Before taking the stage at the Opry plaza during the Opry Loves the ’90s experience, Alexandra Kay explained she had done a great many cover songs on TikTok in career – and gotten a lot of attention for them. Kay even landed a spot of Tim McGraw’s tour following a TikTok cover of “Don’t Take the Girl” that grabbed McGraw’s attention.

However, Kay never imagined that a recent Creed mash-up would lead to a duet performance with the band’s singer Scott Stapp. Stapp dueted with her on TikTok and then the singers’ teams connected and brought the social media moment to life.

“We came up with our favorite Creed songs, and we put them all together, and we mashed them up and we uploaded it, and you guys completely blew it up on the internet,” Kay told the audience before Stapp’s surprise appearance. “We were thinking about playing it for you guys today, and then we realized that Scott Stapp lives near Nashville.”

Stapp said he loves being part of Nashville’s welcoming music community and was excited to join Kay – both on TikTok and in person – when the opportunity arose.

The pair met for the first time the day before the show for a quick rehearsal and embraced each other warmly, exclaiming their delight over meeting each other.

Stapp said Kay sounded so good covering the songs he couldn’t help himself, and he wanted to make the performance about the young, female singer. Kay laughed and said she wanted to make the appearance about Stapp.

“(His) tone is unmatched,” she said.

“I have tremendous respect and admiration for AK, a young, independent artist out there working hard chasing her dreams,” Stapp said. “I just wanted to show my support for what she’s doing and sing with her before she gets too busy selling out arenas!”

The fast friends swapped lines on some of Creed’s biggest hits in front of the cheering Opry Plaza audience. The mash-up included: “Stand Here With Me,” “Higher,” “With Arms Wide Open” and “Six Feet From the Edge.”

“Scott has one of the most recognizable and truly unique voices I have ever heard,” Kay told Music Mayhem. “I thought after rehearsing that I would be used to hearing it in person, but live on stage I was just as in awe as the entire audience. He is not only an incredible talent and a true icon, he is one of the most down-to-earth, humble humans I have ever shared the stage with.”