Chris Stapleton Dedicates Male Artist of the Year Award to Late Friend Ben Vaughn at 2025 ACM Awards

The 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards named Chris Stapleton as Male Artist of the Year.

Stapleton, 47, won the honor during the Thursday, May 8, awards show at Ford Center in Frisco, Texas, hosted by Reba McEntire.

“Wow, so many guys in this category that are so deserving and great artists, and I’m happy just to be hanging out in the room still,” Stapleton began his speech. “But I gotta thank everybody who works so hard to make these things possible, all the men and women in our crew. My loving wife, Morgane, who keeps me in line all the time. My kids at home.”

The “White Horse” singer dedicated his trophy to the late Ben Vaughn, a Nashville music publisher who died earlier this year at age 49. “I’m thinking a lot about my friend Ben Vaughn who we lost this year, so I’m gonna send this one out to Ben,” Stapleton said. “Thank you, Ben. Thank y’all.”

Luke Combs, Cody Johnson, Jelly Roll, and Morgan Wallen rounded out the list of nominees in the Male Artist of the Year category. All five men also received an Entertainer of the Year nod this year, alongside female artists Kelsea Ballerini and Lainey Wilson.

Stapleton had already won Male Artist of the Year four times prior to Thursday’s ceremony, taking home the trophy in 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2024. He has a total of 10 consecutive nominations in the category.

For his part, Combs, 35, has earned seven consecutive nods for Male Artist of the Year beginning in 2019, securing one previous win in 2020. Wallen, 31, garnered four consecutive nominations between 2022 and 2025, with a single past win in 2023.

Meanwhile, Jelly Roll, 40, and Johnson, 37, have both landed two nods in the category, their first in 2024 and again this year.

All of the 2025 Male Artist of the Year nominees received recognition in other categories as well, in addition to their Entertainer of the Year nods. Johnson and Wallen both earned seven total nominations, Stapleton received six and Combs and Jelly Roll ended up with three.

Johnson was up for Single of the Year, Song of the Year and Visual Media of the Year for “Dirt Cheap” and Music Event of the Year and Visual Media of the Year for “I’m Gonna Love You” with Carrie Underwood, while Wallen competed for Single of the Year, Song of the Year and Music Event of the Year for “I Had Some Help” with Post Malone and Artist-Songwriter of the Year.

Stapleton, meanwhile, received nods for Single of the Year for “White Horse,” Music Event of the Year for “We Don’t Fight Anymore” with Carly Pearce and Visual Media of the Year for “Think I’m in Love With You.”

Combs was nominated for Artist-Songwriter of the Year, and Jelly Roll was up for Album of the Year for Beautifully Broken.