Country fans tuning into the 2024 Emmy Awards ceremony on Monday night (Jan. 15) saw a couple of familiar faces — and heard a couple of familiar voices! — during the show’s “In Memoriam” segment, which was led by a piano performance from pop star Charlie Puth.

Puth wasn’t alone onstage: Yep, he had a little help from none other than husband-and-wife vocal duo the War and Treaty. Bandmates Michael and Tanya Trotter stood at his side, offering gentle harmony vocals and occasionally singing lead throughout the emotional performance.

• The War and Treaty have been stars of the Americana scene for quite a while, but their profile in mainstream country has been steadily rising.
• The pair were nominated for Duo of the Year at the 2023 ACM Awards, marking the first time a Black duo has been in the running for that category in the award show’s history.
• They frequently appear at awards shows for special performances with other stars. The War and Treaty performed with the Brothers Osborne at the 2022 CMA Awards, and with Dierks Bentley at the 2021 ACM Awards.

Puth sang a rendition of “See You Again,” a 2015 Wiz Khalifa-led hit that Puth co-wrote and sang on during the original duet recording. The song — which was commissioned for the Fast & Furious franchise installment Furious 7 — quickly became an international hit.

As Puth sang the familiar hit on the Emmys stage, a montage honored a spread of late luminaries who died this year, including Barbara Walters, Suzanne Somers, Richard Belzer, Treat Williams, Angela Lansbury and many others.

As the segment played on, Puth modulated into “I’ll Be There for You,” the beloved theme song of the hit television series, Friends. He split vocal duties with the War and Treaty during the performance: Press play on the video below to watch the tender rendition.

Of course, one of the most shocking losses of 2023 was that of Matthew Perry, who played the role of Chandler Bing on the hit sitcom. Perry was the final honoree to be mentioned in the montage, in an emotional moment for everyone watching in the crowd and from home.

Perry died in late October 2023 at the age of 54. According to People, authorities officially ruled his death as accidental, and caused by “acute effects of ketamine,” with contributing causes of death listed as coronary artery disease and buprenorphine side effects. Perry was open about his longterm fight with opioid, alcohol and substance addiction; buprenorphine is an opioid prescription drug used as a replacement in the treatment of opioid or heroin addiction.

Fans will have plenty of opportunity to see the War and Treaty on their television screens in the weeks ahead. The duo are two-time nominees at the 2024 Grammy Awards: They’re up in the categories of Best American Roots Song (for their “Blank Page”) and the all-genre field of Best New Artist.

In the latter category, they’re competing against another fast-rising country sensation: Jelly Roll. In a recent interview, the War and Treaty told Taste of Country that they and Jelly are massive mutual fans, and that ahead of the awards show, they spoke to each other about how “poetic” it is that two outsider acts are representing country music at the Grammys this year.

“You’ve got a guy who is not the poster child for country music, and you’ve got a duo who are also not the poster child for country music, and some people would dare say we’re not country — neither one of the acts,” the band’s Michael Trotter explained. “But when you think of the thriving spirit of our nation, what it means to be American, what it means to part of this country — [those stories make up] our path.

“It’s the underdog story,” he continues. “Jelly has a saying, ‘The losers win again, baby.’ And the War and Treaty, we’re the counted out who make the count. We represent everybody who’s ever felt like that.”