The Dixie Chicks Never Would've Performed at the CMAs Without Beyoncé

On Wednesday afternoon, news broke that Beyoncé would be joining the Dixie Chicks for a duet of her country-inspired song "Daddy Lessons" at the CMA Awards later that night. Although a handful of die-hard country music fans were rankled by the idea of a pop and R&B superstar performing at a show dedicated to the country genre, the Super Bowl performer and the Dixie Chicks brought the house down with their electric performance. Early on Thursday morning, Dixie chicks singer Natalie Maines broke her silence on the top-secret collaboration with a pair of heartfelt tweets and a silly photo. "Ok! I can finally talk about one of the greatest weeks of my life! Thank you @Beyonce! You slay. All day!" she tweeted first. "I'm pretty sure I've uttered the sentence, 'I will never perform on the CMA's again as long as I live.' And then came 🐝 :)."

The Dixie Chicks have had an up and down relationship with country music fans after their infamous 2003 concert in London, when Natalie told the audience, "Just so you know, we're on the good side with y'all. We do not want this war, this violence, and we're ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas." The comment resulted in a number of radio stations banning their music and brought their blossoming music career to a standstill. Beyoncé similarly drew ire from fans of country when she recently denounced police brutality in her "Formation" music video. Despite all this, their duet proves that great musicians can't be pinned down to just one genre. Listen to the official version of their song now.