Beyonce Sings With Dixie Chicks In Surprise CMA Performance

NASHVILLE (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Pop superstar Beyonce helped celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Country Music Awards' with a secret and boisterous performance of her song "Daddy Lessons'' with the Dixie Chicks.

Beyonce hit the stage unintroduced when the show was about two-thirds over Wednesday, wearing multiple strands of pearls and a sheer, champagne-colored body-hugging dress. She looked happy and comfortable, dancing and clapping. The performance got a standing ovation.

"Daddy Lessons,'' on her recent album "Lemonade,'' is as close to a country song that Beyonce's ever released. The Dixie Chicks started covering the song on tour earlier this year.

Not everyone was prepared to welcome Beyonce with open arms. "Let me have my country music in peace'' wrote one critic on Twitter. Another suggested that whoever had invited her should be fired.

Dolly Parton received the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's CMAs, CBS2 reported. Parton has won nine CMA awards.

Garth Brooks took home "Entertainer of the Year," the highest honor, for the fifth time.

(TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)