See Pitbull, Cassadee Pope, Leona Lewis’ Fiery CMT Awards Performance
One of the oddest collaborations on the 2016 CMT Music Awards lived up to its must-see billing, as Cassadee Pope teamed up with hip-hop superstar Pitbull and British pop star Leona Lewis to perform a spirited “Messin’ Around.”
The song, which samples REO Speedwagon’s “Take It on the Run,” is featured on the rapper’s upcoming Climate Change album with Enrique Iglesias on guest vocals. Pope and Lewis traded the pop crooner’s parts, with (kudos to CMT) production never overshadowing their stellar vocals. And Pitbull proved his usual suave self, delivering the rap interludes without missing a beat as he worked the entire stage.
While not a nominee on the show, Pope recently scored her first Number One song as one-half of the Chris Young duet “Think of You.” Her new Summer EP was released on June 3rd. This isn’t Pitbull’s only country collaboration this year — the Miami rapper appears on Keith Urban’s latest album Ripcord, guesting on the track “Sun Don’t Let Me Down.”
Leona Lewis also has her own country cred: she appeared at last year’s CMT Artists of the Year special, singing Little Big Town’s “Girl Crush” with Adam Lambert.