CMT Awards: Halsey Wows Fans in ‘The Other Girl’ Performance With Kelsea Ballerini

Halsey stepped out in somewhat of a surprising setting at the 2020 CMT Awards in Nashville on Wednesday night. The New Jersey-born pop singer teamed up with Kelsea Ballerini to perform “The Other Girls.” The track appeared on Ballerini’s third studio album, “Kelsea.” Ballerini started off the performance in a scene in a bar before Halsey joined in on the song from the other side and proceeded to walk on top of the bar.

Viewers were thrilled to see the two taking the stage together after the success of their April single. The only other time they performed had been on CMT Crossroads when they each took on a song together from each individual’s collection, as well as a different rendition of Halsey’s “Graveyard.” Ahead of the event, Halsey, who recently revealed she shaved off her hair in a TikTok video, told CMT that the two’s friendship works out perfectly because they’re both “working-class people.”

Halsey has been enjoying another successful year after releasing her third studio album, “Manic,” in January. Three singles were released ahead of its debut, including “Without Me,” from back in 2018 and later “Graveyard” in 2019. A week before the album dropped, Halsey released “You Should Be Sad” as the third single off of the album. Here is a look at some of the most notable fan reactions after taking in the friends’ latest performance.

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The friendship between Halsey and Ballerini goes back a few years with the two even spending time together at the Victoria’s Secret show back in 2018 and later teaming up on CMT Crossroads. This eventually led to some collaborations on tracks. 

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Speaking with Taste of Country Nights, Ballerini explained her decision to include Halsey on her Kelsea album. She knew she wanted to team-up on some songs with other musicians, but noted she only wanted to do so if they were her friends, not some random singers. 

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The two teamed up on “The Other Girl” because Ballerini said it just made sense. The country singer explained she first showed her the song before Halsey quickly agreed to lend her vocals onto the track. 

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In that same interview was the timeline of their friendship. Prior to getting together for the fashion show, Halsey was performing in Nashville when Ballerini ended up backstage and instantly “clicked,” according to Ballerini. 

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They connected so quickly, she said, that the two ended up going out later in the evening for an afterparty. From there, the two and some others hung out at the hotel where Ballerini revealed that Halsey shared with her the beginnings of her soon-to-be hit single, “Without Me.” 

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While the two have been in sync ever since, the pair has also enjoyed their own individual success in 2020. Ballerini dropped two albums in this year, including her most recent Ballerini in September. Meanwhile, the pop singer put out “Manic” in January. 

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Along with Ballerini and Halsey teaming up, the evening also saw some other star-studded performances. This included Luke Combs with Brooks and Dunn, Shania Twain and Morgan Wallen, which represented his first time on stage since his Saturday Night Live controversy.