Country music legend Willie Nelson joined modern-day star Kacey Musgraves on stage at the 53rd annual Country Music Awards on Nov. 13, and they performed a beautiful duet of “Rainbow Connection.” The 1979 tune was part of “The Muppet Movie” soundtrack and was performed by Kermit the Frog in the film.
Nelson previously collaborated with Musgraves on her 2016 holiday album, “A Very Kacey Christmas,” as well as on her 2015 album “Pageant Material.”
The duo once again proved that they definitely have chemistry as musicians when they performed at the CMAs. Check out their sweet performance in the YouTube clip below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4juzFaW12j0
This was Nelson’s first performance at the CMAs since 2012, and the 86-year-old icon showed that he’s still got it! CMAs producer Robert Deaton attributed the idea for the duet to Musgraves, praising the artist’s “instincts” on how the performance should go.
Although Deaton was initially unsure about what the extent of Nelson’s involvement should be, he told Variety that he thought their collaboration “ended up being beautiful and just shows you, once again, what can come of people working together and being open to each other’s ideas.”
Musgraves has a personal connection to the song, as evidenced by this adorable YouTube video of the singer belting out the tune at just 9 years old:
“It was one of the first songs that I ever learned how to sing, and it was on my first tape, and it was one of the songs that I can remember singing from the very beginning,” Musgraves told media backstage, as reported to The Boot.
Musgraves shared a video of her duet with Nelson on Instagram, telling him in the caption, “I’ll never ever forget this cosmic moment with you”:
https://www.instagram.com/p/B45eY-en9Ta/
Nelson has recorded a version of “The Rainbow Connection” for his 2001 album of the same name.
The song was originally written by Paul Williams and Kenny Ascher for “The Muppet Movie.” It has been covered by numerous artists, including Weezer with Hayley Williams, Jason Mraz and Gwen Stefani.
Interestingly, Musgraves took home the awards for both Music Video of the Year and Song of the Year for her single “Rainbow” the same night that she performed “Rainbow Connection” alongside Nelson. She was also named Female Vocalist of the Year.
Congratulations to Musgraves on her big night, and hats off to her for a brilliant performance with her idol!