“The Nashville sound meets the soul of Memphis.”
That’s how Brad Paisley introduced the buzziest performance on Wednesday night’s Country Music Assn. Awards, and for once the bit lived up to the billing.
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Neil Perry, left, Kimberly Perry and Reid Perry, of the Band Perry, arrive at the CMA Awards.
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Miranda Lambert arrives on the red carpet.
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Kacey Musgraves, left, and Misa Arriaga arrive on the red carpet.
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From left, Phillip Sweet, Kimberly Schlapman, Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook, of Little Big Town, arrive on the red carpet.
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Steve Martin and Edie Brickell arrive on the red carpet.
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Keith Urban arrives on the red carpet.
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Kyle Jacobs and Kellie Pickler arrive on the red carpet.
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Carrie Underwood arrives on the red carpet.
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Steven Tyler arrives on the red carpet.
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Chris Lucas, left, and Preston Brust, of LoCash, arrive on the red carpet.
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Kelsea Ballerini arrives on the red carpet.
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From left, Avi Kaplan, Kirstin Maldonado, Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi and Kevin Olusola, of Pentatonix, arrive on the red carpet.
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Dierks Bentley, left, and Cassidy Black arrive on the red carpet.
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Hannah Davis arrives on the red carpet.
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Clay Walker and Jessica Walker arrive on the red carpet.
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Luke Bryan with Caroline Boyer on the red carpet.
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Jason Aldean and Brittany Kerr arrive on the red carpet.
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Kimberly Williams-Paisley arrives on the red carpet.
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Brantley Gilbert and Amber Cochran arrive on the red carpet.
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Scotty McCreery arrives on the red carpet.
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Holly Williams arrives on the red carpet.
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Kelly Lynn Janson and Chris Janson arrive on the red carpet.
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Dan Smyers, left, and Shay Mooney, of Dan + Shay, arrive on the red carpet.
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Cassadee Pope arrives on the red carpet.
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Mike Caussin and Jana Kramer arrive on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Two dudes with distinct musical styles -- and dramatically different ideas about personal grooming -- Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake meshed beautifully in a joint take on “Tennessee Whiskey,” the durable George Jones hit featured on Stapleton’s acclaimed “Traveller” album, and Timberlake’s “Drink You Away,” which might be the closest the pop superstar has come to an old-fashioned Beale Street jam.
The 8-minute result, complete with a horn section and lovely harmony vocals from Stapleton’s wife, Morgane, found a fertile middle ground between country and soul. No wonder the camera caught Charles Kelley of Lady Antebellum, whose best work borrows from R&B, watching with visible envy.
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Co-hosts Brad Paisley, left, and Carrie Underwood perform a skit during the opening bit.
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From left, Phillip Sweet, Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman and Jimi Westbrook of Little Big Town accept the award for single of the year for “Girl Crush.”
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Edie Brickell and Steve Martin present the award for single of the year.
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Keith Urban, left, and John Mellencamp perform.
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Brad Paisley, left, William Shatner and Carrie Underwood perform a skit onstage.
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Hank Williams Jr., left, and Eric Church hit the stage together.
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Zac Brown of the Zac Brown Band performs a tribute to Little Jimmy Dickens.
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Kenny Chesney works the crowd.
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Paisley and Underwood crack jokes onstage.
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Justin Timberlake, left, and Chris Stapleton give a memorable performance.
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Sam Hunt performs.
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Lori McKenna, from left, Liz Rose and Hillary Lindsey accept the award for song of the year for “Girl Crush,” performed by Little Big Town.
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Blake Shelton performs with a smile.
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Kelsea Ballerini hits all the right notes.
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Miranda Lambert accepts the award for female vocalist of the year.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) 16/23
Jason Aldean performs.
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Kacey Musgraves takes the stage in a glittery ensemble to match the setting.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) 18/23
Chris Stapleton accepts the award for new artist of the year.
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Carrie Underwood takes time off her co-hosting duties to perform.
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Brian Kelley, left, and Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line accept the award for vocal duo of the year.
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Jimi Westbrook, from left, Kimberly Schlapman, Karen Fairchild and Philip Sweet of Little Big Town perform one of their hits.
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Miss America Betty Cantrell and Darius Rucker present the award for song of the year.
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Miranda Lambert takes the stage.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) Kelley wasn’t the only A-lister impressed by the performance, either. Wearing a bedazzled Stapleton T-shirt while collecting the prize for female vocalist of the year, Miranda Lambert thanked the two singers and said, “I’m gonna go home and practice.”
Twitter: @mikaelwood
ALSO:
CMA Awards 2015: an ‘uplifting’ night for rule breakers and risk takers
2015 CMA Awards: Luke Bryan wins the top prize, but Chris Stapleton carries the day
2015 CMAs: Little Big Town’s ‘Girl Crush’ leaves the competition envious
