Nate Smith and Avril Lavigne Duet Pleasantly Surprises Fans

(L-R) Avril Lavigne and Nate Smith attend the 59th Academy of Country Music Awards at Omni Frisco Hotel at The Star on May 16, 2024 in Frisco, Texas.

Nate Smith and Avril Lavigne may not have been the duo that country fans expected—but they're still loving it all the same.

The unlikely duo took the stage together at the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards on Thursday, May 16, giving an electric performance of Smith's song "Bulletproof" featuring Lavigne, 39.

Despite some initial reservations, fans were pleasantly surprised after seeing the two musicians perform onstage together, with many taking to social media to share their thoughts.

"Seeing Avril Lavigne at a country music award show was weird but she freaking killed it," one fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter) after Thursday night's show.

"OKAY AVRIL LAVIGNE" added another.

"Why are Avril Lavigne and Nate Smith the perfect pair?!" someone else wanted to know.

"It's not every day I have the chance to stay up and watch an Avril Lavigne performance on live TV, so that was worth it #ACMAwards," another tweet read.

"Underestimate Avril Lavigne at your own peril," someone else quipped.

Many of Lavigne and Smith's followers have been looking forward to this performance ever since they heard that Smith, 38, would be teaming up with the pop-punk princess.

Months prior to Thursday's duet performance, Lavigne and Smith were spotted getting dinner together in Los Angeles back in January, fueling rumors about a possible romance between the two. A source later confirmed that their relationship is just business—and friendship, of course.

"They are discussing a music project together," the source told People at the time.

The "Whiskey On You" crooner later gave fans a glimpse into what he had been plotting with Lavigne, sharing a video of their text conversation after they decided to release their new song just hours ahead of their performance together on Thursday.

Smith said it was a "crazy idea" to release the new version of "Bulletproof" featuring Lavigne just hours before the event, but the "Girlfriend" songstress wasn't daunted by that.

"Hell yeah!" she replied in the texts, prompting the official release of their epic duet.

But his performance with Lavigne isn't the only exciting part of Smith's night as he was also crowned with an award in the New Male Artist of the Year category, beating out fellow nominees Conner Smith, Dylan Scott, Ernest and Kameron Marlowe.

The full rebroadcast of the 59th Annual ACMs will be available directly following the stream on Prime Video and available the next day for free on Amazon Freevee and the Amazon Music app.

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