Dua Lipa‘s surprise performance with Chris Stapleton at Thursday night’s (May 16) 2024 ACM Awards required some seriously stealth maneuvers. The “Training Season” singer took the stage to debut a new duet with Stapleton at the awards show at Ford Theater at the Star in Frisco, Texas and afterwards she talked to Billboard about how they pulled off the high-profile musical sneak attack.
“Lots of zip-up hoodies and running in and out of the arena,” she said of the lengths the two singer’s teams went to in keeping the secret under wraps. “We were all so in on making sure that this stays a surprise to make the moment even more special. I don’t know how we did it, I’m glad we did it because it’s really special when it happened tonight on stage.”
Stapleton won the artist of the year and album award at the 59th annual ACMs, but it was when he performed his song “Thing I’m in Love With You” with Dua — and his wife Morgane — that the audience at the Ford Theater sat up in their seats watching the two singers from different musical words meld their universes.
Dua said she was inspired to attend the ACMs and perform with Stapleton because she’s a “massive fan” of the singer she called a “master of his craft.” She also enjoyed sitting down with Stapleton to brainstorm how they could reimagine the song from his Higher album. “To even just spend a few days with him working with him, and his band and with his wife Morgane as well, it’s just been absolutely incredible. It’s just one of those moments in my life where i’m so happy to be a musician and to be creating something and doing something that feels so exciting,” she said.
At press time, reps for both singers had not responded to Billboard‘s request for comment about news that they plan to release the collaboration soon.
Lipa was also excited to see fellow pop-to-country crossover star Post Malone performing at Thursday’s event, but the thing that she was most psyched about was her new album, Radical Optimism, debuting at the peak of the Top Album Sales chart.
Dua said she celebrated the long-gestating album’s release at home with friends and family with food, drinks and music. And, because she was in Texas, she had to try some local bbq as well, of course. “That and going on a hunt for the best cowboy hat,” she said of her Lone Star state adventures.
Watch Dua Lipa talk about the surprise performance and her album’s chart debut in the video above.
