Chris Stapleton shocked the audience at this year’s Academy of Country Music (ACM) Awards on Thursday (16 May) when he brought out pop star Dua Lipa for a unique, one-off performance of his Higher track, Think I’m In Love With You.
But the surprise didn’t stop there. Yesterday (20 May), the pair officially released the ACM Awards version of the song to streaming services.
The original song, not a duet, worked well with Lipa’s robust and raspy vocal alongside Stapleton’s signature gruff voice. Speaking to Billboard on the night of the awards, Lipa told the publication that she’s a “massive fan” of Stapleton, and that inspired her to reach out and see if they could collaborate.
Describing Stapleton as a “master of his craft,” Lipa added, “It’s one of those moments in my life where I’m so happy to be a musician and be creating something and doing something that feels so exciting.”
Stapleton told Entertainment Tonight that working with Lipa was a “whirlwind” experience, with talks between himself and the pop star occurring for months before rehearsals took place in just a few days.
You can watch the pair perform Think I’m In Love With You at the ACM Awards below.
Dua Lipa released her highly anticipated third album, Radical Optimism, earlier this month. For the album, she enlisted Tame Impala’s Kevin Parker, longtime collaborator Caroline Ailin, Danny L Harle (Caroline Polachek, Charli XCX) and Tobias Jesso Jr. (Adele, Niall Horan).
Unlike her previous album, March 2020’s Future Nostalgia, which mined a disco-pop influence, Radical Optimism finds Lipa inputting sounds and feelings of 1970s-era psychedelia and ‘90s trip-hop acts like Massive Attack, as well as Britpop and bands like Primal Scream.
Meanwhile, in addition to cleaning up the ACM Awards and winning big Grammy Awards, Stapleton recently sold out all dates of his debut Australian and New Zealand tour.
If you missed out on tickets, there is a chance to score some, with KIX Country offering double passes in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. You can sign up here to enter the competition before it ends on Sunday, 2 June.
Chris Stapleton will perform at Melbourne’s Rod Laver Arena on 25 and 26 February, Brisbane Entertainment Centre on 28 February and 1 March, and Sydney’s Qudos Bank Arena on 4 and 5 March. The singer, songwriter, and guitarist then heads to New Zealand, playing at Auckland’s Spark Arena on 7 and 8 March. Special guest Marcus King will join him on all dates.
CHRIS STAPLETON’S ALL-AMERICAN ROADSHOW GOES DOWN UNDER
AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND 2025
With Special Guest Marcus King
TUESDAY 25 FEBRUARY - ROD LAVER ARENA, MELBOURNE
WEDNESDAY 26 FEBRUARY - ROD LAVER ARENA, MELBOURNE – NEW SHOW
FRIDAY 28 FEBRUARY - ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE, BRISBANE
SATURDAY 1 MARCH - ENTERTAINMENT CENTRE, BRISBANE – NEW SHOW
TUESDAY 4 MARCH - QUDOS BANK ARENA, SYDNEY
WEDNESDAY 5 MARCH - QUDOS BANK ARENA, SYDNEY – NEW SHOW
FRIDAY 7 MARCH - SPARK ARENA, AUCKLAND
SATURDAY 8 MARCH - SPARK ARENA, AUCKLAND – NEW SHOW
All shows are sold out.
Countrytown brings you Australia’s best country music news, interviews, charts and more every week! This post was authored by Countrytown and originally published on the Countrytown website. It has been re-published with permission.
