Avery Anna was named New Female Artist of the Year in a pre-ceremony announcement tied to the Academy of Country Music's 61st annual awards, the organization confirmed after she finished a set at the Lone Star Smokeout festival in Arlington, Texas, on Sunday.
The win marks the first confirmed entry on the 2026 acm awards winners list: Anna beat Mackenzie Carpenter, Dasha, Caroline Jones and Emily Ann Roberts to take the trophy for a single category that has already been made public ahead of the main broadcast.
Anna, who released the EP Forgive, Forget last month, said she had just finished performing when she received the news. She told fans she was “so grateful” and “so honored,” and thanked them for “rallying for me, supporting me and cheering me on.”
The announcement landed amid a crowded field at this year's ACMs: Megan Moroney leads the overall nominations with nine, while Ella Langley — last year’s New Female Artist winner — and Lainey Wilson each scored seven nominations. The awards show itself is scheduled for Sunday, May 17, at 8 p.m./ET at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, hosted by Shania Twain and streaming live on Prime Video.
That lineup of nominations and the early release of at least one winner changes the run-up to the televised show. For Anna, the timing extends momentum from a new release into awards season; for the Academy, it means viewers tuning in May 17 will already know at least one outcome in advance of the live program.
The ceremony will feature performances by Lainey Wilson, Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert, among others, and will settle the remainder of categories whose nominees and winners are still pending. The partial release leaves the official winners list incomplete but establishes Anna as the year's breakout among new female country artists.
Anna's win closes a brief chapter that began with her EP last month and a Lone Star Smokeout performance on Sunday; it opens another that will play out on the Las Vegas stage. The single most consequential fact now: the 2026 Acm Awards winners list is only partly public — Avery Anna is confirmed for New Female Artist of the Year, and the full roster of winners will be decided and broadcast from the MGM Grand Garden Arena on May 17.
