Chris Young Gets a Surprise Onstage Visit From Kane Brown

Here's a prank where everybody wins!

Written by Chris Parton
Chris Young Gets a Surprise Onstage Visit From Kane Brown
Chris Young and Kane Brown perform for the 56TH ACADEMY OF COUNTRY MUSIC AWARDS™. Hosted by Keith Urban and Mickey Guyton, the 56TH ACM AWARDS™ will be broadcast Sunday, April 18 (live 8:00-11:00 PM ET/delayed PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount +. Photo: Ryan Musick/CBS ©2021 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Country stars Chris Young and Kane Brown shared a BFF moment this summer, scoring a tag team Number One with Young’s “Famous Friends.” But this past weekend that friendship moved to a new “level,” with Brown surprising Young onstage in front of a huge crowd.

Taking place at Pennsylvania’s Country Spirit Music Fest, the light-hearted “prank” found Brown sneaking out from backstage right in the middle of “Famous Friends,” and shocking not just the fans, but also his buddy.

In video from the moment, an oblivious Young stands at the mic in mid song, when a shadowy figure emerges behind him. The crowd reacts first, and as Young turns to see what’s going on the realization hits him fast. Brown jumps right into his “Famous Friends” verse as Young nearly falls over in disbelief, and as the crowd cheers on, the pair move out onto a catwalk to revel in the moment, with big smiles all around. Afterward, Young confirmed he was totally in the dark.

“For those of you that didn’t get why it was a ‘surprise’… I had no idea Kane was there last night until he walked out,” Young wrote on social media.

After the song, Young was so happy to see Brown that he gave his buddy a huge bear hug, lifting Brown up over his head in another moment captured for posterity. That has apparently become Young’s calling card, since every time he gets a happy surprise he seems to do it, meaning he and Brown have officially leveled up. Back when Young was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2017, it was country legend Vince Gill on the receiving end.

“Thanks @kanebrown_music for showing up to sing #FamousFriends with me tonight in PA!” Young wrote. “Evidently it’s tradition when I’m surprised to pick someone up over my head!”

Chris Young’s Famous Friends Tour continues through December 5 in Uncasville, Connecticut, and Kane Brown’s Blessed & Free Tour begins October 1 in Sacramento, California. We’ll keep a look out for Young to even the surprise score.