Cody Johnson celebrated a career-defining moment at the 2026 ACM Awards when he won his first-ever Entertainer of the Year trophy, and during his acceptance speech, he unexpectedly dedicated his win to his longtime friend and “Shoot The Bull” duet partner Luke Combs.
The emotional moment took place live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday evening (May 17) as the 38-year-old country superstar accepted the Academy of Country Music’s highest honor. Johnson took the stage visibly emotional and paused for several moments as he struggled to find the words. Addressing the star-studded crowd, he admitted that while he had prepared an acceptance speech, he had already spoken from the heart earlier in the night during his ACM Male Artist of the Year win.
“I had this speech prepared and I kind of gave it away on the last award. So I literally have no idea what I’m going to say,” Johnson began. He went on to pay tribute to Combs and dedicate his big win to him.
“Tonight I want to dedicate this to somebody that you guys probably didn’t expect me to dedicate this to,” the father of three continued. “There’s a man that was up for this award that I personally watched devote his life to country music.”
Cody Johnson went on to reflect on a moment during his time opening for Luke Combs on the North Carolina native’s 2023 world tour. Johnson recalled how Combs was heartbroken after missing the birth of his second son, Beau, with wife Nicole Combs due to tour obligations. Despite the emotional weight of the situation, Combs still took the stage the next night in front of a sold-out crowd and delivered what Johnson described as an incredible performance. Witnessing that level of commitment left a major impact on Johnson, which is why he chose to dedicate his first-ever Entertainer of the Year win to the “Back In The Saddle” singer.
“I was there the night in Australia when his wife gave birth to one of their sons. And I watched the anguish and I watched the defeat on his face for not being there because he was across the world playing music in a sold out arena. And the next night right after it, I watched him get on stage and absolutely murder the stage and go on stage and play country music and preach the message of country musics to a bunch of Australians across the world.”
“So tonight I want to dedicate my first entertainer of the year award to my buddy Luke Combs. I love you brother,” Johnson concluded.
This year marked Cody Johnson’s third consecutive nomination for ACM Entertainer of the Year and his first time taking home the coveted award. He was nominated alongside a stacked lineup that included Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Megan Moroney, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen, and Lainey Wilson.
Cody Johnson also took home the trophy for Male Artist of The Year at the ceremony.
The 2026 ACM Awards also featured performances from Blake Shelton, Dan + Shay, Ella Langley, Jordan Davis, Kacey Musgraves, Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson, Lee Ann Womack, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Parker McCollum, Riley Green, The Red Clay Strays, Thomas Rhett, Zach Top and more, as well as ACM New Female Artist of the Year Avery Anna and ACM New Male Artist of the Year Tucker Wetmore.
The 61st Annual Academy of Country Music Awards also included a star-studded list of presenters, including Andrew Whitworth, Ashley McBryde, Carl Edwards, Corey LaJoie, Keith Urban, Lauren Alaina, Michael Bublé, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Shaboozey, The War And Treaty, T.J. Osborne and more.
Female artists led this year’s nominations, with Megan Moroney earning nine nods, followed by Miranda Lambert with eight, and both Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson tied with seven. Chris Stapleton, Zach Top, and Cody Johnson also entered the night as top nominees.
The 2026 ACM Awards brought country music’s biggest night back to Las Vegas in a star-studded celebration hosted by legendary songwriter and best-selling female country artist Shania Twain, marking her first time leading the show. The broadcast streamed live exclusively on Prime Video across more than 240 countries and territories and aired Sunday, May 17, 2026, from the iconic MGM Grand Garden Arena. The show was also available to stream via the Amazon Music app and Amazon Music channel on Twitch.
For country music fans that missed the live broadcast, the full show will also be available to stream on Prime Video the following day (May 18) at 8/7c.
