Kelsea Ballerini Reacts to Winning No ACM Awards as Lainey Wilson Sweeps the Show
Lainey Wilson won the night at the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards, taking home four awards out of the six categories she was nominated in, including Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, and Female Vocalist of the Year. On the other hand, Kelsea Ballerini arrived with three nominations and walked away with no awards.
Afterward, The Voice coach took to her Instagram Story to share a meme from Mean Girls that addressed her reaction to the situation. She shared photos of Lacey Chabert in the classic “And none for Gretchen Weiners” scene. Her boyfriend, Chase Stokes, also reacted to the losses by posting a video of Ballerini’s performance from the show with the caption, “Entertainer of the Year. Goodnight.”
Ballerini was nominated in the coveted category for the first time but lost to Wilson, who took home the honor for the second year in a row. Ballerini also lost to Wilson in the Female Artist of the Year category, while both ladies lost to Ella Langley and Riley Green for Musical Event of the Year and Visual Media of the Year, respectively.
Jason Kempin/Getty Images
Over the years, Ballerini has been left disappointed by awards show results. At the ACMs, she’s been nominated a number of times, but only won once when she took home New Female Vocalist of the Year in 2016. Of her 12 nominations at the CMA Awards, she’s only won twice (“Half of My Hometown,” her collaboration with Kenny Chesney, took home Music Video of the Year and Musical Event of the Year in 2021.)
Ballerini has also been recognized five times at the Grammy Awards, but never won in any of her categories. At the 2024 show, it was an all-too-familiar scene as she lost to Wilson in the Best Country Album category. Her reaction afterward went viral, as critics thought she looked annoyed by the results.
“You can be bummed for your loss and happy for somebody else’s win at the same time,” Ballerini said at the time. “Two things can be true and both hold valid and valuable space. The face reading and reaction analysis is unnecessary and hurtful to everyone. A woman’s win is a team win.”
Conversation25 Comments
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G
She's more pop than true country. Talented for sure, but Laney is both talented and true country.
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AMEN 🙌🏼
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B
I have never hated a female singing voice more than Lainy Wilson. When she starts whining with that awful voice, I just tune her out. All I can say is she is kissing some major Nashville b.....they to be getting all those awards and really not deserving them.There are much better singers in Country music than Lainey, Kelcie Ballerini included. Carrie Underwood can outsing Lainey on any level, and in any genre of music without twining or whining. Now there is alegenday voice
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Totally agree with MikeD that Laney is much more countrified than Ballerini. Deserves the awards, and has earned them.
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So is Megan M and dirty Dasha they all pop . Lainey is awesome and she’s country.
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O
Would have been a lot classier to just congratulate Wilson and move on. The boyfriend's post is immature.
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Preach
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P
Absolutely agree! My 2 girls love Kelsea and they love Lainey! But, one had to win and they were thrilled both of them were nominated. And they think it’s okay to be bummed out, but they feel too she had more respect for her fellow female country singer to at least be excited for her. What surprise’s us is the immature way her boyfriend Chad Stokes handled it. It was almost diminishing Lainey’s win and saying she didn’t work as hard as Kelsea. Those are the kinds of things you say between each other to make your partner feel better, not for the world to see and trying to take down someone’s achievement. We are watching his show Outer Banks, and they did like him a lot. Now they are looking at him and Kelsea a little differently. You want to complain so much that your lives are private, then maybe think about what you are publicly putting out there when you are diminishing someone else.
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She's just not as good of a singer or entertainer as Laney... or many other female artists. She's great for the industry, but she's not the best anything yet... except maybe at being needlessly vulnerable.
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OMG people, really? Stop being so frickin cruel and rude! Isn't there enough of that in the world already? Kelsea is talented as well, stop comparing!
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Loser
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she's not good!
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Laney won because she is very talented and truly down to earth & people feel they can relate to. She deserved every award she won and Kelsea has more dues to pay before she can reach Laney’s success. To me I feel Kelsea isn’t as genuine…..
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She's awful!!!! Her antics over the years have cost her everything. She started out ok, but now she is just horrible. Her singing is at the bottom of the barrel and the crap she pulls in public and clothes she wears, or doesn't, for all to see has cost her. KB is done in country no matter so she should just move on to her little pop world.
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O
Quit using these comments sections to make money. They are supposed to be for commenting on the article.
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Ballerini always gets robbed.
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Lainey Wilson by far!
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The right person won. She isn't that good.
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I'm so over Lainey Wilson. She'd never be so popular or be winning so many undeserved awards had she not been on a wildly popular television show. There are so many more deserving artists in country music today than her.
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kelsea ballerini will never win an award again until she dumps her baggage 🧳 chase stokes
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Chase, that was very imiture
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The total lack of humility by both her and the boyfriend is just another reason that country music artists these days are coming across as fake and shallow, well at least these two
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She is good, but, not great. Not country enough.
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P
Both ladies are very talented.But, If you’ve seen both in concert. Kelsea is so much more of an entertainer . Lainey wins because she has that whiny country twang .
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She's with a jinx
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