CMT Music Awards: Kane Brown and Chris Young Cap off the Night With ‘Famous Friends’

Kane Brown served as co-host of the CMT Music Awards on Wednesday night, and he took a break from hosting duties to hit the stage with Chris Young, where the pair performed their duet “Famous Friends” to close out the show. This was the real-life famous friends’ second time performing the song together on television, having previously collaborated during the ACM Awards in April. “Famous Friends” was released in November and is all about celebrating people who most of the world might not know but who mean a whole lot to those in their hometowns.

“We were just kind of trying to find a different angle from the back home vibe and who I grew up with,” Young told PopCulture.com of writing the song with Cary Barlowe and Corey Crowder. “And it’s like, it’d be really cool if you’re like, ‘I got famous friends that you might never heard of, but when I go back home, they’re famous in this hometown.’ I love that angle on that idea of a song. So the fact that we got it written, thought it was cool, sent it and then like, ‘Hey Kane, do you want to be on this?’ And he thought it was cool. And it all came together as well as it did, I’m just, I’m thrilled people are going to get to hear it.”

Brown is nominated for two awards during this year’s ceremony — Male Video of the Year for “Worship You,” which features his wife, Katelyn, and daughter Kingsley, and “Worldwide Beautiful,” which also features Kingsley in her music video debut. He is co-hosting the show for the second year in a row, having previously hosted with Sarah Hyland in 2020 and now taking the stage with Kelsea Ballerini for the 2021 show. Keep reading for fans’ reactions to the performance.

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“They’re the best!! I hope we never stop seeing @ChrisYoungMusic on the awards!!” one fan tweeted.

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“Definitely saved the best for last!” a second viewer wrote after the duet aired. “KB & Chris rocked the house tonight!!”

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“Congrats to Chris Young and kane brown,” an Instagram user wrote. “know they was going win tonight.”

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“Everytime this song is performed, it’s always my fave!! Famous Friends, Kane Brown × Chris Young,” a Twitter user wrote.

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“Kane Brown and Chris Young was the only good thing about this show,” a Facebook commenter wrote in CMT’s comments.

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“Congrats guys!!!!! Awesome performance!!!!! [heart emojis] Love yall!!!!” another Facebook user added.