weekly May 18, 2026, Issue 1012
Radio Picks ACM’s “Winners”
If you ask radio programmers (and we did), the big winners at last night’s ACM Awards were not just record-setting honoree Ella Langley and Entertainer and Male Artist winner Cody Johnson, but the state of Texas as well. The latter came in part from native son Parker McCollum’s Album win, Johnson’s wins and performance, and performances from fellow Lone Star State natives Miranda Lambert and Kacey Musgraves, all coupled with Alabaman Langley’s Single and Song of the Year wins for the aptly named “Choosin’ Lo SessionsTexas.” Steve Stewart Barker “It was a huge night for Texas,” says WWKA/Orlando PD Steve Stewart, who wonders, “Is this the beginning of a nationwide Texas Country revival?” KKBQ/ Houston APD/MD Lo SessionsBarker agrees that “seeing artists like Cody and Ella have major Abby Leigh Brian Jordan moments was incredible, but as someone from the Houston area, it was especially awesome watching the hometown kid from Conroe, Parker McCollum, win big and proudly shout out Montgomery County and Texas Red Dirt music on that stage. It was really cool to see so much Texas representation shine in Las Vegas.” Radio appreciated the show’s many empowering moments for female performers. “I’m over the moon with Ella sweeping,” says WQDR/Raleigh APD/MD Abby Leigh. “This is monumental for women in country music. Her acceptance speech for Female Artist made me tear up. I also loved how she tipped her hat to the other amazing women in that category. Carter Faith’s performance completely blew me away! She’s an incredible talent and I can’t wait to see her rise. Overall, such a great show.” “It’s Ella’s world, and we live in it,” says WGNE/Jacksonville PD Brian Jordan, who called the show “great,” and gave host Shania Twain high marks, joking that “her costume designer should have received an award for all the change-outs.” (continued on page 6)
4X4XHappy Birthday To U: Broken Bow’s Lainey Wilson celebrates her birthday (5/19) at the label’s ACM brunch. Pictured (l-r) are manager Mandelyn Monchick, the label’s Jon Loba, Wilson and Audacy’s Tim Roberts.
Q1 CDM Drivetime Leaders
Following the analysis of the format’s Q1 drive-time leaders in PPM markets last month, Country Aircheck has also compiled Country’s top performers for the quarter from Nielsen Audio’s 44 Continuous Diary Measurement (CDM) markets. Cumulus no longer subscribes to Nielsen, so several notable stations, including WIVK/Knoxville and WKKO/ Toledo, no longer appear. There was total consensus among the top three, as WDRM/ Huntsville, WHKO/Dayton and KXKT/Omaha swept mornings and afternoons, as well as the full week overall (see Scoreboard, page 4). WDRM’s Spencer Graves Show leads morning drive for the first time thanks to a 7.1 to 12.3 jump. Also landing with double-digit shares, WHKO’s Nancy Wilson and Aaron “Woody” Woods, and KXKT’s Steve Lundy and Gina Melton, who all hold on to the same positions they held in the previous quarter. (continued on page 4)
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