The 2026 ACM nominations reveal a bigger trend, with female artists dominating across major categories and shaping the future of country music. Continue reading…

Today, newly-announced Academy of Country Music awards nominee Emily Ann Roberts released a new song called “My Future,” which she wrote with Shane Minor and Micah Wilshire. Emily is one of four other ladies for the or New Female Artist of the Year award, alongside Avery Anna, Mackenzie Carpenter, Dasha and Caroline Jones. And it’s a well-deserved recognition for Roberts, whose incredible voice and traditional country sound have positioned her for her breakout moment over the past couple of years. If you’re not familiar with Emily Ann, she had a viral song called “Whole Lotta Little” a couple years ago, and she has released a couple of albums including her 2023 album Can’t Hide Country record and her most recent project, Memory Lane. Emily Ann was also on The Voice in 2015, and in addition to putting out great music and touring a lot, she showcases her country lifestyle for a big TikTok following and is a self-proclaimed “Yeehaw MeMaw.” Emily has a very charismatic and entertaining personality, and her humor and charm always comes through in her music, too, which you’ll once again find showcased on this new song “My Future,” which Emily says was inspired by her husband, Chris: “The idea for ‘My Future’ actually came from my husband, Chris. He thought it would be a great song idea after seeing so many comments on social media saying, ‘I think I see my future.’ I started daydreaming about it and fell in the love with the idea of a girl seeing a guy and planning their whole life together in a matter of minutes. A little crazy? Yeah maybe, but when a woman knows what she wants, she knows!” I mean, it happens, okay… girls, don’t act like you don’t know what she’s talking about. Fill of fiddle and pedal steel, Emily always brings the country, and she says it came out exactly how she wanted it and hopes the fans love it as much as she does: “I brought the idea to Shane Minor and Micah Wilshire. I remember the day being so inspiring because we were just having fun and writing what made us grin. Brandon Hood produced the track and knocked it out of the park. It is full of personality and exactly what I dreamed it would be. I hope fans have as much fun listening to it as I did making it!” Not only do I think Emily is the easy frontrunner for New Female Artist of the Year, which Ella Langley won last year, she has an incredibly bright future in this genre and is poised for a breakout that should have happened a long time ago. Emily is super talented, an incredible vocalist, writer and entertainer, and I can’t wait to see how her career continues to take off because she really is one of the most exciting young ladies coming up right now. If you don’t know her name yet, you really should… turn it up: “My Future” She also put one out not long ago called “Pretty In Pink” which I’ve had on repeat: The post ACM New Female Artist Of The Year Nominee, Emily Ann Roberts, Daydreams About A Life With A Perfect Stranger On Funny New Song, “My Future” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Another career milestone for Combs. From the beginning of the album’s rollout, it was clear that Luke Combs was playing for keeps with the release of The Way I Am. After diverting from his typical formula back in 2024 with the release of his incredibly personal album, Fathers & Sons, some fans were questioning whether the “Hurricane” singer still had the ability (or desire) to deliver the massive, stadium-level hits he built a career on over the past 9 or so years. It’s safe to say that mindset paid dividends for Combs. Back on March 20th, Combs finally released the sprawling, 22-song album, which he called the biggest of his career, to some massive success both commercially and critically. Fans have been absolutely loving it, praising Combs for blending his tried and true style on standouts such as “My Kinda Saturday Night,” “Daytona 499” and “Alcohol of Fame” with some unique tracks like the gorgeous Alison Krauss duet, “Ever Mine,” as well as “Be By You” and “Give You Away.” It’s been a hit chart-wise, too. Debuting at #1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart, The Way I Am sold 101,000 equivalent units in its first week. Typically, it would have been a shoo-in for the #1 spot on the all-genre Billboard 200; however, the “1, 2 Many” singer was blocked by Korean superstars, BTS, and their return album, ARIRANG, which debuted at #1 with a staggering 641,000 total units. View this post on Instagram After the success of “My Kinda Saturday Night” and “Back In The Saddle,” it only seemed like a matter of time until his long-awaited, pre-released single, “Sleepless in a Hotel Room,” secured Combs yet another #1 hit. And it looks like today is the day. Less than two weeks after scoring a top album with The Way I Am, “Sleepless in a Hotel Room” has officially risen to #1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart just three months after its release on January 9th, moving up from the number three spot with 30.4 million impressions according to Billboard. Joining the likes of past hits such as “She Got the Best of Me,” “Beautiful Crazy,” “Forever After All” and his Twisters smash, “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma,” “Sleepless in a Hotel Room” marks Combs’ 20th career #1 on the chart since his debut with “Hurricane” in May 2017. With 20 #1s, Combs has now tied Morgan Wallen, Brooks & Dunn, Brad Paisley and the late, great Toby Keith for the 10th most #1 hits on Country Airplay since its conception back in January 10. Additionally, the North Carolina native has now spent 56 weeks at #1 on the chart, which is good for seventh-most behind the likes of Wallen, Kenny Chesney, Alan Jackson and more. Diving further into Combs’ dominance on country radio, with “Sleepless in a Hotel Room,” Combs has now gone #1 with a staggering 20 out of 35 entries on the chart, with 26 of them at least charting in the Top 10. Even more incredibly, on solo, non-feature songs, he’s scored #1s on 18 out of 21 entries, which is good for 86%. The artists with the most #1s on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart is as follows: Kenny Chesney – 33 Blake Shelton – 30 Tim McGraw – 29 Jason Aldean – 26 Luke Bryan – 26 Alan Jackson – 26 George Strait – 26 Thomas Rhett – 21 Keith Urban – 21 Luke Combs – 20 Morgan Wallen – 20 Toby Keith – 20 Brooks & Dunn – 20 Brad Paisley – 20 “Sleepless in a Hotel Room” My Kinda Saturday Night Tour Dates April 4 Scott Stadium – Charlottesville, VA April 11 Jack Trice Stadium – Ames, IA April 18 Notre Dame Stadium – South Bend, IN April 25 Ohio Stadium – Columbus, OH May 2 Neyland Stadium – Knoxville, TN May 9 Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium – Norman, OK May 15 Lambeau Field – Green Bay, WI May 16 Lambeau Field – Green Bay, WI May 30 Parc Jean-Drapeau – Montreal, QC June 5 Rogers Stadium – Toronto, ON June 6 Rogers Stadium – Toronto, ON July 4 Ullevi – Gothenburg, Sweden July 7 Accor Arena – Paris, France July 11 Johan Cruijff ArenA – Amsterdam, Netherlands July 18 Slane Castle – Slane, Ireland July 19 Slane Castle – Slane, Ireland July 25 Scottish Gas Murrayfield – Edinburgh, UK July 31 Wembley Stadium – London, UK August 1 Wembley Stadium – London, UK The post Luke Combs Scores 20th Career #1 Hit On Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart With “Sleepless In A Hotel Room” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.