The 2015 Country Music Association Awards had many show-stopping performances including Chris Stapleton and Justin Timberlake, Kacey Musgraves and her glitter ponies, and the much-overlooked Keith Urban and John Mellencamp.

Urban and Mellencamp killed it with their duet that opened the awards ceremony. The duo sang Mellencamp’s 1984 hit “Little Pink Houses” then Mellencamp turned the stage over to Urban to sing his 19th #1 hit “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16.” The track is the lead-off track from his upcoming new record, Ripcord, slated to release in 2016.

“The next record may be really, really different because I was in a different place. In some ways I feel making this record now that I’m working on is going to be easy because Fuse was such a process of finding new people,” he explains.

“I got in and started making some music with [producer] Nathan [Chapman] back in January and I didn’t feel the way about it as I hoped I would. It was kind of in that moment I thought, ‘This is not going to be easy.’ Here we are, nine months later and Nathan and I are back in the studio still going at it. It’s a process.”

Urban and Mellencamp’s performance landed on an enthusiastic audience at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, as Urban uncharacteristically played the bass guitar, proving yet again his immense musical talent.

Earlier in the day, Keith received the news that he was already a CMA winner before the ceremony even began. He took home a trophy for “Best Musical Event” for “Raise ‘Em Up”: Eric Church featuring Keith Urban.

The their performance from red nose day below.

John Mellencamp and Keith Urban Pink Houses

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