One of the night’s most anticipated performances at the 2011 CMA Awards, hands down, was the collaboration between Lionel Richie and some of country’s hottest stars.

Little Big Town took the stage with their four-part harmony as they sang ‘Deep River Woman’ with angelic tones. Richie made a grand entrance to the stage as he walked down the center catwalk, and the room — filled with country music’s biggest stars — rose to its feet for the international superstar. The members of Little Big Town were beside themselves in amazement that they were sharing the same stage with the star, who will be releasing a country album in the near future.

With the end of their duet, Richie was joined by country and pop star Darius Rucker, who performed a soulful version of ‘Stuck on You.’ With the room still on their feet, the camera panned over the faces of the stars, including Tim McGraw, that were lit up and singing back the words to the song.

Rascal Flatts were the last act to share the stage with Richie for an amped up performance of ’Dancing on the Ceiling.’ The hot country trio showed the room how to deliver an entertaining and electrifying performance with plenty of guitar and powerful vocal range from Richie and Flatts’ frontman Gary LeVox.

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