Longtime friends and “What Ifs” duet partners Lauren Alaina and Kane Brown reunited backstage at the 2026 iHeartCountry Festival presented by Capital One.

The two country stars posed for photos together when the show returned on Saturday night (May 2) to the Moody Center stage in Austin, Texas. Alaina and Brown met when they attended middle school together in Georgia. Alaina spoke about that during an episode of Off The Vine with Kaitlyn Bristowe last year, sharing that she encouraged Brown to try singing when she heard him humming at school. “He does, actually,” thank her for his career, she said on the podcast.

Alaina also spoke about the success of her duet with Brown. The pair collaborated on “What Ifs” in 2016, and its since reached diamond status. The song appeared on Brown’s self-titled debut studio record, which also included “Hometown,” “Thunder in the Rain” and more.

Luke Bryan, Parker McCollum, Riley Green, Carly Pearce, Shaboozey, Dylan Scott, Russell Dickerson, Gretchen Wilson and Chase Matthew, plus special guest George Birge, made up the star-studded lineup of the 2026 iHeartCountry Festival. It was all hosted again by iHeartRadio’s Bobby Bones.

The 2026 iHeartCountry Festival is streaming live on Disney+ and Hulu. If you missed the show (or just want to relive the experience), you can replay the festival on Sunday (May 3) only on Hulu.

Check back with iHeartCountry for a photo gallery of red carpet looks, more performance recaps, backstage moments and other unforgettable highlights from this year’s iHeartCountry Festival.