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Katy Perry and Thomas Rhett kept their eyes on each other for an emotional performance of their lovelorn duet “Where We Started” at the 2022 CMA Awards on Wednesday night (Nov. 9).

Perry was on Rhett’s playing field at the Nashville awards show, and the pop star played the part, wearing a black cowgirl hat with her strapless denim gown, complete with fringed slit, to trade verses with the country star.

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Rhett kicked off the performance on his own, with blue-lit strings of fabric dangling from the Bridgestone Arena rafters behind him. Perry joined him for the second verse, singing, “I’d be playin’ my guitar, singing them covers in an empty room/ You knew one day I would make a livin’ out of singing ’bout you.”

On the red carpet ahead of the show, Perry wore a different all-denim ensemble. Both her looks recalled her 2014 MTV Video Music Awards appearance with rapper Riff Raff, as the two paid tribute to the all-time-greatest Canadian tuxedo moment: when then-couple Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake wore matching jean getups at the 2001 VMAs.

“Where We Started” is the title track from Rhett’s most recent album, released in April. Perry and Rhett released a music video for the song last month.

See our updating list of 2022 CMA Awards winners here.

The 2022 CMA Awards are all about the girl power on Wednesday night (Nov. 9), and Kelly Clarkson, Kelsea Ballerini and Carly Pearce brought the heat with their fun “You’re Drunk, Go Home” performance.

The trio traded verses and impressive vocal ability as they sang onstage in sleek blue outfits, with sparklers blasting behind them. “Hey, walk away, so me and my girls can do our thing/ I ain’t looking for a one-night rodeo/ You’re drunk, go home,” they declare in the sassy chorus.

Back in September, Clarkson had Ballerini as a guest on her daytime talk show, where the “Since U Been Gone” singer admitted that she was fittingly inebriated while recording the song. “I get to the studio here with [music director] Jason [Halbert], and I get in there and I’m like, ‘Look, I didn’t know I was gonna be singing today,’” Clarkson remembered. “I didn’t know! … So I had to sing a song called ‘You’re Drunk, Go Home’ inebriated, trying to sing first soprano parts like, ‘I’m fine!’”

In an interview with Billboard, Ballerini said she thought of her friend of 10 years Pearce immediately for the song and then sent it to Clarkson too, trying to add “someone who can add a different texture, vocally.” “I thought the biggest ask I could make is Kelly Clarkson, and I texted her that morning,” Ballerini shared. “She did her vocals that night.”

Ballerini’s “Half of My Hometown” was nominated for single of the year at the 2022 CMA Awards, though she ultimately lost to Cody Johnson’s “Til You Can’t.” See our full list of CMA Awards winners here.

Brothers Osborne chatted with Billboard after their win at the 2022 CMA Awards.

The 2022 CMA Awards brought all the biggest country stars to Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday night (Nov. 9), and one of the sweetest moments of the night is when pop superstar Katy Perry met country icon Wynonna Judd on the red carpet during a Billboard interview.

While chatting with Billboard, Perry is seen bubbling with happiness over meeting Judd in person. “I’m just here because I get to meet icons like this for the first time,” the pop star explains, before Judd says, “I can’t believe we’ve never met!”

Perry continues, “It confirms that you are an icon because of your awesome energy and personality. I just love you.”

Judd added to the sweet interaction by replying, “I love you too. I’ve watched you from afar, and I’m here and we’re going to take a picture and everyone is going to be so impressed.”

Later on in the interview, Judd reflects on being called a “legend” in the music world. “A legend? Is it time to be a legend?” she asks. “I think Reba [McEntire] is next in line. Just saying, but I’m on my way.”

“You’ll make it soon, sweetheart. One of these days,” Perry playfully joked in response, before showing off her “titty trap” outfit. “If you’re looking at my titties, that’s because they’re out and I don’t care!”

Perry is teaming up with two-time CMA Award winner Thomas Rhett at the CMA Awards to perform their collaboration “Where We Started” (the title track from Rhett’s 2022 album). “Where We Started” peaked at No. 33 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart in April. Meanwhile, Rhett’s album spent three weeks on the Billboard 200, where it peaked at No. 12 following its April 1 release.

Judd, meanwhile, appeared as a presenter at the event, honoring Brothers Osborne with the vocal duo of the year award for the fifth year in a row. Onstage, the band’s John Osborne revealed the news that he and his wife Lucie Silvas are expecting twins.

Katy Perry & Wynonna Judd chatted with Billboard on the red carpet of the 2022 CMA Awards.

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