On the Sept. 9 episode of ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live, Brad Paisley and a special livestream guest used his 2005 hit "Alcohol" and other favorites to poke fun at the ongoing coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
Paisley sang parody songs and cracked jokes in the above segment, including some light-hearted digs at his beloved Cleveland Browns.
The 2020 revision of "Alcohol" hits it out of the park with its opening lines: "And since the day we first heard from Fauci / That gravelly-voiced McDreamy hunk / We've been wipin' down groceries / Hoardin' the Charmin / And pretty much constantly drunk."
During Paisley's revision of "Remind Me," Carrie Underwood makes an appearance to sing with her duet partner and to joke about the very idea of Paisley filling Kimmel's shoes.
Paisley played it serious long enough to talk about country music's role in getting us all through a rough year.
"This is a tough time for everybody, and it turns out that a lot of people are turning to country music for comfort," Paisley said. "Streams of country music are up 11 percent. ... Which, I guess, makes sense — almost every country song is about loneliness or drunkenness. And right now, everybody's both of those things all the time."
Paisley and Underwood go way back, not just with songs but as 11-time CMA Awards co-hosts.
Over Labor Day weekend, two old friends and Opry members teamed up in Nashville for the Grand Ole Opry's 4,940th consecutive Saturday Night broadcast.
A night that included Underwood's performances of her debut single "Jesus, Take the Wheel" plus "Dirty Laundry" and "I Told You So," and a set of Paisley favorites anchored by "No I in Beer," also brought fans special duet performances. Together, Underwood and Paisley sang their own hit, "Remind Me," as well as renditions of Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty's "Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man" and one of the most meaningful and memorable hits of the 21st century, "Whiskey Lullaby." The pair also closed out the live broadcast from the Opry stage with a song synonymous with the Mother Church, "Will the Circle Be Unbroken."
Paisley recorded "Whiskey Lullaby" with duet partner Alison Krauss for his 2003 album Mud on the Tires. The song racked up several awards, including Music Video of the Year and Vocal/Musical Event of the Year honors from both the Country Music Association (CMA) and Academy of Country Music (ACM). Oddly enough, a song of such magnitude never reached No. 1. It stalled at No. 3 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart.
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Opry broadcasts feature media personality Bobby Bones and can be heard each week online, via Circle All Access and on the station that started it all, WSM.
Others to perform at the Opry House since the show went on in March without a live audience include Keith Urban, Reba McEntire, Darius Rucker, Luke Combs and country music power couple Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks.
In other Underwood news, she'll be joining Dolly Parton and others with Christmas albums slated for a fall release when My Gift arrives on Sept. 25. Guests on the album include John Legend and Underwood's oldest son, social media superstar Isaiah Fisher.
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