9781422273265

CHAPTER 1

A STAR IS BORN

HITTING THE ROAD WITH TRAVELLER

Thanks to his fantastic duet at the CMAAwards, Chris Stapleton’s music was finally selling and getting airplay—even though this success seemingly came out of nowhere. Now seats for his upcoming tour were selling out. Stapleton had to hit the road fast to capitalize on his newfound fame—before fans moved on to the next underground sensation.

“I didn’t expect to win any CMA Awards. I was just going to have fun and play my songs. We rehearsed with Justin Timberlake for a day or two.” Stapleton had been scheduled by his label to join country legend Hank Williams Jr. on a short eight-show tour across the United States. Before the CMAs, Williams didn’t even know who Stapleton was. After the awards show, however, and when tickets started selling out, Williams took notice. During the tour, Stapleton’s star was outshiningWilliams’, thanks to his CMA performance, and the crowd’s cheers for Stapleton were noticeably louder.

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a star is born