Noah Kahan admitted he nearly had an accident on stage during an emotional performance at the 2026 Emmys. The "Stick Season" singer said his nerves almost got the better of him while performing during the ceremony's in memoriam tribute at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on September 14.
"Honored to have sang tonight to the memory of so many legends," Kahan wrote on X after his performance. "Also I almost pissed my pants cuz I was nervous."
Emmys Tribute Performance
Kahan joined Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy for the in memoriam segment, which paid tribute to celebrities including Catherine O'Hara, James Van Der Beek, Eric Dane and Hayden Panettiere. Together they performed a cover of Simon & Garfunkel's "Bridge over Troubled Water."
Speaking to Keltie Knight during Live From E!: 2026 Emmys ahead of the ceremony, Kahan explained why the song felt right for the moment.
"I think it's a perfect song to encapsulate the hope that comes with so many of the people that we lost this year," he said. "The bright lights we've lost: Dolly [Parton], Catherine [O'Hara], so many incredible artists."
"I think the song speaks to the hope and love that they brought to the world," he continued. "And I'm going to try to kind of give some of that back with a song tonight."
Who Is Noah Kahan
Kahan, 29, is a singer-songwriter best known for his breakout folk-pop hit "Stick Season," which became one of the defining songs of the past few years, along with tracks like "Orbiter." His music blends indie folk with confessional, often self-deprecating songwriting, a tone he carried into his comments about the Emmys performance.
Teasing New Music
Before taking the stage for the Mariska Hargitay-hosted ceremony, Kahan also teased an upcoming music project, though he stopped short of giving details.
"I can't tell you any more, really, but yeah, we've got something. I got that thing on me right now," he said. "I got something in the works."
He joked that his publicist would "throw me into the trash can over there" if he said anything more about the project.
"But very excited about what we have," he added, "and it was a really cool opportunity."
Kahan's Emmys Look
For the ceremony, Kahan wore an oversized black suit with a bow tie. The Emmys 2026 red carpet also featured stars including Zendaya in custom Prada, Selena Gomez in Louis Vuitton, Nicole Kidman in Chanel and host Mariska Hargitay in Monse.
