The Best Moments from the 2025 ACM Awards

The 60th annual Academy of Country Music Awards marked a night of big wins, massive honors and even more monumental performances.

From Alan Jackson’s tearful take on his 2003 classic, ‘Remember When’, to Shaboozey and Jelly Roll’s heavenly ‘Amen’ duet that quickly became an arena-wide sing-a-long, Thursday night (May 8) had too many incredible moments to count.

There were surprise appearances from stars across the genre, first-time performances of soon-to-be hits, blockbuster duets that couldn’t possibly be recreated elsewhere, and we’ve compiled the best of them.

To break it all down and reminisce on some of our favorite moments from this year's festivities, here are Holler's Best Moments from the 2025 ACM Awards.

During the ACM Awards ceremony, country icon Alan Jackson took the stage to receive an inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award named in his honor.

First, though, he took viewers on a little trip through his storied career. As images and footage of his life and many successes flashed behind him, the legend soundtracked the personal moment with his tear-jerking ballad ‘Remember When.’ And there were tears. Plenty of them.

The camera panned across many a damp eye in the crowd, including those of country songstress Kaitlin Butts, as he sang the reminiscent tune from 2003, giving a beautiful performance that effectively topped the night's itinerary.

- Alli Patton

After wrapping up her extensive headlining arena tour, Kelsea Ballerini brought one last taste of her live show to Frisco's Ford Center with an electrifying performance of her standout hit, 'Baggage.'

Donning her signature orange electric guitar which made nightly appearances throughout the 2025 trek and a sparkly body suit, the Knoxville native stood amidst a sea of golden suitcases as she delivered the beloved fan-favorite, infusing a much needed jolt of energy into the nearly three-hour show.

While the ravenous crowd happily sang along to the fan chant sections that became such an iconic moment in her 2025 shows, Ballerini spent those few precious minutes proving why she's so deserving of her Entertainer of the Year nomination.

- Lydia Farthing

The last few years, Cody Johnson has had a way with award show performances.

From his emotive, acoustic version of 'Human' at the 2023 CMT Awards and the chilling take on 'I'm Gonna Love You' alongside Carrie Underwood at the 2024 CMA Awards, the man knows how to capitalize on a moment.

The same could be said after his stunning delivery of fan-favorite 'The Fall,' bringing an eery cinematic feel to the Frisco stage before he jumped over to partner with reigning ACM Duo of the Year, Brooks & Dunn, for a sweeping version of their iconic 2003 smash, 'Red Dirt Road.' In a standout performance of the night, the entire arena was fully enraptured with the trio, with golden girl Megan Moroney even adding in her own air guitar solos with Dan + Shay.

- LF

Following a subdued showcase of her song 'Run', Miranda Lambert offered up the surprise of the night when she brought out Ella Langley for a rousing rendition of her classic 2005 hit, 'Kerosene.'

In honor of the favorite tune and her debut album of the same name turning 20 this year, the performance saw Lambert celebrate a milestone while also passing the torch to an artist who is undoubtedly on her way to becoming country music’s next big thing.

Together, they wowed throughout the fiery display. Their voices – both full of undeniable grit and a brilliant tenacity – made for the perfect pairing, with their stage presence unable to be rivaled the rest of the night.

Can we get an official duet, please?

- AP

Before being once again crowned the ACM Entertainer of the Year – making her the first woman in 13 years to nab the title for two consecutive years since Taylor Swift in 2012 – Lainey Wilson made sure to show us why she so deserves the honor.

Her first of two performances, the Louisiana hitmaker left the Ford Center simply mesmerized after a captivating showing of 'Whirlwind,' the title track from her 2024 record. Decked out in fringe to the nines and spinning her way around the stage, her vocals were absolutely on point, making her a front runner for the best technical performance in a night full of audio issues.

As ever commanding the stage, there's just no denying that the award show gods always seem to smile upon country music's leading lady.

- LF

Of all the performances during the ceremony, Zach Top’s stunned in its simplicity.

The Cold Beer & Country Music hitmaker took to one of the arena’s side stages to deliver a performance of his wistful ballad ‘Use Me’. The fully acoustic showcase, one that found Top solo under a lone spotlight, was clean, controlled and wonderfully understated against the night’s many bombastic performances.

The presentation may have been devoid of fluff and frills, but it truly was a display representative of the young star and the night’s freshly declared New Male Artist of the Year. He was awarded for the masterful sound and style he’s bringing back to the country genre and he delivered just that onstage. No more, no less.

- AP

After a rocky take on his new radio single, 'Heart of Stone,' Jelly Roll brought the party to the Texas arena as he joined forces with fellow hype man Shaboozey.

Treating audiences to their thrilling new duet, 'Amen,' included on Shaboozey's deluxe Where I've Been, Isn't Where I'm Going: The Complete Edition, the only way it could've been made better was if the high-octane performance wasn't sandwiched between a pair of moving tributes for Alan Jackson and Keith Urban.

- LF