On November 4, 2015, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood took the stage at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville to host the Country Music Association Awards. While the night included Luke Bryan winning Entertainer of the Year and Little Big Town winning Song of the Year for “Girl Crush”, the CMA Awards ultimately went to Chris Stapleton. Although he won Album of the Year and New Artist of the Year, the country singer produced one of the most memorable moments of CMA history when he teamed with Justin Timberlake for “Tennessee Whiskey.”
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Over a decade has passed since that historic moment at the CMA Awards, but Stapleton still remembers getting the chance to perform with Timberlake. Discussing his ongoing career with Dax Shepard on the Armchair Expert podcast, the hitmaker recalled how he first met the pop star thanks to his wife Jessica Biel.
“The first time I actually met him, it was his birthday, and his wife [Jessica Biel] called and said, ‘Hey, it’s hard for me to find experiences that my husband hasn’t had. Would you fly to Montana and play for his birthday party?’ I’m like, ‘Wow’. All of a sudden, I’m the experience”.
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Chris Stapleton Worried He Was Getting “Punked”
While shocked by the request, Stapleton eventually found himself riding in a sleigh as he made his way to a cabin in the mountains. “We go up a mountain, and I’m thinking, ‘There’s grizzly bears up here…’ And we go to this cabin with no electricity…We go in, there’s one guy cooking on like an 1800s stove…The room not much bigger than where we’re sitting right now, and just a small table. Like, what is happening? I felt like I was getting punked”.
Although the thought of Stapleton being “punked” sounded like a hilarious skit, he soon stood in front of Timberlake. “I play a little bit of music…and then he’s like, ‘Hey, man, sit down’. So I wound up just sitting down, and we hung out that night and got somewhat friendly. Then we went back to his house, and…we definitely had some whiskey and had some Pappy [Reserve] that night”.
With the drinks following and friendships starting, Stapleton and Timberlake shared common ground when it came to music. “We had talked a little about…music, and we talked about doing things together.” Even after the party ended, the two stayed in touch. Having the chance to perform at the CMAs, Stapleton’s wife, Morgane, encouraged Stapleton to reach out to the singer.
“Eat The Cake”
Needing a little convincing, Stapleton followed through with the invitation. And not needing a single second to think, Timberlake signed on. He even brought more performance time as he pushed for nearly nine minutes of airtime, which was granted.
Just one story in the career of Stapleton, he held the 2015 CMAs close, especially when cake almost ended it all. During their first meeting at the birthday party, the singer struggled with some cravings. “There was a cake there, and I went to eat a piece. I cut a piece of this cake because I’d had a few whiskeys. [Someone] was like, ‘What are you doing cutting this cake?’ I looked…and Alicia Keys had sent him the cake.”
What might have been a party foul for some was a simple mistake for Timberlake. “ He’s like, ‘No man, it’s cool, eat the cake’. That was kind of it. And we kind of knew each other from then on.”
(Photo by Dave J Hogan/Dave J Hogan/Getty Images)
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