Lionel Richie to Preview Country Duets Album on CMA Awards

A quarter-century after his last CMA Awards appearance, Lionel Richie will perform live at this year's ceremony, sharing the stage on Nov. 9 with Little Big Town, Darius Rucker and Rascal Flatts.

All three acts appear on Lionel's forthcoming 'Tuskegee' album, a collection of the superstar's greatest pop hits recast as country duets. The disc will also feature collaborations with Blake Shelton, Tim McGraw, Willie Nelson and Shania Twain, among others.

"Twenty-five years is too long to wait and we are thrilled to have Lionel back on the CMA Awards stage performing alongside our superstar acts," Steve Moore, chief executive officer for the CMA, said in a statement. "This is what the CMA Awards are known for. Those one-of-a-kind collaborations you don't want to miss because everyone will be talking about it the next day."

Explaining his decision to make a country record, Lionel -- who's sold more than 100 million albums and scored numerous hits as both a solo artist and member of the funk group the Commodores -- said he and the genre go back a long way.

"I was born and raised in Tuskegee, Alabama," the 'Dancing on the Ceiling' singer said in a press release. "I am a country boy and proud of it. To do this project just felt natural."

"Growing up with country, R&B, gospel, and classical music from my grandmother and pop, Tuskegee was the perfect melting pot for my influences as a writer," added Lionel, who previously appeared on the 1984 and 1986 CMA Awards telecasts, "and the title, 'Tuskegee,' is a validation of my growing up there-the place I call home."