What a way to start the show.
On a night that featured some stellar performances across the board with Carrie Underwood making a surprise appearance alongside Cody Johnson on “I’m Gonna Love You,” Eric Church delivering a soulful performance of “Darkest Hour” and Ashley McBryde throwing a curveball and covering Kris Kristofferson’s “Help Me Make It Through the Night,” Post Malone and Chris Stapleton kicked off this year’s CMA Awards in style and opened the show with a killer performance of their duet, “California Sober.”
The performance, as expected, was absolutely electric with Stapleton showing off his world-class vocals and Post bringing his usual unresistible charm throughout.
Being ranked inside the Top 10 on my complete F-1 Trillion ranking, there’s no doubt that “California Sober” is a certified romp. The pair’s chemistry coupled with some of the most memorable instrumentation on the album make the track a must-listen, and it was showcased beautifully during the live performance.
Stapleton would go on to win three awards with “White Horse” winning Single and Song of the Year, as well as his fourth straight CMA Male Vocalist of the Year win.
Though Post walked home empty-handed at his first-ever CMA appearance, he was nominated three times for Single, Song and Musical Event of the Year for “I Had Some Help,” featuring newly-crowned Entertainer of the Year, Morgan Wallen.
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