Chris Stapleton,Maren MorrisandMavis Staplestook the CMA Awards to church Wednesday night!
First, Stapleton, 40, Morris, 28, and Staples, 79, took turns singing verses of Stapleton’s 2017 track “Friendship.” Then, after a round of applause, they launched into a rousing rendition of The Staple Singers’ classic “I’ll Take You There.”
John Shearer/Getty
Stapleton led the number of CMA nominations this year with five; he won two (song of the year and single of the year) for “Broken Halos.” Morris scored two nods heading into the show: female vocalist of the year and musical event of the year for her Vince Gill collaboration “Dear Hate.”
Check out PEOPLE’sfull CMA Awards coverageto get the latest news on country music’s biggest night.
Chris Stapleton, Maren Morris, Mavis Staples and Morgane Stapleton.
All three artists have enjoyed fruitful years.
Earlier this month, while touring to support his latest acclaimed LP,From a Room: Volume 2, Stapleton announced wife Morgane is expecting their fifth child just seven months afterwelcoming twins.
Morgane Stapleton.Michael Loccisano/Getty
Morris has also had a busy year. After dropping her smash Zedd collaboration “The Middle” in January, shewedfellow singer-songwriter Ryan Hurd in March and finished opening for collaborator Niall Horan on tour this fall.
Meanwhile, Staples announced that she’ll release her new solo album,Live in London,in February.
“It’s kind of unbelievable to me that I’m still recording,” the Rock and Roll Hall of Famersaid on her website. “I never thought I would still be singing at my age, and people seem to really want to hear me, they know me, they give me love — I’m just overwhelmed, really. I thank God every night before I go to bed and then again every morning for waking up.”
The 52nd annual CMA Awards air Wednesday, Nov. 14 from Nashville at 8 p.m. EST on ABC.
source: people.com
