By ANIKA VAN WYK
Nobody's perfect.
Sure, Reba McEntire is a country superstar, a successful author, movie star, toast of Broadway (Annie Get Your Gun), and about to embark on the fourth season of her self-titled hit WB TV series. But only a few minutes into our phone interview, she confesses she has a fetish.
OK, it's only a clock fetish -- and, yes, with a schedule like hers, it is pretty much a necessity.
"I'm looking at three clocks now, and I have more ... I hate to be late," Reba says from her Nashville home.
The 50-year-old admits juggling so many balls can be tricky, but "it's a business and I make sure I pay attention to it. Mom and daddy always told us kids, 'If you're going to do something, do it right.' "
Most everything Reba touches is right. While some country music veterans struggled through the genre's recent transitional period, Reba brightened her star power by conquering Broadway and starring in a hit TV series about a single mother of a teenage mom.
And when she returned to the music scene after four years, Room to Breathe was a hit.
"I'm so glad they accepted me back. The second single went No. 1 this week, so we're really tickled about that," says Reba, who will end the day's entertainment at Big Valley Jamboree on Saturday.
Not only was she welcomed back, her return came with more respect.
It seems proving she could carry a series gave her more "respectability" with her musical peers.
It's a win-win, because Reba adores doing the show and finds it fairly easy.
"I love the TV show ... Reba Hart and Reba McEntire are very similar. I'm very headstrong, really loyal to my family, very protective and kind of quick at the tongue every once in a while."
She also prefers the pace of TV to film.
"I don't like doing movies ... there's no control, and you do a movie and by the time they're through with it, it sometimes is never like the script was when you first fell in love with it."
Her Midas touch doesn't stop with her career. Reba is happily married to Narvel and they have a son Shelby, 14.
"My family life is wonderful. Everybody is happy and healthy and that goes a long way. My gosh, what more can you ask for," she says in her warm, upbeat twang.
To celebrate that happiness, Reba has dedicated her only hobby to her family.
"I've got photo albums everywhere -- and now digital ones."
Last Christmas, she gave albums to her parents and siblings that included pictures dating back to 1911.
"I made time. I would do it on weekends and tell Narvel and Shelby to go and play golf."
Reba's current calender has her looking forward to her Alberta concert ("I'm lovin' to come back to Canada"), returning to the set of Reba and releasing more singles from Room To Breathe. Beyond that, she's waiting for the next challenge to surface.
"I'm never the one searching ... I've always sat there and said 'What's going to be next,' and when it comes up I'll be grateful."
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