'Saturday Night Live' musical guests for 2016 include Chris Stapleton, Selena Gomez

BY MELISSA RUGGIERI

Chris Stapleton has gone from critically acclaimed underground artist to mainstream darling in a matter of months.

Though he attracted a sizeable – and responsive – crowd at the Parklife Music Festival in October, the soulful country-man remained a mystery to many until his breakout performance with Justin Timberlake the first week of November on the CMA Awards .

On Thursday and Friday, Stapleton will perform at The Tabernacle ( ticket info here ). He's up for a handful of Grammy Awards next month (including Album of the Year for "Traveller"). And now he's the first musical guest of 2016 on "Saturday Night Live."

Stapleton will perform on the show Jan. 16, with host Kylo Ren (aka Adam Driver).

The show has also announced Selena Gomez as the musical guest on Jan. 23 ( she performs here in June ), with UFC fighter Ronda Rousey hosting.

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