Best moments from CMA Awards 2016, including the Beyonce surprise

NASHVILLE (CNN/AP) The CMA Awards celebrates its 50th anniversary.

Carrie Underwood won Female Artist of the Year, Chris Stapleton won Male Vocalist of the Year and Garth Brooks won Entertainer of the Year.

But the real surprise was the pop star who took the stage.
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Beyonce makes surprise appearance at Country Music Awards

By MARK KENNEDY
AP Entertainment Writer

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 un-introduced 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.

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