Taylor Swift‘s absence from the 2025 ACM Awards nominations doesn’t really shock her devoted fanbase, aka Swifties. The superstar rose to fame through country music but has since conquered multiple genres. Her musical evolution began with country roots but expanded into pop, folk, and alternative landscapes.
Her most recent album, The Tortured Poets Department, dabbled in synth-pop, folk, and chamber pop. She already boasts 14 Grammys and numerous Billboard achievements across these diverse styles. Though once known primarily as a country artist, her recent albums have deliberately moved away from Nashville sounds. This genre shift explains her lack of ACM recognition in recent years, though her commercial success continues unabated worldwide.
Here’s why Taylor Swift was not nominated for ACM Awards
Taylor Swift has shifted away from country music and did not earn any new nominations for the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards. The singer’s 2024 release, The Tortured Poets Department, heavily leaned into the fusion of pop and folk sounds.
Previously, Swift had been a certified ACM-favorite artist for a decade. The 35-year-old won over eight awards out of 31 nominations at the ACM. The “You Belong With Me” singer earned her first ACM trophy with the self-titled debut album in 2007.
In 2009, Swift won her first Album of the Year trophy at the ACM Awards for Fearless. She became the youngest country singer to win the prize at the age of 20. In the following years, she took home the trophy for Entertainer of the Year several times.
After the release of her 2012 album Red, Swift started experimenting with various other genres and eventually shifted to pop. The singer opened up about her decision to try out various genres and why she expanded beyond country.
The “All Too Well” hitmaker shared in a chat with On-Air With Ryan Seacrest, “The best choices are bold choices.” She explained how her music transformed in the 2014 album, 1989. “With my last album, Red, I kind of had one foot in pop and one foot in country, and that’s really no way to walk and get anywhere,” she said. (via Taste of Country)
The songstress added, “If you want to continue to evolve, I think eventually you have to pick a lane, and I just picked the one that felt more natural to me at this point in my life.” Swift insisted that her autobiographical discography can be “catchy” as well.
