Chris Young took the stage—as a previously unannounced performer—at the CMT Artists of the Year Awards in Nashville on Oct. 16 to honor Kane Brown’s late drummer, Kenny Dixon, with a rendition of his current single, “Drowning.” Kenny, 27, passed away on Oct. 12 after sustaining injuries in a car wreck.

Co-penned by Chris, Corey Crowder and Josh Hoge, “Drowning” was partly inspired by the death of Chris’ close friend, Adam, and features lyrics: “So tonight I’m gonna pull out pictures, ones with you in ’em / Laugh and cry a little while reminiscing / By myself, I can’t help that all I think about is / How you were taken way too soon / It ain’t the same here without you / I gotta say, missing you comes in waves / And tonight I’m drowning”

Kane, who was being recognized as one of CMT’s five Artists of the Year, was overcome with emotion by the performance and tearfully expressed his gratitude.

Watch Chris perform “Drowning.”