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Madonna and Taylor Swift got pop-culture aficionados cheering by performing together at the iHeartRadio Awards, which aired on March 29.

At the awards ceremony, where Swift took the Artist of the Year prize, Madonna sang her song 鈥淕hosttown鈥� while Swift played guitar with her. Many media critics found it to be the perfect match-up.

鈥淢adonna and Taylor Swift [blew] the lid off the iHeartRadio Awards,鈥� writer Joanna Robinson wrote, while writer Emily Yahr called the team-up a 鈥済enius PR move鈥� [it] proved to be brilliant鈥� well played, all around.鈥�

writer Cathy Applefeld Olson agreed.聽

鈥淚n a night that belonged to聽Taylor Swift, she hit her highest note at Sunday's iHeartRadio Awards alongside new BFF聽Madonna,鈥� Olson wrote. 鈥淸It was] the awards show鈥檚 best performance鈥� she and Swift shared the stage with the ease of kindred spirits.鈥� (Check out the video above of Swift and Madonna performing together.)聽

The pair-up shows that two 鈥� or more 鈥� stars doing a song together can be one of the best parts of awards shows. This is even the case for non-musical programs. At the 2014 Oscars, much of the novelty of that selfie heard 鈥榬ound the world, in which celebrities including Brad Pitt, Meryl Streep, Angelina Jolie, Bradley Cooper, and Jennifer Lawrence were pictured, was that all the celebrities were in the same place. When host Ellen DeGeneres ordered pizza, Pitt helped hand out plates while actor Harrison Ford asked DeGeneres for napkins. Seeing stars all in the same room, interacting, is fun for pop-culture fans.聽

That cool factor increases when it comes to two musicians doing what they do best together. One awards show that has figured this out is the Grammy Awards, widely regarded as one of the biggest nights in music. For this past year鈥檚 awards show, Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and Gwen Stefani (who also appear together on NBC鈥檚 reality singing competition 鈥淭he Voice鈥�) teamed up to sing the Maroon 5 song 鈥淢y Heart Is Open.鈥� 鈥淭his is how you perform a ballad at the Grammys,鈥� wrote. 鈥淸Stefani] harmonizes perfectly with Levine.鈥� And the publication wrote that having singer Mary J. Blige perform Sam Smith鈥檚 hit song 鈥淪tay With Me鈥� with Smith 鈥渞eally elevates it to the next level鈥�. a perfect pairing.鈥� Meanwhile, singled out Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney performing their song 鈥淔ourFiveSeconds鈥� as one of the best numbers of the night, giving it an A grade.聽

Singer match-ups at awards don't always soar. People can seem out of sync together on stage, or sound a little off. But often, musician pairings 鈥� the more unexpected, the better 颅鈥� are what keep viewers glued to the TV.