Kelsea Ballerini and Noah Kahan Shut Down Toxic Masculinity With ‘Cowboys Cry Too’ at CMA Awards

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,” a nominee for Musical Event of the Year.

“In our world and culture and echo chamber of highlight reels and pretty things, sometimes real feelings start to feel like something you just set 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 mindset of ‘saddle up, brush it off’. I wanted to write my perspective and essentially celebrate the vulnerable men in my life, and Noah adding his really unfiltered perspective into it just brought it to life in a more meaningful and beautiful way.”

The appearance marks Kahan’s CMA Awards debut, while Ballerini is something of a returning champ — she’s been racking up nominations since 2015. She’s up for Female Vocalist of the Year.

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Ballerini and Kahan fell into a rhythm performing 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 of 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 reaction to the nomination. “Love you @noahkahanmusic let’s go to the Grammys.”