Kelsea Ballerini and Noah Kahan gave all the cowboys in Nashville permission to get a little teary-eyed at the 2024 CMA Awards. The pair took the stage for a performance of their anti-toxic masculinity duet “Cowboys Cry Too,” nominated for Musical Event of the Year.

“In our world and culture and echo chamber of highs and beautiful things, sometimes real feelings start to feel like something you just put aside or push down to keep up,” Ballerini shared when the song was first released in June. “Especially the way so many men grow up, that kind of toxic masculinity mentality of ‘saddle up, brush off.’ I wanted to write my perspective and essentially celebrate the vulnerable men in my life, and Noah adding his truly unfiltered perspective just brought it to life in a more meaningful and beautiful way.

The performance marks Kahan’s CMA Awards debut, while Ballerini is something of a returning champion: She’s been racking up nominations since 2015. She is a candidate for Female Vocalist of the Year.

Ballerini and Kahan fell into a rhythm as they performed together throughout the year. In May, they took the stage together at the 2024 ACM Awards for a double duet. They opened their set with ‘Mountain With a View’, from Ballerini’s album Rolling up the welcome mat (for good). They kept the ball rolling with “Stick Season,” the title track from Kahan’s breakthrough album.

Earlier this month, ‘Cowboys Cry Too’ scored a nomination for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 2025 Grammy Awards. “No words,” Ballerini wrote on Instagram in response to the nomination. “I love you @noahkahanmusic let’s go to the Grammys.”