“You, My Friend, Have Won New Female Artist of the Year”: Miranda Lambert Surprises Ella Langley Mid-Show to Tell Her About Her ACM Win

Last night during her performance at Rock The Country in Knoxville, Tennessee, Ella Langley received a video from her good friend, Miranda Lambert, to reveal that Langley had won New Female Artist of the Year at the 2025 ACM Awards.

Between songs, Langley was speaking to her crowd, mentioning that she’d forgotten something and was midway through her sentence when Lambert appeared on the big screens.

In an effortless black dress and her signature bangs, Langley stared in disbelief at the giant monitor that Lambert’s video was now playing on, taking out her in-ears to properly ascertain what was happening. As the crowd quietened down, Lambert had this message for her:

“Hey Ella, it’s me, I’m here to tell you how proud I am of you for being the top nominated artist for the Academy of Country Music Awards this year. You are my friend first and foremost, a fellow dog rescue advocate, you are a cowriter, you are my soul sister in country music and partner in crime.”

“But I’m also here to tell you some bigger news”, Lambert expanded, “You, my friend, have won New Female Artist of the Year for the ACM Awards this year. We’re gonna celebrate so big in Dallas, Texas, they ain’t even ready.So Rock The Country, y’all give it up for my friend, New Female Artist of the Year, Miss Ella Langley.”

The crowd erupted and Langley, a little choked, said a simple, “God Bless America” before her drummer started up and she was back at her mic stand, composed and performing once more.

“I told you we’d do the song. Here we go…shit,” she said as the unmistakable opening melody of ‘You Look Like You Love Me’ started to play – a fitting song to move onto, as that viral Riley Green collaboration is up for four other ACM Awards next month.

In an emotional, heartfelt message after the show, Langley shared just how grateful and humbled she was to receive the award.

“Every day of my life I’ve prayed about this and thought about this,” she said through teary sniffs, “Literally everything I’ve ever done was to do this. I’m so grateful for the team I have around me. I’m just really grateful to have fans that are listening to the music and see that it’s the truth. I’m just a real-life human being going through life like everyone else, and to see what I go through is what everyone else goes through so this is...this is…thank you.”

Fellow musicians were thrilled to see the ‘Weren't For The Wind’ singer-songwriter reaping her success, with artists like Kaitlin Butts, Josh Ross, RaeLynn and Tigirlily Gold jumping on her socials to leave encouraging and commemorative comments. 

The ACM Awards takes place in Frisco, Texas on May 8th. Langley is also up for Female Artist of the Year, while ‘You Look Like You Love Me’ is nominated for Single of the Year, Song of the Year, Music Event of the Year and Visual Media of the Year. We’re feeling confident that this won't be the only ACM Award Langley walks away with this year.

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