WATCH: Beyoncé gives surprise performance at the CMA Awards

Nashville - Pop superstar Beyoncé helped celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Country Music Awards with a surprise and boisterous performance of her song Daddy Lessons with the Dixie Chicks.

Beyoncé hit the stage unintroduced when the show was about two-thirds over on Wednesday, wearing multiple strands of pearls and a sheer, champagne-coloured 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 Beyoncé's ever released. The Dixie Chicks started covering the song on tour earlier this year.

Not everyone was prepared to welcome Beyoncé 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.

Watch her performance here:

See more pics here:

(Photos: Getty Images)