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Category: Music
From presenting together at last year’s ACM Awards to sharing the stage this year, Parker McCollum and Lee Ann Womack experienced full-circle moment with a very special joint performance.
After rehearsing for their highly-anticipated moment on stage just a few days prior, McCollum caught up with Country Now to discuss date night on the red carpet with his wife, Hallie Ray, and what his time on stage with Womack would look like. Of course, he spared no details and stated that we would simply have to tune into find out.
When that moment finally came, it’s safe to say it was worth the wait. The pair of artists joined forces for a standout performance of “Killin’ Me,” which appears on McCollum’s self-titled fifth studio album that dropped June of 2025.
The Texas native has performed this fan-favorite track countless times, but this time was extra special, thanks to the addition of Womack’s vocals. McCollum kicked things off solo, stepping out in his signature look for events, which consists of starched blue jeans, boots, a blazer, and his cowboy hat.
He strummed his guitar and leaned into the rare love song from his catalog while backed by a talented band including Womack’s daughter, Aubrie Sellers, who currently sings background vocals on McCollum’s 2026 tour. The simplicity of the production perfectly highlighted the strength of the performance, which was then further elevated when Womack made her grand entrance.
She joined him on stage wearing a flowing plum dress with gold floral accents and fringe detailing along the hem and sleeves. Their vocals blended seamlessly, while the two artists clearly enjoyed every second of the collaboration. McCollum closed out the final lines as the performance came to an end, marking a heartfelt, full-circle moment that felt unforgettable.
This on-stage delivery was a highlight for McCollum, who has been a longtime fan of Womack, calling her “one of the greatest to ever do it in the history of country music.” He remembers growing up listening to her songs from the backseat of his mother’s car, never imagining that he would one day take the stage with her at the ACM Awards.
Not only has McCollum had the chance to get to know both Womack and her daughter, Aubrie Sellers, but her other daughter, Anna, also worked as an assistant engineer on his album and her husband, Frank Liddell, produced his latest self-titled project, which is nominated for ACM Album of the Year.
“They’re unbelievably awesome people, first ballot hall of famers in the game of life. And so to have all of them here this weekend and Aubrie and her mom singing on stage with me, I mean, I should be the background singer up there on that one. So it’s just an honor,” McCollum told Country Now.
Earlier in the night, the “What Kinda Man” singer and his wife, who is currently pregnant with their second son, strutted the red carpet in their stylish yet traditional looks. They are already parents to Major Yancey Tyler McCollum, born on August 8, 2024, and plan to welcome another baby boy this summer.
Parker McCollum also left the show a winner in the Album of the Year category. This proved to be an incredibly meaningful feat for the singer/songwriter, as he as noted multiple times in recent interviews that this album was his last-stitch effort to find his creativity or turn away from music for good. Luckily, he admits the project he recorded across seven days in New York City has left him feeling more motivated than ever to continue making music.
“Starting to think y’all weren’t going to let me up here,” he joked. “Frank Liddell and Eric Massey, we cut this record in seven days in New York City and all they did was sit there and tell me everything I didn’t believe about myself and changed my life.”
He went on to give a very heartfelt shoutout to another person who has always supported his dreams, his wife, Hallie Ray Light.
“Thank you, Hallie Ray, my beautiful wife who is so pregnant right now. They ought to give you one of these with your name on it for what you’ve done to my life. Anything that I’m involved in is better because of you. I love you.”
The speech concluded with McCollum thanking his team at MCA as well as all his fellow Texas and Red Dirt acts, including Koe Wetzel, Randy Rogers, Wade Bowen, Pat Gree, Miranda Lambert and Cody Johnson.
“Thank you for talking me off an edge 18 months ago,” he added. “From Conroe, Texas, from Montgomery County, Thank you so much.”
Following the emotional win, Aubrie Sellers took to social media to share her excitement over seeing McCollum take him the trophy.
She wrote, “Literally don’t think I’ve ever been so excited because Parker and squad DESERVED THIS!!!! The ultimate group of people. Thank you so much for letting me be a small part of this record and night ❤️✨”
2026 ACM Awards Performance Lineup
The 61st Academy of Country Music Awards also featured performances by Avery Anna, Carter Faith, Dan + Shay, Cody Johnson, Jordan Davis, Blake Shelton, Kacey Musgraves, Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Riley Green, The Red Clay Strays, Thomas Rhett, Tucker Wetmore, and Zach Top.
Other highlights include Thomas Rhett and Jordan Davis’ collaborative performance and Blake Shelton’s special closing delivery of Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” as a tribute to the late Nashville songwriter, Don Schlitz, who passed away on April 16, 2026.
Ashley McBryde, Keith Urban, Lauren Alaina, Michael Bublé, Shaboozey, The War And Treaty, and TJ Osborne were among the night’s many presenters.
Shania Twain hosted the nearly 2.5-hour event, which streamed live to a global audience in over 240 countries and territories exclusively on Prime Video. The show returned to Las Vegas and aired from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
A complete list of winners can be found HERE.
The post WATCH: Parker McCollum Shares ACM Awards Stage With Lee Ann Womack for Unforgettable Performance Of ‘Killin’ Me’ appeared first on Country Now.
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Ella Langley has a lot to celebrate after the 2026 ACM Awards, which took place Sunday, May 17 live from Las Vegas. The country music star walked away from the coveted night a winner in each of the categories she was nominated in, earning her a whopping seven trophies.
Before the show even began, the Academy of Country Music announced that Langley had claimed the Artist-Songwriter of the Year trophy, marking her first of many wins to come from the weekend. The Alabama native then strutter her way down the red carpet and into the event wearing a stunning white silk Andrew kwon gown with a corset top and an elegant train. In that moment, she had no idea just how unforgettable the night ahead would become.
Langley first accepted Song of the Year for “Choosin’ Texas,” earning a trophy as both an artist an songwriter. The song also went on to earn her a win Single of the Year award, as an artist and producer. She collected the wins with her collaborators, Miranda Lambert, Joybeth Taylor and Luke Dick by her side.
“If you’ve ever met me, you know that I am not at a loss for words very often. And all I got to say is thank you God for putting me in a room with these three people right here. Thank you to the fans. I don’t know why you latched onto this song, but thank you for doing it,” Langley shared. “Thank you for loving this song. Thank you for making it your own. Thank you for making it do things that I never would have imagined to even dream for and I’ve been dreaming about this job for a long time.”
Lambert added, “I’m just so thankful that Ella trusted me with her art and Ben is amazing. He’s an amazing producer and all the songwriters, musicians, everybody that played on this song and the whole record Dandelion was such a blessing to get to do that. Thank y’all for loving a country song. We love you so much for it.”
The “Be Her” singer made history in multiple ways last night. For starters, Langley’s wins for Single and Song of the year made her only the third female artist to ever win for two consecutive years in the Single Of The Year category, joining Miranda Lambert & Faith Hill. Langley first won in this category in 2025 for “You Look Like You Love Me” feat. Riley Green.
Additionally, she is only the fourth female artist to win on multiple occasions in the Single Of The Year category, joining Lambert, Hill & Carrie Underwood.
Aside from “Choosin’ Texas” earning its well-deserved recognition, Langley also shared another winning moment with Riley Green for their collaboration on the title track to his latest album, “Don’t Mind If I Do,” which earned Music Event of the Year.
The win marks the pair as just the second set of collaborators to claim the award in consecutive years, following their 2025 victory for “You Look Like You Love Me.” The only other artists to accomplish the feat are Faith Hill and Tim McGraw, who earned back-to-back wins in 1998 and 1999.
The night really started to heat up when Ella Langley claimed her final win of the night, earning the title of Female Artist of the Year. Fellow nominee Lainey Wilson was the first to steal a hug from the songstress before she made her way to the stage to deliver yet another acceptance speech. But this win appeared to hit Langley extra hard as she took a few moments to fight back her tears before speaking.
“I’m trying to get to say something, but I can’t,” she admitted as the emotions welled up in her voice. “Today I was having a strange day. I don’t know what it is about awards, but I have strange days in the mornings here. And I walked right into Lainey’s room and I just got emotional and she hugged me and wrapped me up and started praying for me. And then all of a sudden here comes Miranda Lambert in her little pink hat. And I would not be standing up here without the encouragement of so many women.”
Langley continued to express her gratitude for the female acts who have supported her along the way, particularly calling out Lambert, Wilson and Kelsea Ballerini, along with her family for “believing in me” and for “showing up and being weird as always. It keeps me humble.”
“Thank you Jesus for letting me do this for a while. Thank you to the ACM’s…Thank you to the women. I would not be standing up here without that, so thank you,” she concluded.
By the end of the night, Ella Langley had won every single category that she was nominated in. She took home seven trophies, setting the record for most wins won in a night at the ACM Awards by a single artist. The record was formerly held by Chris Stapleton, Faith Hill, and Garth Brooks, who won 6 ACM Awards in a single night in 2016, 1999, and 1991, respectively.
Along with the milestone wins, fans saw Langley take the stage to perform a stripped-down rendition of her current viral hit, “Be Her,” which appears on her recently released Dandelion album.
2026 ACM Awards Performance Lineup
The 61st Academy of Country Music Awards also featured performances by Avery Anna, Carter Faith, Dan + Shay, Cody Johnson, Jordan Davis, Blake Shelton, Kacey Musgraves, Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Riley Green, The Red Clay Strays, Thomas Rhett, Tucker Wetmore, and Zach Top.
Other highlights include collaborations between Thomas Rhett and Jordan Davis, Parker McCollum and Lee Ann Womack and a special closing performance of Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” by Blake Shelton as a tribute to the late Nashville songwriter, Don Schlitz, who passed away on April 16, 2026.
Ashley McBryde, Keith Urban, Lauren Alaina, Michael Bublé, Shaboozey, The War And Treaty, and TJ Osborne were among the night’s many presenters.
Shania Twain hosted the nearly 2.5-hour event, which streamed live to a global audience in over 240 countries and territories exclusively on Prime Video. The show returned to Las Vegas and aired from the MGM Grand Garden Arena.
A complete list of winners can be found HERE.
The post Ella Langley Sweeps 2026 ACM Awards with Seven Trophies appeared first on Country Now.
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