Shania Twain on Hosting the ACM Awards for the First Time & Upcoming Surprises

After two consecutive years with Reba McEntire at the mic, the ACM Awards will get a new host this year when Shania Twain presides over the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards, held at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena and airing on Prime Video on May 17.

“It’s a chance for me to just get back with everybody,” Twain says of hosting. “It’s one of the rare moments when I get the chance to see everybody and catch up with a lot of the newer artists. A lot of them I have not met yet, and I’m excited to just be among the whole experience of the ACMs.”

Tickets for the 61st ACM Awards and ACM Awards week events are available for purchase on AXS.com. Click here for more information.

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Of course, some of Twain’s own top career moments have taken place on the ACM Awards stage. In 1996, she was named top new female vocalist and her album The Woman in Me won album of the year. In 2000, she earned the ACM’s most coveted trophy, entertainer of the year. In 2022, she was celebrated with the ACM Poet’s Award, which honors a songwriter for outstanding and longstanding musical contributions to country music.

As an artist, Twain has achieved some of music’s most elite milestones. Her 1997 album, Come on Over , not only spent over 150 weeks on the all-genre Billboard 200 but also is one of the biggest-selling albums ever, with certified double diamond status from the RIAA. Her 2002 album, Up! , resided at the pinnacle of the Billboard 200 for five weeks, while her smash hits like “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” and “You’re Still the One” have become enduring classics that continue to reach new generations of listeners. And she remains a major live draw: Her 2023 Queen of Me tour was No. 4 on Billboard Boxscore’s year-end Top Country Tours list, and her Come on Over — All the Hits! Las Vegas residency in 2024 and 2025 sold out 33 shows at Planet Hollywood’s PH Live.

The Canadian singer-songwriter has amassed plenty of accolades, but she’s still as busy as ever. She’s gearing up to join Harry Styles for a run of shows at London’s Wembley Stadium in June and early July and working on a new album. Ahead of her debut hosting gig at the ACM Awards, Twain spoke about taking on the task — and what she’s got cooking in the studio, too.

You previously hosted the People’s Choice Country Awards in 2024. How did that prepare you to host the ACM Awards?

I like to put my own personality into things, because I’m a terrible reader. If I rely entirely on the teleprompter, I’m definitely going to stumble and get lost. I just really like having fun and going with the flow, getting into the excitement that I’ll be sharing with the artists who are performing and up for awards. It’s a big moment in their career and in their life. For some of them, it might be a one-time-chance thing. For some, it’s a first-chance thing. For other artists, they’re just happy that they’re still there. So there’s all kinds of excitement from top to bottom. It’s a joy.

As a host, you are following in the footsteps of Reba McEntire, who has hosted the ACM Awards 18 times dating back to 1986. What inspiration do you take from her?

When it comes to Reba, she’s flawless. I’m definitely more of a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants kind of person, very spontaneous, which makes it a different style and character to hosting something. But Reba is everything. She’s funny, she’s a great actress, which makes her really good at getting the flow of speaking and cadence. She’s just a pro.

Fans love to anticipate a host’s fashion choices. How are you and your team approaching that, since with the show on Prime Video there are no commercial breaks?

I’m going to have to think that one through for sure. There might be quick changes. I always want to look my best, and I haven’t really decided the exact direction yet. So I’m going to leave a little mystery to that answer because those things kind of evolve right until the last second. I really just want to be there to respect and to pay homage to a genre and fans that have been so good to me over the years. I’m there to have fun and watch and listen and meet all of the other artists, but I really am there for the fans and I want them to have a fabulous night.

Are you planning any surprises, perhaps debuting any new music?

There’s a couple of moments that I know that production is looking forward to hopefully surprising the audience with. I’m not going to give anything away in that regard, but yeah, I think the fans will be happy.

You won entertainer of the year at the 2000 ACM Awards. What did that mean to you?

Well, talking about entertainer of the year, that really comes down to the fans. The fans go to the shows. They are the ones that are either walking away really happy or… maybe they’re walking away going, “That was really not worth my money.” So when you get entertainer of the year, it really means that fans have tipped their hat off to you as a live artist. And it’s such a compliment because it is so hard to be out there on the road putting on shows and being your best night after night. So it’s just a huge honor to be appreciated as an entertainer. Making records and writing hit songs is a huge part of what we do, especially if you’re a songwriter. There are some really outstanding recording artists that are not necessarily the best entertainers. So I think there is a departure there that deserves recognition for the artists that do get out there and are able to really entertain the fans.

The ACM Awards return to Las Vegas this year. Why do you feel like Vegas is such a great home for the show?

I do feel like Las Vegas has become the entertainment capital of the world for every genre. People go there for sports, they go there for every side of entertainment. So of course we should be there. That makes total sense. We are on a global scale of appeal, and that’s the ideal location.

How do you plan to celebrate once the ceremony is over?

I’m going to want to run around and personally congratulate everybody that won — I hope I’ll get to do that with a couple of people, at least. But it will be mayhem backstage, so I’m sure that won’t be ­entirely possible.

You’ve acted as well, including recently on Doctor Odyssey . Do you have plans for more of that?

I would love to carry on acting. I think it is in my future. My focus is on a new album and getting that out, and some shows this summer with Harry Styles. So that’s all really consuming me right now as far as just art direction. But yes, in the line of things to do this year, acting is definitely on the list.

Though your next album is still in the works, what can fans expect from it?

The album was written storywise and also sonically, musically, based on a lot of reflection on my childhood, whether it’s stories reflecting back to my youth or whether it is music that influenced me most as a child and as a teen. I’ve brought all of that together.

Which new artists are you excited about seeing at the ACM Awards this year?

Ella Langley. I only actually heard of her probably two months ago. I was in the studio and everyone was like, “You’ve got to hear about Ella.” And sure enough, I think she’s going to be one of the artists that I’m going to be crazy about meeting this year. I’m really excited for her. When I first saw her, I thought, “Wow, she looks so much like Linda Ronstadt.” She’s an incredible songwriter and I’m thrilled about that. She’s what our genre really needs from a female right now — or anytime, really. There’s also a great duet right now from Carly Pearce and Riley Green [“If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay”]. I hope to meet Tucker Wetmore. Max McNown is a great artist — I love his song [“Better Me for You (Brown Eyes)”]. There’s a lot of collaborations — I think there are more collaborations than I’ve ever seen in country music, so I feel like the atmosphere backstage will be more community than ever.

The ACM Awards are produced by Dick Clark Productions, which is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Eldridge Industries and Billboard parent company Penske Media.

_Originally reported by [Billboard](https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/shania-twain-acm-awards-2026-host-interview-1236244142/)._