Country music has seen its fair share of powerful duets; in the 2010s, many duets rose to the top. It was a decade that began with Brad Paisley as the CMA’s Entertainer of the Year and Taylor Swift getting the same honor for the Academy of Country Music. The decade also saw the first-time Entertainer win for Blake Shelton (CMA 2012) and the last CMA Entertainer wins for Garth Brooks (2016,2017, 2019), who pulled out of the running in the 2020s.

Duets in country music have been a thing since the beginning of the genre in the 1930s. Over the decades, we’ve seen unforgettable duets from Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner in the 1960s, Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty in the 1970s, to Tim McGraw and Faith Hill in the 1990s and early 2000s.

The last duet to win a Grammy in country music was Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde for “Never Wanted To Be That Girl.”

Many of the songs on our top ten list of duets in the 2010s include “Musical Event” winners for both the CMA and ACMs and even a Grammy Award-winning duet.

We look back on the 2010s decade in country music and rank what we believe are the top ten duets of the era.

RELATED: Carly Pearce, Ashley McBryde Will Celebrate With Wine and Cupcakes

• 10 - "Don't You Wanna Stay" - (2011)

  Jason Aldean with Kelly Clarkson – Jason said of his duet with Kelly Clarkson, who was his first choice for the song, “I love her voice. And I love her style. Long story short, we got her a copy of the song, and she loved it. As soon as she started singing, it became obvious it was going to be great.”

• 9 - "Raise 'Em Up" (2015)

  Keith Urban featuring Eric Church – The song was nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 57th Annual Grammy Awards. Keith said of the song, “There’s so much imagery in the song, and it’s written in such a way that you can fill in all the blanks. I love that kind of style of songwriting.”

• 8 - "Dive Bar" - (2019) Garth Brooks & Blake Shelton

  Garth Brooks & Blake Shelton – Garth announced a promotional concert tour supporting the single when this song was released. “The Dive Bar Tour” features Brooks visiting seven dive bars throughout the United States.

  https://www.facebook.com/GarthBrooks/videos/1404896339660953/

• 7 - "You and Tequila" (2011) - Kenny Chesney featuring Grace Potter

  This song, which is a remake of a song Kenny first heard when he toured in the 1990s with Deana Carter, received two nominations in the 54th Grammy Awards for Best Country Song and Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

• 6 - "Hillbilly Bone" - (2010) Blake Shelton featuring Trace Adkins

  When Blake first heard this song demo, he thought it sounded “like something Trace Adkins would cut” and asked producer Scott Hendricks to bring Adkins in to sing it as a duet.

• 5- "Somethin' Bad" - (2014) Miranda Lambert with Carrie Underwood

  This song allowed everyone to see multiple award show performances from these two superstars together. Miranda said she had wanted to do a duet with Carrie Underwood, noting, “It’s been too long since two girls in our genre have come together like that, especially on a song that’s kind of in your face.”

• 4 - "Different For Girls" - (2016) Dierks Bentley featuring Elle King

  This fabulous song is the one that brought Elle King into country music. It is a CMA-winning song (for Musical Event) and was also nominated for the 2017 Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.

• 3 - "Old Town Road" - (2019) Lil Nas X featuring Billy Ray Cyrus

  This catchy song won numerous awards, including Grammy and a CMA for Musical Event. It has sold over 18 million records worldwide, making it one of the best-selling singles ever.

• 2 - "Highway Don't Care" (2013) - Tim McGraw with Taylor Swift & Keith Urban

  This song won the Musical Event of the Year at the CMA Awards in 2013. It was a shoo-in with Taylor, Tim, and guitar work from Keith Urban. It’s an instant classic.

• 1 - "The Fighter" (2016) - Keith Urban featuring Carrie Underwood

  You know when you put five or ten songs in a “Favorites” playlist that are your all-time faves, and you listen to them when time gets tough, and you need to smile? This is one of those songs for me. I don’t know exactly what it is that makes me love it so much; maybe it’s their voices blending or the song’s sweet message. This song will top my songs list for a long time to come. I can’t not smile when I hear it. It reminds me of the pure joy that music can give.

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