Vocalist of the Year, but Rhett is already a winner, having been announced as the recipient of Music Video of the Year (“Remember You Young”) in advance of the telecast. Other pre-telecast champs include Riley Green (New Male Artist of the Year), Tenille Townes (New Female Artist of the Year) and the all-star collaboration “Fooled Around and Fell in Love” by Miranda Lambert with Townes, Maren Morris, Ashley McBryde, Caylee Hammack, and Elle King (Music Event of the Year).
So who will join them in the winner’s circle? See who we’re betting on below, and make or update your own predictions here before the remaining prizes are handed out.
ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Carrie Underwood — 16/5
Luke Bryan — 4/1
Luke Combs — 4/1
Thomas Rhett — 9/2
Eric Church — 9/2
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Maren Morris, “Girl” — 82/25
Miranda Lambert, “Wildcard” — 39/10
Luke Combs, “What You See is What You Get” — 4/1
Thomas Rhett, “Center Point Road” — 9/2
Jon Pardi, “Heartache Medication” — 9/2
SINGLE OF THE YEAR
Blake Shelton, “God’s Country” — 16/5
Kacey Musgraves, “Rainbow” — 19/5
Old Dominion, “One Man Band” — 4/1
Lady A, “What If I Never Get Over You” — 9/2
Lee Brice, “Rumor” — 9/2
SONG OF THE YEAR
Dan and Shay with Justin Bieber, “10,000 Hours” — 69/20
Blake Shelton, “God’s Country” — 37/10
Ashley McBryde, “Girl Goin’ Nowhere” — 4/1
Old Dominion, “One Man Band” — 9/2
Eric Church, “Some of It” — 9/2
FEMALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Carrie Underwood — 10/3
Maren Morris — 19/5
Kacey Musgraves — 9/2
Miranda Lambert — 9/2
Kelsea Ballerini — 9/2
MALE ARTIST OF THE YEAR
Thomas Rhett — 17/5
Luke Combs — 18/5
Keith Urban — 4/1
Chris Stapleton — 9/2
Dierks Bentley — 9/2
DUO OF THE YEAR
Dan and Shay — 16/5
Brothers Osborne — 39/10
Maddie and Tae — 4/1
Florida Georgia Line — 9/2
Brooks and Dunn — 9/2
GROUP OF THE YEAR
Little Big Town — 17/5
Old Dominion — 37/10
Lady A — 4/1
The Highwomen — 9/2
Midland — 9/2
Be sure to make your ACM predictions so that music insiders can see this year’s contenders are faring in our ACM odds. You can keep changing your predictions until winners are announced. And join the discussion on this and more taking place right now in our music forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
