Carter Faith Is the 2026 ACMs Dark Horse — What Does It Mean If She Wins?
The top story from the 2026 ACMs nominations was how dominantly women are leading at the awards show across the board. Megan Moroney, Miranda Lambert, Ella Langley and Lainey Wilson hold spots 1-4 for the most-nominated artist.
READ MORE: See the Full List of 2026 ACM Awards Nominees
But there's a possibility that the biggest shocker of the awards show could come from a woman who's none of those four.
That's Carter Faith, whose breakout debut, Cherry Valley, made it into the Album of the Year category in 2026. It was a stand-out surprise on the nominees list, both to fans and to Faith herself.
"I was so surprised," Faith tells Taste of Country. "I had never been nominated for something like that, so I kind of thought you got a call or something. I just got tagged in a tweet, and it said, 'Album of the Year.' I was like, 'What the f--k!'"
Could Carter Faith Win Album of the Year at the 2026 ACMs?
With competition from Morgan Wallen, Zach Top, Riley Green and Parker McCollum, it's a long shot.
But if she wins, it could signal an upward trajectory toward superstardom like Wilson's or Langley's — and that possibility doesn't feel like a pipe dream in country music anymore.
Five years ago, we didn't have many specific names and careers we could point to as an example of a woman truly breaking out into mainstream superstardom. Now, there are some recent, strong examples of what women can accomplish in country's mainstream
READ MORE: RISERS: Carter Faith's Music Crosses Genres + Decades
So it feels more plausible that an up-and-coming woman could win in a big ACMs category, and that her win could change everything.
In fact, Langley — who enlisted Faith to sing backing vocals on one track on her Dandelion album — has already cosigned the idea that Faith could be poised for superstardom.
Can Carter Faith Win Album of the Year Without a Big Radio Hit?
In conversation with Taste of Country, Faith admits that part of her surprise about being nominated came from the fact that she hasn't had any big radio hits.
"It made me feel good that they were listening to other music besides the chart-toppers and stuff like that," she relates.
Though Faith has seen modest success on U.K. and Canadian country charts for her single "Betty," she has yet to make an impression on the radio in the U.S. — and that's partially because she's never chased it.
"There's nothing I'm trying to chase, I guess, besides good music and music that makes me feel like me, and that I would wanna sing forever," Faith reflects.
"So it's never been my focus. Of course, I know how it helps in a career and stuff. It's just not the name of the game anymore, I don't think."
The first single off Cherry Valley was "If I Had Never Lost My Mind...," a song that's almost defiantly radio resistant.
It's a sweeping, theatrical ballad about losing out in love because you can't be chill enough, sane enough, or can't fit neatly into an attractive, un-needy, low-maintenance package.
It's too much of a stretch to say Faith intended this metaphor, but the parallels between the love story in this song and acceptance in mainstream country music are actually pretty poetic.
Read More: Why Won't the ACMs Nominate Alt-Country's Biggest Stars?
Radio success remains an important consideration at the ACMs, but the awards show has been dipping its toe into alt-country, nominating acts including the Red Clay Strays, Flatland Cavalry and 49 Winchester.
They haven't extended that alt-country curiosity to the biggest categories (Entertainer, Male and Female Artist of the Year) or the sub-genre's biggest stars (Charley Crockett, Turnpike Troubadours, Tyler Childers).
That could be because the stakes are simply too high: What would it mean if Zach Bryan, with no No. 1s at country radio, won Entertainer of the Year at a major country music awards show?
In fact, if Faith wins in the Album of the Year category, she might hold the biggest trophy of the night given to an artist who succeeded without radio. That would not only be a huge step in her career, but a huge step in what country radio means to awards shows going forward.
What Would It Mean if Carter Faith's Cherry Valley Won Album of the Year at the 2026 ACM Awards?
In one line of "If I Had Never Lost My Mind...", Faith sings "Who wants a girl who's a little deranged / A little too much and a little too strange?"
Read More: 2026 ACMs: Snubs, Surprises + the End of an Era
The phrase "a little too much" is, in a certain sense, a descriptor you could tie to the album as a whole.
Cherry Valley is strange and surreal; it pairs traditional honky-tonk country with string-filled maximalism and larger-than-life feelings. It is both a deeply country record, and also unapologetic about the ways in which it bucks the format.
It's the only album in the ACMs Album of the Year category from an artist who's never had a radio hit. And it's also the only one by a woman.
"It feels really cool to be the only girl in that category, with such a bold album that said everything," Faith says.
"And I don't know if that's a sign of the times, or something coming, but I hope that's inspiring to people watching."
2026 ACM Awards: Snubs and Surprises
Gallery Credit: Billy Dukes
