Watch Brett Eldredge Cry Tears of Joy During ‘Best Man Speech’

Brett Eldredge is used to putting his heart on his sleeve for emotional performances, but he almost lost control during a recent, very personal moment — singing his “Best Man Speech” at his brother’s wedding.

Explaining on Instagram that he woke up one night and decided such a big moment deserved a song instead of a speech, Eldredge revealed just how much his older brother’s wedding meant to him. They’ve always been best friends, he admitted, so he wanted to do something special, but it’s unlikely anyone knew just how special. Seated in front of the wedding guests with a small acoustic guitar, Eldredge started his song off with a tribute to his new sister-in-law. And then while choking back tears, he sent out a heartfelt wish for the next chapter of his brother’s life.

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I woke up very emotional in the middle of the night a few months ago with the realization that my big brother was about to get married and that we were no longer kids anymore…I had been putting off writing my best man speech until it came to me at 3am and I wrote the whole thing in bed that night…my brother is a great man and is my first call when life comes at me sideways…he and his incredibly smart and beautiful wife Lori are gonna have an awesome life together and I couldn’t be more happy for them…so here’s my best man speech, i didn’t write it for an album or any project, I wrote it for my brother, and though it’s almost impossible to sing through the tears, hopefully you will at least hear my heart for my brother, my best friend…here's my "Best Man Speech"

A post shared by Brett Eldredge (@bretteldredge) on Nov 27, 2019 at 3:04pm PST

“When you start a family of your own / I hope your kids run wild like we did back home / Barefoot in the grass, never thinking we would grow up fast / and then we did,” the chorus begins. “Ever since we were kids skipping rocks / At the house on North High Street / I’ve been working on my heartfelt best man speech.”

Up next for Eldredge is a prime-time TV appearance — he’ll sing during the Christmas in Rockefeller Center tree lighting ceremony airing December 4 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.