Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton Sings a ‘Tennessee Whiskey/Drink You Away’ Medley during the CMA 2015

November 4, 2015 went down as the day when Chris Stapleton hit the charts as the No.1 trending search term on Google and for a good reason. 

Before his stint on the 2015 CMA awards, even his top fans wouldn’t have thought that he would smash hits outside of country music.

However, five years ago, this grizzled country songwriter teamed up with a clean-cut pop favorite. Together with Justin Timberlake, they stole the show at the 49th annual CMA Awards.

Singing a two punch performance of Timberlake’s “Drink You Away” and Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey,” this duo dazzled the audience, a performance that catapulted Stapleton to his current stadium-rocking star status. 

Chris Stapleton‘s new fans were quick to wonder how the two-song medley came to be. The pair reportedly got together after Stapleton performed at Timberlake’s private event. The “Like I Love You” singer soon enough backed the industry’s relatively new name by singing at the said awards ceremony. 

Timberlake’s falsetto highlighted the highest notes of the song in Stapleton’s ‘Traveller,’ which also won Album of the Year. The medley took the fans to church as the band mesmerized them into reveling from start to finish. Fans came home wondering who sang with Timberlake with such power.

Proving his spicy singing prowess, this Kentucky-born voice became a beloved favorite soon after that night. Given the classic performance he gave to all spectators, Stapleton proved he only needed a little nudge by a friend. 

Stapleton’s iconic status today was a revelation into the mainstream music industry five years ago. Since then, the “Starting Over” singer wows his fans from all walks of life, both long-time country music buffs and new ones.

ICYMI, here’s the ‘Tennessee Whiskey/Drink You Away’ Medley: