{alltv} Chrissie Hynde, Faith Hill intersect on 'Crossroads'

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For Faith Hill, being a Pretenders fans goes all the way back to Brass in Pocket. The singer calls the group's initial 1980 hit an anthem for her teenage years.

"I was smack-dab in junior high, going into high school," Hill says. "That was a big song for me (growing up) in Star, Mississippi."

Saturday, Hill teams up with The Pretenders for a live episode of CMT Crossroads (CMT, 10 p.m. ET/PT). The performance will broadcast from Grand Prairie, Texas, as part of the NFL Pepsi Super Bowl Fan Jam.

Until this week, Hill and Pretenders singer Chrissie Hynde hadn't met, but they talked twice on the phone to discuss song selection and arrangements.

"She's a dude," says Hynde, whose group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2005. "I can't wait to meet her. It's going to be a blast."

The show will bring together singers with two very distinct styles.

Hill is a country-pop diva who has recorded crossover singles like Breathe and a remake of Janis Joplin's Piece of My Heart.

Hynde is known for her unique, off-the-beat phrasing, and Hill relishes the prospect of singing with her.

Rehearsing with a couple of her own bandmates, "we were marveling at how these songs were put together," Hill says.

"This is a challenge for me. I love this music and I know this music, but we're two very, very different artists."

The show will consist of both acts performing four songs from each act's catalog.

"Faith is such a talented singer — she could have been a rock singer, a pop singer or a country singer," says Crossroads executive producer John Hamlin. "Chrissie Hynde has attitude to spare (in her) approach to rock 'n' roll. I like the potential combustion of what this could be."

The Hill/Pretenders episode marks the launch of Crossroads' 10th season. The show has gone live once before, with Toby Keith, Willie Nelson, Sammy Hagar and Aerosmith's Steven Tyler and Joe Perry before the 2004 Super Bowl.

"I love the idea of a Crossroads and the different genres meeting each other," Hynde says. "Fans love all kinds of music. Most people I know who love music dig everything."

Hill has ties to the NFL, singing the theme for NBC's Sunday Night Football. She's also known around Nashville for making savvy football predictions in the local Tennessean newspaper.

Her pick for Sunday?

"It could go either way," she says. "I feel like the Green Bay Packers are going to win. It's going to be a high-scoring game, and it's going to be close."