Carrie Underwood has taken to Instagram to share her admiration for Randy Travis, after Underwood was tasked with surprising the country legend on the Grand Ole Opry stage.

In-between her four sets at the hallowed Nashville venue, Underwood emerged from the wings this past weekend to gift Travis a commemorative scarf, in honour of the ‘Forever and Ever Amen’ hitmaker being a member of the Grand Ole Opry for 40 years.

While giving the special scarf, which was crafted especially by celebrity designer Manuel Cuevas, Underwood fondly paid tribute to Travis’ influence on the genre, “You are so special to all of us, certainly to me, to country music, to the Grand Ole Opry”.

Alongside a heartwarming photo of Travis and Underwood meeting backstage, the latter expanded, “I still can’t believe this man even knows my name. It was an honor to honor him tonight at the @opry I love you @therandytravis …always and forever”.

In the comments, Travis echoed Underwood's moving sentiments, sharing, “Thank you for always taking the time and being so kind. The years have flown by; but, seems like only yesterday the world heard the voice of an angel on American Idol - one of my greatest honors to watch your journey! Love you forever and ever…”

In a separate post, he shared another photo with the ‘Jesus, Take the Wheel’ chart-topper, and emphasised what a privilege it's been watching her career take off, “Proof that I’m @carrieunderwood’s biggest fan!...What an incredible night at the @opry surrounded by friends & family. My longtime friend Carrie, who I had the honor of inviting to the Opry in 2008, surprised me to celebrate 40 years! Lots of laughs, dancing and memories made that I’ll treasure Forever and Ever… Thank you Grand Ole Opry for this family that I’m blessed to be a part of. 🤎”

As both artists reference in their respective posts, this marked a full-circle moment for the duo, with Travis being the one to invite Underwood to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry in 2008. This came after Underwood's 2007 cover of Travis’ beloved track, ‘I Told You So’, had become a staple in her growing catalogue.

Travis is now unable to perform due to aphasia resulting from his near-fatal stroke in 2013, which severely hampers the North Carolina native's language-processing and speech.

But that hasn't slowed down Travis’ output, with the ‘Three Wooden Crosses’ crooner experimenting with AI-assisted releases last year, before unveiling a project of songs ‘from the vault’, which is due to arrive later in 2026. This will feature no AI usage.

Given their bond and the way in which they've both been present at key points in each of their careers, we'd love to see Underwood guesting on a reimagined version of one of these songs, as we're sure their vocals would complement one another beautifully.