Even if the Grammys weren’t on board to recognize Halsey’s talents this year — seriously, Manic was easily one of the best and most ambitious pop albums of 2020 — there’s another corner of the music industry that understands just how influential they are. Halsey picked up a CMT Award last night (and so did another well-known pop star), along with their collaborator (and the show’s co-host) Kelsea Ballerini, for a performance the pair did last year for CMT.
Their rendition of “The Other Girl” from the show’s 2020 event picked up the trophy for CMT Performance of The Year — not too shabby considering they were up against competitors like Brooks & Dunn, Luke Combs, Noah Cyrus and Little Big Town. The performance they won for is above, a pretty impressive one at that. Pulled off during COVID-19 precautions, the two performers danced and sang in an empty bar, telling the story of two very different partners dating the same man, and reflecting on what it feels like to know about one another… and still stay.
The song is off Ballerini’s 2020 album, Kelsea, and is her first collaboration with Halsey. For their part, Halsey went a little bit country on the Manic track “You Should Be Sad,” which has a similar vibe to their collab! Check out the performance above and congratulations to both Halsey and Kelsea.