WINNIPEG -- One night in the company of Faith Hill and Tim McGraw is enough to make any love cynic sick.

Never mind -- try one minute. The reigning king and queen of contemporary country music had only been on the stage crooning through a cover of Snow Patrol's Chasing Cars for 60 seconds when our hearts began to race, our souls began to melt and yadda yadda yadda.

Fortunately, the 16,000 fans who went to MTS Centre to see the husband and wife team's Soul2Soul 2007 last night appeared to have nothing against the L-O-V-E word (and for the record, neither do we).

After the touching opening track, McGraw went backstage (actually, he disappeared into one of the stage's magical portals -- but more on the technical intricacies later) so his other half could take over.

Stunning in a glittery black halter jumpsuit, Hill kicked off by revisiting 1994 hit Wild One, then moved ahead to The Lucky One off 2005's Fireflies. She stormed through The Secret of Life, Cry, pop crossover hit This Kiss and then finally broke down after powerful track Stronger -- literally, as the ecstatic audience's screaming brought the thankful blond to tears.

"I'm a mess!" Hill cried, wiping her eyes.

Faith favourites The Way You Love Me and Breathe (more tears) took the Mississippi-bred darling to a strong finish -- even despite the outrageously high tech stage show (as mentioned earlier) she had to compete with.

A complex lighting system hung over the large circular stage that looked something like a ceiling fan, with its four catwalks creating an X shape that reached all four corners of the arena. Better yet, the catwalks doubled as screens for animated images that changed for every song -- psychedelic patterns for a cover of Janis Joplin's Piece of My Heart, ocean scenes for beachy Sunshine & Summertime -- making for some major eye candy for those in the nosebleeds.

Complete with a booming 10-piece band, four large screens and dozens of disco balls, it was probably one of the most impressive modern stage shows the city's ever seen.

An hour and 45 minutes into the show, McGraw re-joined his wife for two duets (Angry All the Time and Like We Never Loved at All) before breaking into his own solo set, starting off with a cover of Steve Miller's The Joker.

At press time, the catchy crooner -- who, of course, looked mighty hunky in second-skin jeans, green button-up shirt and signature black cowboy hat -- had just began his turn in the spotlight, and was still expected to play Last Dollar (Fly Away) off new album Let It Go, as well as past chart-toppers When the Stars Go Blue, She's My Kind of Rain and Live Like You Were Dying before Hill rejoined him for four more tracks, including the power couple's breakthrough duet, It's Your Love. The couple's show was expected to last a total of nearly 3.5 hours. Now that's love.