A new duet between rocker Bryan Adams and country singer Tenille Townes was borne from an unexpected encounter in a stairwell.

The Grande Prairie, Alta.-raised Townes describes a combination of luck and good timing as what led to recording 鈥淭he Thing That Wrecks You鈥� with one of her musical inspirations.

In a statement, she says the collaboration came about after she ran into Adams while leaving his Warehouse Studio in Vancouver last summer. She was there to record a song for a Hallmark movie.

Passing him in a stairwell, they struck up a conversation. And later that night, as she reflected on the encounter, she was reminded of how the spirit of one of her unreleased songs seemed fit for his voice.

The singer-songwriter says she went 鈥渙ut on a limb鈥� and sent the Kingston, Ont.-born 鈥淪ummer of 鈥�69鈥� hitmaker a demo alongside a proposal that he join her on the track. That 鈥渨ild thought鈥� led to 鈥淭he Thing That Wrecks You,鈥� which captures the two exchanging reflections on the moment a relationship spirals into heartbreak.

Townes is nominated twice at the Juno Awards next month for songwriter and country album of the year.

鈥擠avid Friend, The Canadian Press