Memphis native Justin Timberlake has long seemed like he might one day release a country album. After his mid-October induction into the Memphis Music Hall of Fame, Timberlake tonight joined newly minted New Artist of the Year Chris Stapleton onstage to duet on a duo of ditties.
First, they played Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” before segueing into Timberlake’s “Drink You Away."
Both artists brought flavor to each other’s songs, especially as “Drink You Away” went from a slinky jazz number to a strident country song pretty seamlessly.
Timberlake has tweeted his love for Stapleton in the past, so Stapleton thought he’d ask JT onstage.
"We had these nominations and thought we were gonna get, maybe, a slot to perform," Stapleton told ABC News. "So I called him up and asked him if he'd be interested in doing it and he was like, 'Yeah man, I'm in. Just tell me when to show up.' So here we are, we're gonna do it!"
Stapleton also won Male Vocalist of the Year and Album of the Year.
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Twitter reactions confirmed just how awesome the duet was:
Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton just gave the crowd 5 minutes of hair raising chill bumps… https://t.co/LlTlrE3Es4
— Coy Bowles (@coydroy) November 5, 2015#CMAawards should just drop the mic and be done. THAT was amazing. Justin Timberlake + Chris Stapleton for President or something like that.
— Amy (@RadioAmy) November 5, 2015JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE AND CHRIS STAPLETON ON THE CMAS IF THERE WERE A BIGGER FONT OR BOLD OR UNDERLINE ON TWITTER I WOULD BE USING THEM ALL
— Ben Rector (@benrector) November 5, 2015You know it's a great performance when the artists watching are that into it. What a show, Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake. #CMAawards
— Kris Keprios (@kriskeprios) November 5, 2015JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE + CHRIS STAPLETON = PERFECTION! Oh my goodness...end the show now! That was killer! That's music! #CMAAwards2015 ?
— JD Wylkes (@jdwylkes) November 5, 2015