Chris Stapleton was the surprise winner for best male vocalist at the 2015 Country Music Awards in Nashville on Wednesday night, and he also took best new artist and album of the year honors. But he shared the event's best moment with somebody not normally associated with country music, Memphis-born Justin Timberlake. The pair covered the George Jones song "Tennessee Whiskey" and performed Timberlake's "Drink You Away," sharing their tight harmonies with Stapleton's wife, Morgane, in front of a band that included a Memphis soul horn section. They brought down the house, deservedly:
Hours before the show, Miranda's ex, Blake Shelton, announced he is dating Gwen Stefani, and CMA host Carrie Underwood acknowledged that there was a "breakup that really rocked our world, the one that's on everybody's mind, two people in this very room that we all know and love — splitsville." That turned out to be the setup for a Kermit and Miss Piggy joke, but co-host Brad Paisley brought it back to the country world: "On a completely unrelated topic, howdy Blake. Carrie, have you heard that duet that Blake did with Ashley Madison?" Underwood quickly "corrected" him, that Shelton sang a song with Ashley Monroe, Miranda's good friend. "I needed a bright spot this year," Miranda said when winning her award.
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