In the first big television event of the year, seven of the leading names in country music and beyond are coming together to kick off college football’s biggest weekend.

With 90 minutes of show-stopping performances, the CMT Ultimate Kickoff Party Live From the College Football Playoff National Championship gets the party started Friday (Jan. 9) at 9 p.m. ET.

In what is sure to be one of the most talked about collaborations of 2015, Lady Antebellum will take the stage with pop star Aloe Blacc to perform “Wake Me Up” (the smash No. 1 he scored with DJ and producer Avicii) and the group’s latest release, “Freestyle.”

Toby Keith will perform “Drunk Americans,” the debut single from his new album 35 MPH Town, and will take fans back more than a decade to 2003 with “Beer for My Horses.”

Big & Rich will also take a trip down memory lane with their megahit “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy)” and their newest heartwarming smash, “Look at You.”

The projected frigid temperatures could make this one of the coldest weekends of the year, but there’s no doubt Jake Owen will get the crowd heated up with “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” and his steamy “Anywhere With You.”

Plus, some of country’s hottest newcomers are set to perform their latest hit songs -- like Maddie & Tae’s “Girl in a Country Song,” Brett Eldredge’s “Beat of the Music” and Thomas Rhett’s “Get Me Some of That.”

Stay tuned for more updates from the show, including exclusive rehearsal and behind-the-scenes footage.

CMT Ultimate Kickoff Party Live From the College Football Playoff National Championship airs on CMT, CMT.com, the CMT app and 119 iHeartMedia country stations across the country Friday (Jan. 9) at 9 p.m. ET.