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Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton Duets Remind Us Of JT’s Star Search [Videos, Photos]

By Charisse Van Horn
Published on: 06:22 PST, Nov 5, 2015

https://youtu.be/G2sW92Hjrm8?list=PLrEnWoR732-BHrPp_Pm8_VleD68f9s14-

You can watch Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton perform their amazing duet, “Drink You Away” as performed at the Country Music Awards (CMA’s) 2015, as well as “Tennessee Whiskey,” in the videos above and below. To call the performances successful would be an understatement, as both Drink You Away and Tennessee Whiskey were undoubtedly two of the night’s highlights. Justin Timberlake has made a name for himself in R&B, but one look back at his early days and you’ll find that he’s no stranger to country music. Chris Stapleton started off the evening with a win for New Artist of the Year. Stapleton and Timberlake performed “Tennessee Whiskey” which left the audience and crowd awestruck. The duo continued with “Drink You Away,” causing social media networks to fire up with praise for the paired singers.

The “Drink You Away” performance was so good that it’s climbing the iTunes charts!

When Justin Timberlake was 11-years-old, he appeared on the show Star Search as Justin Randall, and sang country music tunes. For those who only know Justin Timberlake for hits like “Cry Me A River” or “SexyBack,” the CMA 2015 performance may have been a bit of a surprise. With the success of “Drink Me Away” and “Tennessee Whiskey,” many are taking to social media networks to request Justin Timberlake return to his country roots. Is Justin Timberlake truly a cross over country, pop, and R&B artist? It appears he may be.

Born in Memphis, Tennessee, there is no question that Timberlake is a country boy at heart. Chris Stapleton was born in Lexington, Kentucky, and comes from a line of coal miners. Both artists carry their roots in their music, and Stapleton is a bluegrass singer as well as a country artist. While Chris Stapleton moved to Nashville to pursue his dream of becoming a country music artist, Justin Timberlake’s path took a different route. Though he performed as a country music artist on Star Search, Timberlake soon landed a recurring role on Disney’s Mickey Mouse Club, followed by a position as lead singer in the boy band NSYNC. It may have seemed that life had taken Justin Timberlake far from his country roots, but the CMA performance showed that Timberlake still has his country twang and flair.

Chris Stapleton’s career has been on a much straighter country course. He started off with the Grammy nominated band, The SteelDrivers. From there, Stapleton went on to The Jompson Brothers, before launching his solo, country music career. Stapleton’s first solo album, Traveller, earned critical praise and many favorable reviews. The hard work paid off when Stapleton won Album of the Year, New Artist of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year at the 2015 CMA’s.

The Justin Timberlake, Chris Stapleton collaboration was a match made in country-music heaven. Fans are going crazy with talks about the two recording an album together. What do you think? Did you hear the live performances at the 2015 CMA’s? Do you want to hear Justin Timberlake sing more country music songs? Which song was your favorite: “Tennessee Whiskey” or “Drink You Away”?

[Photo by Taylor Hill / Getty Images]

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