The selection served as a tribute to Lady A during its Artist of the Year recognition. The trio’s own performance of “Need You Now” in Little Rock, Arkansas, provided another live example of the song’s impact. In that rendition, the lyrics’ vulnerability and the group’s passionate singing supplied the performance with its force.

Lady A released the track as the lead single from Need You Now, the trio’s 2010 studio album bearing the same name. By that stage, the Tennessee group had recorded three hits in the United States, but this ballad was the release that elevated Lady A to international prominence within country music.

The song’s certifications reflected that expanded reach. In the United States, “Need You Now” reached 11-times-Platinum status. It also secured multi-Platinum recognition in the United Kingdom and Australia.