Lady Antebellum both owned and opened the night at the 2012 CMT Music Awards by performing 'We Owned the Night.' After a verse and a chorus, the trio was quickly joined by those pop phenoms in Hot Chelle Rae. But the boys didn't jump in on Lady A's song, nor did Lady A cover the band's smash 'Tonight, Tonight.' They did something entirely new, different and customized.

Lady A and Hot Chelle Rae -- yes, we know, that rhymes -- crafted a clever mash up of both songs, since each factors the word (and idea) of "night" prominently in the mix. It was pretty seamless, despite the fact that both bands traffic in totally different genres.

It was fun to see and hear Lady A let loose and go pop for a few minutes on live TV. It was a high energy way to open the show, which looks to be filled with lots of from-out-in-left-field duets and collaborations for the rest of the night.

The only thing that sparkled more than Hillary Scott's lovely, purple and sequined blazer? The shiny, silvery one that Hot Chelle Rae's singer Ryan Keith Follesé wore.

Fun and fabulous. That's the long and the short of Lady A's show opening performance of the 2012 CMTs.

Watch Lady Antebellum and Hot Chelle Rae Perform

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