Miranda Lambert’s ‘House That Built Me’ Named ACM Song of the Decade

Seven all-new ACM Awards categories have just been announced!

Written by Chris Parton
Miranda Lambert’s ‘House That Built Me’ Named ACM Song of the Decade
Photo L-R: Chuck Aly, ACM Vice President and Special Awards Committee Co-Chair; RAC Clark, Interim ACM Executive Director; Allen Shamblin, Songwriter; Miranda Lambert; Tom Douglas, Songwriter; Lori Badgett ACM President; Ed Warm, ACM Chairman; Photo Credit: Getty Images/John Shearer/Courtesy of the Academy of Country Music

The Academy of Country Music has announced seven new awards categories and the first winner for one of them — Miranda Lambert, who along with songwriters Tom Douglas and Allen Shamblin has be given the ACM Song of the Decade award for “The House That Built Me.”

Revealed in a surprise press release, the ACM said Lambert’s award was bestowed on the star backstage during the ACM Honors held in August — where she performed the song alongside Keith Urban — and that it’s just the first of a whole series of new trophies to be handed out. The new categories were created by the ACM board of directors and are intended to highlight “the most influential projects over the past decade of country music.” As such, Lambert’s “The House That Built Me” was an obvious place to start.

“The Special Awards committee convened multiple times, put aside their professional interests and were diligent in considering the fullness of country music in arriving at these honors,” said Chuck Aly, ACM Vice President and Committee Co-Chairman. “This is not, however, the Academy of Country Music deciding who or what should be honored. This is simply our recognition of self-evident truth. ‘The House That Built Me’ is the Song of the Decade in country music. It is a monument unto itself.”

Factors considered for the Song of the Decade Award included “success at radio, commercial media, sales and streaming, creative integrity, artistic merit and ACM Award recognition,” of which “The House That Built Me” had plenty. The double-Platinum track was Lambert’s first No.1 and took home three trophies at the 2010 ACM Awards, as well as a few more at the CMAs later that year. With this new recognition, Lambert raises her ACM Awards total to 34 — she is the most awarded artist in ACM history.

Meanwhile, the ACM committee has also announced six more categories which will be awarded once every ten years, just like Lambert’s Song of the Decade and Jason Aldean’s ACM Dick Clark Artist of the Decade honor, given in April. The new categories are ACM Album of the Decade, ACM Artist-Songwriter of the Decade, ACM Breakout Artist of the Decade, ACM Single of the Decade, ACM Songwriter of the Decade and ACM Music Event of the Decade.