Alabama native Ella Langley won her first award from the Academy of Country Music on Friday, earning the trophy for New Female Artist of the Year.

Langley’s win was announced in advance of the ACM Awards ceremony on May 8, when most of the trophies will be handed out. The Hope Hull native, is this year’s top nominee for the prestigious country awards, with a total of eight nominations to her credit.

One more ACM winner was announced on Friday: Zach Top as New Male Artist of the Year.

Langley learned of her win while on stage at Rock the Country in Knoxville, Tennessee, according to a news release. Social media posts show country star Miranda Lambert appearing on video screens at Langley’s concert, announcing the accolade and offering congratulations.

“You are my soul sister in country music and a partner in crime,“ Lambert said. ”But I’m also here to tell you the bigger news. You, my friend, have won New Female Artist of the Year.”

Langley’s response? “God Bless America.”

Watch Langley’s winning moment in the Instagram video below.

Later, Langley shared more thoughts on her win in what appears to be a backstage video.

“Every day of my life, I’ve just prayed about this, and thought about it, and literally everything I’ve ever done was to be able to do this,” Langley said. “And I’m so grateful for the team I have around me. Just really grateful to have fans that are listening to the music, and see that it is true, and that I’m just a real, real-life human being going through life like the rest of everyone else. And to see that the things that I go through is something that everyone else goes through, you know? But this is, this is …Thank you.”

She’s also nominated for ACM Female Artist of the Year and has six nominations linked to the song “you look like you love me.” Langley’s 2024 hit, a duet with Alabama’s Riley Green, is nominated for:

• Single of the Year
• Music Event of the Year
• Song of the Year (Langley is nominated as both artist and songwriter in this category)
• Visual Media of the Year (Langley is nominated as both artist and director)

Langley’s breakthrough single was included on her 2024 debut album, “Hungover.” Her musical partnership with Green, an country star from Jacksonville, has given Langley’s career a boost — and all of Green’s five ACM nominations this year are tied to “you look like you love me.”

Green and Langley already have earned one award for their duet, which received the 2024 CMA trophy for Musical Event of the Year. The two performed the song at the televised ceremony on Nov. 20 in Nashville, causing quite a stir.

So who is Ella Langley, aside from an ACM phenom? According to her website bio, she’s a country maverick with “a rafter-reaching voice” and “a straight-shootin’ songwriter who pulls no punches when it comes to life, love and everything else under the sun.”

Langley grew up in a musical family in Hope Hull, about 10 miles south of Montgomery, and started her career with performances at bars and festivals in Alabama.

She lived in Auburn for a time, majoring in forestry at Auburn University, before moving to Nashville in 2019, according to an interview with People magazine.

Langley released her debut EP, “Excuse the Mess,” in 2023. The Tennessean called Langley “an Alabama artist whose wit is as biting as her pen is mighty” in its review, and said the EP “explores stellar songwriting at heartbreak’s edge.”

“Hungover” dropped on Aug. 2, 2024, primed by a promotional single of “you look like you love me” that was released in June and teased on TikTok.

Langley’s most recent single, “weren’t for the wind,” was released in January. It’s included on a deluxe edition of “Hungover” (called “Still Hungover”) that came out in November. On March 25, Langley released a video for “weren’t for the wind” that includes some eye-catching clothing from Unclaimed Baggage, a one-of-a-kind store in her home state.

READ: Country music star’s viral video has a link to unique Alabama store: ‘Vintage and really cool’

The ACM Awards ceremony is set for May 8 at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. Reba McEntire is set to host the show, airing live at 7 p.m. CT on Prime Video and the Amazon Music channel on Twitch.