See Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban, Little Big Town Update Bowie’s ‘Heroes’

Held in Nashville on August 30th, the 10th annual ACM Honors was full of musical highlights that were taped for a CBS special that aired on September 9th, marking the event’s first time to be televised. Among the performances and presentations (some of which were controversial) that night was the all-star grouping of Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban and Little Big Town to sing David Bowie’s “Heroes,” a collaboration that aired during the Stand Up to Cancer benefit the same evening.

The artists take turns singing the song’s verses, with Bentley’s baritone leading things off to make way for Urban’s soaring tenor. Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook each get their own turn, while the rest of the vocal quartet chimes in with their signature harmonies. By the end, all six are belting and improvising on the uplifting refrain, “We can be heroes.” Bowie, who died January 10th from liver cancer, wrote “Heroes” with producer Brian Eno and it appeared on the 1977 album of the same name.

The rest of the annual Stand Up to Cancer event aired from Los Angeles and featured Hollywood elite such as Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey and event founder Katie Couric, among others.