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Avery Anna emotionally reacted to a surprise on stage over the weekend.
The Arizona-born artist, 22, won the 2026 ACM New Female Artist of the Year award. Fellow singer-songwriter Sam Barber surprised Anna with the news when she performed at the Lone Star Smokeout in Arlington, Texas. Anna embraced Barber and others in celebratory hugs as she tearfully accepted the honor, which previously went to Ella Langley, Megan Moroney, Lainey Wilson and other artists.
“Everybody that I love dearly is on this stage,” Anna told the crowd, in part, after they chanted her name. “I’m just so grateful for this.” She wrote in her caption on Instagram on Sunday (April 26), “I can’t believe this is real life. Thank you God.” Watch her reaction here.
“I cannot believe this,” Anna added on her Instagram story. “I can’t even begin to process it. thank you all so much from the bottom of my heart.”
Anna is a first-time nominee at the 61st ACM Awards, the Academy of Country Music confirmed when revealing the list of nominees earlier this month. Female artists led nominations with Moroney, Miranda Lambert, Langley and Lainey Wilson receiving the most (nine, eight, seven and seven, respectively). Lambert, Wilson, Cody Johnson, Riley Green, Kacey Musgraves and Little Big Town will all perform, and Shania Twain will make her debut as ACM Awards host when the show returns to the MGM Garden Arena stage in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Academy of Country Music previously teased “many more unforgettable performances to be revealed in the coming weeks,” plus “unprecedented performances, exclusive collaborations, and unexpected moments from the biggest Country Music stars, all while celebrating the genre’s most iconic and emerging talent.”
See the full list of nominees here.
The 61st ACM Awards will kick off at 8 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. CT / 5 p.m. PT on Sunday, May 17.