Jennifer Hudson & Chris Stapleton’s Mind-Blowing CMA Awards 2021 Performance

Artist performances during any award show usually get hyped as a “Performance you can’t miss!” However, if we were honest, most of them don’t live up to their hype. That is not the case with Jennifer Hudson’s CMA Awards 2021 performance. 

Jennifer Hudson, an academy-award-winning actor, and singer, gave a jaw-dropping number with multiple awardees, Chris Stapleton. Hudson did most of the singing while Stapleton sang backup vocals and was on guitars. They performed a soulful medley for “Night Life” and “You Are My Sunshine.” 

Both songs that Jennifer Hudson and Chris Stapleton performed for their CMA Awards 2021 number come from Aretha Franklin’s collection. Hudson played Franklin in “Respect,” an Aretha biopic released in early 2021. 

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The duo started with the song “Night Life,” recorded for Franklin’s 11th album in 1967 titled “Aretha Arrives” and written by Willie Nelson. After that, they jumped to “You Are My Sunshine,” a gospel classic from 1939 that Franklin also recorded for her Aretha Arrives album. 

Hudson and Stapleton’s electrifying performance made the audience at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena stand up. It was an extraordinary moment in time and one of the best TV performances we’ve seen from both artists in a while.

Jennifer Hudson’s performance with Chris Stapleton is one to remember for years. It’s one of those rare moments when an artist’s award show performance manages to rise above the occasion and deliver something that blows the audience away. 

It’s a performance that is worth seeing. On that note, if you haven’t seen Jennifer Hudson’s legendary CMA Awards 2021 performance yet, you can do so right now by clicking here.