Chris Stapleton and Dua Lipa Deliver Super-Secret Duet at 2024 ACM Awards

Chris Stapleton brought along a surprise guest to the ACM Awards stage: Dua Lipa joined the country star for a soulful performance of “Think I’m in Love With You.”

Written solo by Stapleton for his 2023 album, Higher, “Think I’m in Love With You” is already groovy as a studio recording. But onstage with Lipa, it became sultry, with the singers playfully riffing and belting alongside each other. Lipa arrived onstage singing a few bars solo before Stapleton joined her. Stapleton and Lipa were backed by the country star’s band, including Morgan Stapleton on background vocals, and a 13-piece string section.

More from Rolling Stone

• Dua Lipa Says Dueting With Chris Stapleton at the ACM Awards Was a 'Big Dream of Mine'

• The 2024 ACM Awards Were Cute, Feel-Good, and (Mostly) Predictable

• Watch Nate Smith and Avril Lavigne Debut Their 'Bulletproof' Collab at 2024 ACMs

Stapleton called Lipa the “queen of feel-good music.” Lipa, a big fan of his music, reached out to Stapleton to suggest they sing together. They pulled together the duet in just two days, the pair revealed in a backstage interview with Bobby Bones.

Stapleton’s awards show performances are typically must-sees. At the 2022 ACMs, he delivered a ferocious version of “Watch You Burn.” In 2021, he teamed with Miranda Lambert for a heart-rending duet on “Maggie’s Song.” And at the 2016 show, he roared through the fan favorite “Fire Away.” (Earlier this month, Stapleton also turned in a captivating performance on The Jennifer Hudson Show, singing “Loving You on My Mind” with Hudson and the War and Treaty.)

A few weeks ago, Lipa released her new album, Radical Optimism, a record that she said nodded to “the idea of going through chaos gracefully and feeling like you can weather any storm.” The project was informed by Blur, Oasis, and other Brit-pop bands. “This record feels a bit more raw,” she told Rolling Stone in a January cover story. “I want to capture the essence of youth and freedom and having fun and just letting things happen, whether it’s good or bad. You can’t change it. You just have to roll with the punches of whatever’s happening in your life.”

Lipa’s appearance on the ACM Awards was just one of many pop-star cameos. Post Malone (who just released his country single “I Had Some Help”), Avril Lavigne, Gwen Stefani, and the country-adjacent Noah Kahan all performed on the show.

Best of Rolling Stone

• All 274 of Taylor Swift's Songs, Ranked

• The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time

• Carrie Underwood Was a Teenage Metalhead: Her Best Hard Rock Covers