NOMINATED FOR CMA VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
TOOK HOME TWO AWARDS AT THE 2026 CCMAS:
ALTERNATIVE COUNTRY ALBUM OF THE YEAR (STARTING OVER EP)
VIDEO OF THE YEAR (“PARKING LOT PRAYERS”)
WATCH THEIR 2026 CCMA AWARDS PERFORMANCE OF “ALTERNATE ENDING” HERE
“THE MAGICAL COMBINATION OF THE ACTRESS-TURNED-COUNTRY-MUSIC ARTIST AND THE ACTOR-TURNED-INDIE ROCK STAR…” – PEOPLE
“COUNTRY MUSIC FOUND ITS MODERN-DAY SONNY AND CHER OR THE WHITE STRIPES.” – COUNTRY CENTRAL
NASHVILLE, TENN. – Today, acclaimed rising duo Thelma & James release post-breakup track “Good By Now.” The “magical combination” (People) of their partnership continues to take them to new heights, including a nod for Vocal Duo of the Year at the 2026 CMA Awards. Earlier this month, they took home Alternative Country Album of the Year for their EP Starting Over and Video of the Year (“Parking Lot Prayers”) at the CCMA Awards. Watch their stunning live show performance of “Alternate Ending” at the CCMAs here.
“’Good By Now’ is about thinking that after all this time you’d be okay, and realizing you’re not,” Thelma & James explain. “It’s about the wounds that time was supposed to heal but somehow didn’t, and wondering how much longer you have to wait before you finally see some light.”
The new song was written by MacKenzie Porter, Jake Etheridge, Casey Brown and Parker Welling with production by Lonas, the frontman of folk duo The Saint Johns, and co-production by Casey Brown. Despite the time that has passed, the heartbreak is far from over:
You told me goodbye then
Thought I’d be good by now
No, time ain’t been my friend
Just made it worse somehow
Cause here I am no better than
The day that you walked out
You told me goodbye then
Thought I’d be good by now
Their gorgeously harmonized and deeply honest songs are the heartbeat of their partnership that Grammy.com calls “an accidental, only-in-Nashville anomaly.” Not realizing the best writing partner was right under their noses the whole time, their first co-write in over a decade produced viral track “Happy Ever After You” that ignited the spark that’s grown into a whirlwind journey for the married duo.
This year Thelma & James have released a sequence of resonating singles: “The Way That It Wasn’t,” “Home In Your Broken Heart,” “Alternate Ending” and “If You Ain’t In Love By Now.” The last of which led Country Central to characterize them as, “…country music’s most devastatingly tender of partnerships.” For more information, please visit thelmaandjames.com.
ABOUT THELMA & JAMES
Thelma & James have quickly turned an unexpected musical partnership into one of country music’s most talked-about new acts. Formed by married Nashville-based singer-songwriters MacKenzie Porter and Jake Etheridge, the duo recently won Alternative Country Album of the Year for their EP Starting Over and Video of the Year for “Parking Lot Prayers” at the 2026 CCMA Awards. This year they earned their first ACM and CMA Award nominations and wrapped their first stadium tour with Luke Combs. Not realizing the best writing partner was right under their noses the whole time, their first co-write in over a decade produced “Happy Ever After You.” Evolving organically from an impromptu video that earned praise from fellow artists like John Mayer, Brandi Carlile and more, the song has garnered over 30 million global streams since its release. The pair signed to Big Loud Records in 2025 are doubling down on their fortuitous musical chapter with more new music on the horizon.
CONNECT WITH THELMA & JAMES
WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | TIKTOK | YOUTUBE
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Media Contacts
Corey Brewer + Rachel Heatherly | Big Loud
corey@bigloud.com, rachel@
