Sugarland and the B-52’s Share the ‘Love’

Tuesday's CMT Music Awards featured several surprise collaborations, including T-Pain with Taylor Swift and Keith Urban with Jason Aldean. But perhaps none was quite as jaw-dropping as when the B-52's took the stage with Sugarland, to perform their classic hit 'Love Shack'.

"We do it ['Love Shack'] live, so we had it worked out as far as the arrangement," Jennifer Nettles tells CMT, "but we wondered, 'How would it work to bring everybody in?'"

Jennifer's partner, Kristian Bush, had another idea: "We just wanted them to play it -- and we were just going to stand onstage," he joked.

It turns out, the B-52's are fans of Sugarland, as well, and were thrilled to perform with their fellow Georgia natives. Besides, performing with one of country's biggest acts wasn't that big of a stretch.

"It felt really natural," said B-52's singer Kate Pierson.

"I think a lot of our songs have a country feel," echoed bandmate Fred Schneider. "When we wrote 'Cosmic Thing,' we were thinking about being back in Georgia."

Guitarist Keith Strickland thinks the song may be more country than rock anyway. "The love shack is a honky-tonk, essentially. It's down a country road. It's out in the country. It's a country song."

Jennifer agrees that there is room in country music for songs like 'Love Shack' in the future. "I think videos, television and radio are finally catching on to what music lovers know -- and that is that good music is good. It is no longer defined, especially in this day and age, by some sort of image or lifestyle. It is about, 'Do you like it, and does it make you feel good?' These guys make me feel good. These guys make me feel good and that's what we love."

Sugarland took home the CMT Music Award for Duo Video of the Year Tuesday night for their recent No. 1 hit, 'All I Want to Do'. They are currently touring with both Kenny Chesney on his Sun City Carnival tour and Keith Urban on his Escape Together World tour.