Justin Timberlake Goes Country, Brings Down the House With Chris Stapleton Duet
Justin Timberlake brought the house down at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday night, pairing up with country star Chris Stapleton for a duet that had the crowd on its feet.
The pair, joined by a massive backing band, started off with a country staple, "Tennessee Whiskey," before transitioning to Timberlake’s single "Drink You Away."
It was one of Timberlake's first performances since welcoming son Silas with wife Jessica Biel in April. He previously surprised the crowd at Taylor Swift's final 1989 tour stop in Los Angeles, California, and performed his hit "Mirrors" with the pop star.
A well known singer-songwriter on the country music scene, Stapleton was previously the lead singer of bluegrass band The SteelDrivers, before breaking out on his own. He took home the New Artist of the Year award at Wednesday's CMA Awards.
Country stars like Lady Antebellum, Little Big Town, and Keith Urban, as well as Biel, were shown grooving along in the CMA crowd, and even more chimed in on social media about the show-stopping performance.
Now we have to follow that. Yikes!!! #Timberlake#Stapleton
— Florida Georgia Line (@FLAGALine) November 5, 2015