Country music has plenty of duets that sweep the awards shows. But there are also numerous duets that were just as great, and failed to win any trophies. We picked four of our favorite country music duets, which should have won all the awards, but surprisingly did not.
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1. "Remind Me" by Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood
Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood released "Remind Me" in 2011. Written by Paisley, along with Kelley Lovelace and Chris DuBois, the song is about a love that once burned hot, but has since gone cold.
"We didn't care if people stared / We'd make out in a crowd somewhere / Somebody'd tell us to get a room / It's hard to believe that was me and you," Paisley begins the song.
Paisley includes the song on his This Is Country Music album. He knew as soon as he wrote it that he wanted his good friend on it.
"I remember calling Carrie on the phone the next day and saying, 'I think I have the duet,'" Paisley tells Smooth Radio. "And I said, 'Do you have a note that's too high?' As I picked the key for this because that's the fun part, is that you don't see that coming, that she finishes the sentence. She's like, 'No, I don't really have a note that's too high'. And that's true."
In spite of"Remind Me" showing off Underwood's stunning vocals, the song was only nominated for one ACM Award, which they did not win.
2. "Think of You" by Chris Young and Cassadee Pope
Chris Young and Cassadee Pope released "Think of You" in 2016, from Young's I'm Comin' Over album. Written by Young, along with Corey Crowder and Josh Hoge, the song is a haunting tale of two people still in love,. Sadly, they are unable to make their relationship work.
"We were the life of the party / We used to be the ones that they wished they were / But now it's like they don't know how to act / Maybe they're like me and they want us back," the song says in part.
"I was playing an acoustic show with Cassadee," Young recalls. "She started her first song, and the minute she opened her mouth, it clicked. We were right in the beginning stages of 'Who do we get to do this?' And I said, 'I'm asking her right when I get off this stage.' She's awesome, and I'm so glad she said 'yes' because she was my first choice."
"Think of You" was nominated for a few awards, including a Grammy, but failed to receive any. Even more surprising, Young has yet to win any major awards, in spite of being a successful country music singer for almost 20 years.
3. "A Bad Goodbye" by Clint Black and Wynonna Judd
Clint Black and Wynonna Judd combine their talents on "A Bad Goodbye." The duet is on Black's fourth studio album, No Time to Kill. Written solely by Black, the song is a heartwrenching tale about two people who know their relationship won't work, but it doesn't make the end any easier.
"Goodbye, easier said than done," the two sing. "Goodbye, there's no good when you're the one / Whose goodbye you swore would never come / And in my goodbye you're finding none."
"When I started to think about it, I found the sadder meaning of a bad goodbye," Black tells American Songwriter. "And I started thinking, 'Okay, if we're going to the sad part and somebody's leaving with a bad goodbye or not wanting to leave, there must be still some love there.' I started thinking about what I would be feeling. And then the song began writing itself, and things came out that were real."
4. "What If I Said" by Anita Cochran and Steve Wariner
Who can forget the gut-wrenching "What If I Said" duet by Anita Cochran and Steve Wariner? The song, out in 1997, is about two friends who are falling in love with each other. "What If I Said" is penned solely by Cochran, and included on her Back to You album.
"You tell your story, it sounds a bit like mine / It's the same old situation it happens every time / Can't we see oh maybe you and me / Is what's meant to be / Or do we disagree," the song says.
"What If I Said" received numerous nominations, but did not win any major awards. Cochran was still a brand-new artist when her team reached out to Wariner.
"This new girl in town who also played guitar," Cochran recalls (via American Songwriter). "Steve said yes! First time I met him was in the studio while we sang the song together."
