Entertainment Awards Shows and Events Maren Morris Wins ACM Award for Female Artist of the Year: Women 'Brought So Much Heat to the Game' The country star was nominated for the big win alongside Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, Kelsea Ballerini and Miranda Lambert By Darlene Aderoju Darlene Aderoju PEOPLE, Music Writer and Reporter People Editorial Guidelines and Brianne Tracy Brianne Tracy Brianne Tracy is a Staff Editor at PEOPLE. She has been working at PEOPLE since 2016. People Editorial Guidelines Published on April 18, 2021 11:18PM EDT Maren Morris is on a roll. At the Academy of Country Music Awards on Sunday, the star, 31, took home the award for female artist of the year for her second consecutive year. "Thank you so much. Me and the ladies were just laughing our butts off during the commercial break, so I feel just really, really happy to be in a category with women who were not able to tour this year but brought so much heat to the game, to country music this year," Morris said of her fellow nominees Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, Kelsea Ballerini and Miranda Lambert. "You've inspired me so much, to no end. Even in a year where no one has gotten to play shows, I have heard some of the best music out of all of you this past year. So thank you so much for inspiring me." "This category is not about who can sing their ass off or entertains the best, even," she continued. "I kind of considered this category to be who tried their best in a year where it was very weird and no one could really do what they were made to do, but I really appreciate all of my peers for voting for me, it means so much ... I love you country music, thank y'all." Check out PEOPLE's full ACM Awards coverage to get the latest news on one of country music's biggest nights. Maren Morris. Kevin Mazur/Getty Earlier in the night, the "I Could Use a Love Song" hitmaker also bring home the ACM Award for song of the year for her smash hit "The Bones." The song also earned her a nomination for single of the year, which was awarded to Pearce and Lee Brice for their duet "I Hope You're Happy Now." During the star-studded event, Morrisalso hitthe stage with her husband and fellow country crooner Ryan Hurd to perform their duet "Chasing After You." Maren Morris. John Shearer/ACMA2021/Getty The songstress was tied with Chris Stapleton for most ACM Award nominations at this year's show, with six each. Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd Team Up for Sexy Performance of 'Chasing After You' at ACM Awards At last year's show, Morris was named female artist of the year and won the ACM Award for music event of the year for her duet "Fooled Around and Fell in Love" with Lambert. Last week, Morris shared a celebratory Instagram post on April 10 in recognition of her 31st birthday. She captioned the sweet shot, "Thank you for the birthday wishes today. 31 so far is full of pasta, babies, wine, and the most happy, roll-your-windows-down-and-vibe songs I've ever written + so much love. 🤍✨🎂" The 2021 ACM Awards aired live from Nashville on Sunday at 8 p.m. EST on CBS and Paramount+.