When was Chris Stapleton cold?

Chris Stapleton performed his Grammy-winning song “Cold” at the 2022 ceremonies in Las Vegas, earning a standing ovation in the process.

“Why you got to be so cold/Why you got to go and cut me with a knife, put our love on ice?” the country singer bellowed, bathed in blueish light and backed by a string section and his longtime band. Everyone onstage was playing live too: Stapleton refuses to perform to a pre-taped track at awards shows.

“Cold,” which won Best Country Song earlier in the day, appears on Stapleton’s latest album Starting Over, this year’s Grammy winner for Best Country Album. Written by Stapleton with producer Dave Cobb and his bandmates J.T. Cure and Derek Mixon, the song is framed by an angular minor-key piano part that evokes the moodiness of Radiohead. (The Heartbreakers’ Benmont Tench played keys on the recording.)

“We wrote it on the road,” Stapleton said in the Grammys press room. “That song came from a jam backstage. We hope they pop up sometimes. We didn’t sit it out and map it that way, it just happened.”

Stapleton also performed “Cold” with a string section at last November’s CMA Awards and, a month earlier, watched from the audience at the CMT Artists of the Year ceremony as Boyz II Men offered their own vocal-based rendition.

Stapleton was one of the top country nominees at this year’s Grammy Awards. Along with Best Country Album, he was nominated for Best Country Solo Performance for “You Should Probably Leave” and for Best Country Song for “Cold.”

Additional reporting by Ethan Millman.

Chris Stapleton evokes the chilly atmosphere of late-Nineties Radiohead with “Cold,” the latest release from his new album Starting Over. The follow-up to Stapleton’s two-part From A Room series, Starting Over will be released November 13th.

Framed by an angular minor-key piano part played by the Heartbreakers’ Benmont Tench, “Cold” initially feels closer to “Karma Police” than Stapleton’s signature brand of earthy soul-country. Of course, when Stapleton opens his mouth, it’s more rooted to his past work than Thom Yorke’s, particularly with lyrics that address a distant, heartless ex-lover. Stapleton penned the song with his core band members J.T. Cure and Derek Mixon, and producer Dave Cobb.

“Why you got to be so cold/Why you got to go and cut me with a knife, put our love on ice?” he sings, bringing out the famous ache in his voice. By the second verse, the song’s otherworldly vibe has returned in the form of a cinematic string arrangement envisioned by Stapleton, Cobb, and viola player Kristin Wilkinson that ratchets up the tension with unsettling, dizzying slides between notes.

Recorded at Nashville’s RCA Studio A, Starting Over was produced by frequent Stapleton collaborator Cobb and features Stapleton’s wife Morgane along with Tench and fellow Heartbreaker Mike Campbell. He announced the album in late August with the release of the upbeat title track.

Cold is a song by American singer-songwriter Chris Stapleton, it was released on September 25, 2020 as the third single from his fourth studio album Starting Over.[1] At the 64th Grammy Awards, the song won the award for Best Country Song.[2]

"Cold"Single by Chris Stapletonfrom the album Starting OverReleasedSeptember 25, 2020GenreCountry-soulLength5:09LabelMercury NashvilleSongwriter(s)

Chris Stapleton
Dave Cobb
J.T. Cure
Derek Mixon

Producer(s)

Dave Cobb
Chris Stapleton

Chris Stapleton singles chronology

"Starting Over"
(2020)

"Cold"
(2020)

"You Should Probably Leave"
(2021)

On November 10, 2021, Stapleton performed the song on 55th CMA Awards,[3] on April 3, 2022, he performed on the 64th Grammy Awards.[4]

Chart performance for "Cold"

Chart (2020–2022)	Peak position
US Adult Alternative Songs (Billboard)[5]	7
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)[6]	1
US Hot Country Songs (Billboard)[7]	22

Certifications for Cold

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[8]	Gold	500,000
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

^ Wendowski, Andrew (September 25, 2020). "Chris Stapleton Debuts Soulful New Song 'Cold'". Country Now. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
^ "Grammys 2022: The Country Music and Americana Winners". Rolling Stone. April 3, 2022. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
^ Nazareno, Mia (November 10, 2021). "Chris Stapleton Brings On the Chills With 'Cold' Performance at 2021 CMA Awards: Watch". Billboard. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
^ Hudak, Joseph (April 3, 2022). "Watch Chris Stapleton Destroy the Grammy Audience With 'Cold'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
^ "Chris Stapleton Chart History (Adult Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
^ "Chris Stapleton Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
^ "Chris Stapleton Chart History (Hot Country Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
^ "American single certifications – Chris Stapleton – Cold". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 10, 2022.