Shania Twain to Host 61st ACM Awards and Tease New Album

Shania Twain is stepping into the host chair at the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards, airing May 17 on Prime Video from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. It is her first time hosting the show, and she is already signaling that production has a few surprises planned for the audience.

Twain told Billboard she plans to lean into her personality rather than stay glued to a teleprompter, which should make the night feel less scripted than past editions. She is clear about her motivation: she is there for the fans and for the newer artists she has not had a chance to meet yet.

What Shania Twain's ACM Hosting Gig Signals for Country Music in 2026

Twain is not just a nostalgia act at this point. She is actively working on a new album, joining Harry Styles for a run of shows at Wembley Stadium in London this summer, and fresh off a sold-out 33-show Las Vegas residency at Planet Hollywood. Her career trajectory matters as context here: Come on Over is double diamond certified, and her 2023 Queen of Me tour ranked in Billboard Boxscore's top country tours for the year.

She gave a preview of the new album direction. The record is rooted in reflection on her childhood, drawing on the music that shaped her earliest years and the stories from that time. No release date has been announced, but she confirmed it is actively in progress.

On the subject of new country artists, Twain was enthusiastic. She named Ella Langley as someone she is genuinely excited to meet, called out the Carly Pearce and Riley Green duet "If I Don't Leave I'm Gonna Stay", and praised Max McNown. She also noted something worth paying attention to: she says there are more collaborations happening in country music right now than she has ever seen, and she thinks that is building a stronger sense of community across the genre.

That observation is relevant beyond country. Cross-genre and cross-artist collaboration is one of the most consistent paths independent artists use to grow audiences right now. When a legacy artist with Twain's catalog takes note of a collaboration surge at the major label level, it reflects a broader shift in how the industry thinks about releasing music.

What This Means for Independent Artists

Award show moments like the ACMs are more than just televised spectacle. They set the cultural tone for a genre, surface the artists labels are betting on, and create visibility windows that smaller artists can learn from and position around.

Pay attention to who performs, who wins, and who Twain puts a spotlight on during the broadcast. Those are the artists and sounds that country's commercial center is currently organized around. If you are making music that intersects with country or Americana, this is a useful moment to study the landscape.

The 61st ACM Awards air May 17 on Prime Video. If you are working on your own music and want to get it in front of the right ears, [submit your work here](/submit) and we will make sure it gets a listen.