Brad Paisley Gets Good Play With "Play"

Brad Paisley and Keith Urban rehearse on Sunday, Nov. 9, for their performance on "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards," which broadcasts live from the Sommet Center in Downtown Nashville on Wednesday, Nov. 12 at 8/7c on the ABC Television Network. Photographer: John Russell / Provided by Country Music Association.

Nov. 13, 2008 — Brad Paisley’s new Play album got quite a bit of juice this week. The CD debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard country albums chart after selling nearly 54,000 copies in its first week. And he performed the first single, "Start A Band," with Keith Urban on Wednesday’s "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards," which marked the first time they’d done the song publicly.

The performance — and the rehearsals — were done on the stage at Nashville’s Sommet Center, but it would have been appropriate for them to practice on it in the restroom since, oddly enough, that’s part of their history.

"This duet with Keith was somethin' I’ve always wanted to do," Brad says. "Whenever we would have a show together in the beginning of our careers, when we were both new guys openin’ up for people, we did a lot of those together. At the [Academy of Country Music] Christmas party one year, the only quiet place we could find was the men’s bathroom, so we went in there and sat against the wall and worked up a duet to play for that, which was really fun. When I called him about this, I said, ‘Well, we just need to get together and work somethin' up,’ and he said, ‘Well, we’ll find a bathroom!’"

Brad will be the focus of GAC’s programming on Sunday, with four Brad-centric shows airing in succession. It all begins at 8 p.m. ET with Brad Paisley Makes a Video, focusing on "Waitin’ On A Woman," which won Music Video of the Year during "The 42nd Annual CMA Awards" on Wednesday. It’s followed by Brad Paisley: 5th Gear, a Brad-themed edition of Conversations From The Road and Brad Paisley: Online.