Proving that even mainstream television holiday specials can't always be mediocre, Lady Antebellum performed an absolutely beautiful version of 'The First Noel' on the 'CMA Country Christmas' program Thursday night (Dec. 20).

The award-winning vocal trio told host Jennifer Nettles that they actually recorded their recently-released Christmas album in the summer, bringing a Christmas tree into the studio to try to approximate the spirit of the season. But there was nothing false about their performance during the annual special.

Like many of their original recordings, the group's rendition of the seasonal chestnut relied upon the vocal chemistry between singers Hillary Scott and Charles Kelley. There's nothing wrong with either one of them as lead vocalists, but the truly special moments happened when they sang together. And singer/multi-instrumentalist Dave Haywood's simple, understated acoustic guitar lines provided the perfect bed track for not only the vocals, but a beautiful string arrangement as well -- not to mention his third harmony parts, which often give the group's arrangements that extra dimension that makes the trio such a standout.

Watch Lady Antebellum Perform 'The First Noel'

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