Avril Lavigne joined reigning New Male Artist of the Year Nate Smith on stage at the 59th ACM Awards on Thursday evening (May 16). Together, the cross-genre duo delivered the debut live performance of their duet version of Smith’s “Bulletproof” at the world headquarters of the Dallas Cowboys at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.

Smith released “Bulletproof” earlier this year. Lavigne joined him on a new version that dropped on Thursday ahead of the ACM Awards. Earlier this week, Smith recently shared text messages he and Lavigne exchanged about the collaboration. Smith suggested a “crazy idea,” and revealed at that time that the new version of “Bulletproof” would arrive in time for Country Music’s Party of the Year. Smith said when he first released “Bulletproof” that he’s “tried to outrun the pain of a heartbreak in so many different ways. And I feel like the only thing that can really get you through it is time. And just doing that self-care, that self-healing, and stuff so. That’s kinda what the song is about. Trying everything you can to outrun the pain of a heartbreak, but you can’t do it.”

Lavigne has previously made marks in country music, including during a previous appearance at an Academy of Country Music event. She honored Shania Twain during the ACM Honors in 2022 (the two met when Lavigne was 14 years old, and won a radio contest to sing with Twain on stage), and performed with Miranda Lambert at CMA Fest last year. Lavigne was linked to Smith months ago, when they were photographed riding around in the back of a truck in L.A. It was unclear at that time, however, whether they had their collaboration in the works. Watch their debut performance of “Bulletproof” here:

Robbyn Hart