The CMT Music Awards were set to be hosted by actor Anthony Mackie and country star Kelsea Ballerini, but on Monday morning (April 11), just hours before the show, Ballerini revealed she had COVID-19 and was unable to host the show live anymore.
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In her announcement, she said she would still be taking care of some of her hosting duties virtually, but CMT felt Mackie still needed an in-person co-host. So they turned to two-time CMT Music Awards host Kane Brown, who has stepped in at the last minute.
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On April 7, CMT announced several more performers to its already stacked lineup for the CMT Music Awards. One of those performances was going to be given by Jason Aldean and rock legend Bryan Adams!
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While the pairing might seem a tad odd, let us explain!
Aldean has a double album, titled Macon, Georgia, coming out on April 22. On it is a cover of Adams’ 1984 hit song “Heaven.”
Also, Aldean and Adams performed the song together on and episode of CMT Crossroads in June 2009.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXDsiHp9V18
They joined forces once again, this time on the streets of Nashville.
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Jason Aldean and Bryan Adams took the stage on Broadway in Nashville, both wearing black and belting the familiar lyrics as Adams played guitar with Aldean’s band.
“Heaven was written and recorded by Bryan Adams in 1984 and reached No. 1 on the Billboard Top 100 in 1985, over a year and a half after it’s initial release. The song was Adams’ first No. 1 and kickstarted a career for the artist that would lead to sales of nearly 100 million records and singles, making him one of the best-selling artists of all time.
Watch their performance in the video below.