Stephen Wilson Jr. Reveals He Has No Memory of His ‘Stand By Me’ CMA Awards Performance

Stephen Wilson Jr. delivered one of the most moving moments of the 2025 CMA Awards when he took the stage for a stripped-back rendition of Ben E. King’s classic “Stand By Me.” Several months later, Wilson Jr.  appeared on an episode of Bobby Bones’ BobbyCast podcast, where he admitted that he still hasn’t watched the performance back.

Fans will remember Wilson Jr. bringing silence over Bridgestone Arena as he took the stage with just his guitar in hand and a spotlight shining down on him and delivered the song that holds a deeply personal connection to his life.

Wilson Jr. ’s rendition of the 1961 song is delivered with a haunting, stripped-back sound. He first played the song in private as a way to cope with the passing of his father in 2018. After his acoustic rendition gained attention on the Live at the Print Shop series, he then brought the emotional delivery to the 2025 CMA Awards and later officially released a studio version of the cover.

His voice echoed through Bridgestone Arena that night, causing the crowd to listen intently to the powerful delivery. As the performance grew in intensity, Wilson Jr.  clearly became with emotion. He finished out the song strong and earned a standing ovation as a result.

The singer-songwriter opens up about why the moment in Nashville remains so difficult to revisit.

“I don’t remember any of it and I still haven’t watched it. And I don’t think I ever will,” Wilson Jr.  stated.  

Bones asked him, “Is it because you want to remember it like you remember it?”

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The Indiana native agreed, explaining that he would rather continue to not remember the performance at all.

“There’s no reality in which I should have just completely lost it on that stage playing that song with the history behind it…The point wasn’t for me to have this crazy reconnection with my father that night. The point was for my father to show up in that room and connect with everybody else but me. And I just was more or less the transmitter,” he explained.

The performance went on to become about more than revisiting his own grief. By sharing a song that had helped him cope with his father’s death, Wilson Jr.  was able to also create a moment that allowed the audience to connect with the song and its meaning in their own way.

It’s unclear if Wilson Jr.  will return to the stage for the 2026 CMA Awards as performers have yet to be announced. However, he is up for four awards, including the New Artist of the Year and Male Vocalist of the Year categories. Plus, Wilson Jr.  is behind recognized in both Song of the Year and Music Video of the Year categories for his single “Gary.” The rising star is the sole songwriter of “Gary” and co-directed the accompanying music video.

Fans can tune into “Country Music’s Biggest Night” on Wednesday, November 18 when the broadcast airs live from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena at 8/7c (8:00–11:00 p.m. ET) on ABC and Disney+, and will be available the following day on Hulu. Lainey Wilson will return to host, marking her third consecutive year in the role and second consecutive year as solo host.