If you saw Justin Timberlake kill it last night on stage at the 2015 CMA Awards, you must have wondered who his partner in his crime was: Chris Stapleton, who just released his first solo album in May.
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Chris Stapleton accepts the award for new artist of the year.
Justin Timberlake, who grew up in Memphis, Tennessee, tapped into his country roots with a show-stopping performance at the Country Music Association Awards.
“Watching Chris Stapleton have this night is so uplifting”, said Bryan.
Reba McEntire with Brooks & Dunn: Country music may be experiencing one of its best years in ages, but to understand how it got so good, allow Reba and Brooks & Dunn to remind you how a couple of (still great) legends paved the way.
Though he performed as a country music artist on Star Search, Timberlake soon landed a recurring role on Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club, followed by a position as lead singer in the boy band NSYNC. The two rocked out the Bridgestone Arena with Stapleton’s hit song “Tennessee Whiskey” he wrote for George Jones in 1983.
Up until last night, Stapleton’s “Traveller” had sold less than 100,000 copies in the US, despite being one of the most critically acclaimed albums of 2015. That will change fast. He also won New Artist of the Year and Album of the Year for Traveler, his debut album. And now everyone knows it. “I don’t know what to think”, Stapleton said. “I love you, fans”, said Bryan.
Their hit song Girl Crush won top honors for Single of the Year and Song of the Year, a triumph the band was grateful for after the track sparked controversy earlier this year (15).
It’s become a famous line: Former Sony Music chairman Gary Overton caused an uproar in Nashville this year when he declared “If you’re not on country radio, you don’t exist”.
“This is an unbelievable thing, and I’m not going to take it lightly”, he said during a humble acceptance speech. “Some people might want to burn me at the stake for it, or burn him at the stake for it”, he told Rolling Stone Monday. Onstage he said, “I’ve been in the music business for a while, but I’ve never done anything like this. It’s a little overwhelming, but I’m going to do my best to handle it with a few degree of grace”, he said.
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Meanwhile, Shelton’s ex-wife, Miranda Lambert, also had a major night at the awards ceremony.
