Reba's successful tour hits the west coast this weekend!
By Nathalie Baret - Spectrum contributing writer
The reigning queen of country music, Reba McEntire, appears to have it all.
McEntire’s resume boasts a prevalent hit list, a top-rated sitcom and a new clothing line – with both bearing her name, a best-selling autobiography, silver screen credits, and an acclaimed stint on Broadway. With a new hit-laden
CD and a high profile, McEntire embarks on a 30-city tour that signals a return to the road after a four-year concert hiatus.
The multifaceted, feisty redhead from Oklahoma will leave her mark Friday when she performs at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Her hand-picked string of hits on this tour includes a wide array of solid classics, as well as a few current chart-toppers off Room to Breathe, her current and 28th album.
Room to Breathe, a top ten success on the country album charts, embraces the flavors and diversity of McEntire’s 26-year musical career.
“It’s a very broad spectrum,” McEntire said in a prepared statement. “From hard-core country music, a little gospel, bluegrass and a jitter-bug type song to something more contemporary.
“We did the tracking for 11 songs in three days. The feeling was, let’s get the heart and soul of it first – If it’s a song that touches my heart, I want to sing it,” McEntire explained. “I hadn’t gotten a good jitter-bug song in my whole career, so I am really tickled about that.”
Her jaunty, blues-infused jitter-bug “Love Revival” would have also fit well on an older set list that accentuated the lavish, high-drama, pull-out-all-the-stops tour pleasers she was widely known for in the past.
Nowadays, The Grammy Award-winning singer delivers a no-frills, no-fuss, straight shooter performance with dramatic results.
In place of the flashy Broadway stage sets and the tightly choreographed dance numbers, stands McEntire center-stage – comfortable with her stripped-down new approach. Gone are the endless dazzling costume changes. Instead, a trim and
toned McEntire sports a scaled-down attire, comprised of a shiny black tank shirt, black jeans and a leather cuff on her left wrist.
Snapping her fingers and side-steppin’ from one side of the stage to the other, her colorful repertoire captivated the 9,000 attendees who stomped their feet to her country-rollicking songs and swooned to her tearful ballads at her Albuquerque, N.M., tour stop.
The seasoned veteran delivers a decade’s worth of hits. On her set list are up-tempo numbers such as “How Was I To Know,” “I’m Gonna Take That Mountain” (her first release off Room to Breathe), “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” her popular rendition of Vicki Lawrence’s earlier hit, and the irresistible “Love Revival.”
She gracefully dives into her powerful, signature ballads, such as “Whoever’s in New England,” “The Greatest Man I Never Knew,” “Forever Love,” “He Gets That From Me” (her latest single) and “One Honest Man.”
Backed up by her nine-piece band, McEntire easily makes a connection with her fans. Self-assured, she stares at individuals in the audience, head on, eye to eye, while belting out each lyric poignantly.
Her crisp, powerful voice meshed with her storytelling craft, solid showmanship and simple southern charm, is a clear indication of how endearing she was to the New Mexico crowd, as they watched her every move faithfully, while cheering her on and shouting “We Love You, Reba!” in between songs.
With over 48 million albums sold, the accomplished female country singer of her generation is not only revered by fans nationwide but by her peers as well. Faith Hill, Martina McBride and Trisha Yearwood all cite McEntire as a key role model in showing them how to handle fame with grace and good humor while never backing down from values and goals.
McEntire is also a prime example of how a female country artist can successfully cross over to other creative mediums.
She is an established movie screen and television actress who’s starred in “Tremors,” “One Night at McCool’s, “The Little Rascals,” as well as heads her own popular sitcom series “Reba,” The WB’s top rated show that’s entering its fourth season.
She’s also a successful author with sales exceeding one million for both her New York Times Best Seller autobiography “Reba: My Story,” and “Comfort from a Country Quilt: Find New Inspiration and Strength and Old-Fashioned Values.”
Not stopping there, McEntire has recently paired up with Dillard’s to launch the “Reba” collection, due out next spring. What she refers to as “a sophisticated yet versatile mix-and-match-pieces line.”
Since her debut in 1977, McEntire has collected 11 Academy of Country Music Awards, seven Country Music Association (CMA) Awards, two Grammy Awards, and has had 69 charting singles, including 51 No. 1’s. She is up for “Female
Vocalist of the Year” in this year’s CMAs and “Favorite Female Country Artist” Award from the American Music Awards, both airing in November.
“Everything I’ve done in my career is a result of growing up in rural Oklahoma, because if I hadn’t had the training from Mama and Daddy to work hard, to do what I’m told, to take directions, to mind and do a good job at anything I set out to do, then I wouldn’t be were I am today.”
Her courage and challenging nature also landed her the leading role in the Broadway smash “Annie, Get Your Gun,” where she won over tough New York critics.
Today, the entertainment idol, also known as the “ambassador of country” remains the same person who gathered cows before dawn on her parents ranch. “I’ve managed to stay grounded because I don’t want to become anything else.”
“Whatever I’m doing, I feel like I’m representing country music. It’s always been my main career, and it’s where my loyalties lie,” McEntire concluded. “I feel like I’m waving the flag of country music wherever I go. I couldn’t be prouder to do it.”
CLICK HERE to discuss in our forum.
The reigning queen of country music, Reba McEntire, appears to have it all.
McEntire’s resume boasts a prevalent hit list, a top-rated sitcom and a new clothing line – with both bearing her name, a best-selling autobiography, silver screen credits, and an acclaimed stint on Broadway. With a new hit-laden
CD and a high profile, McEntire embarks on a 30-city tour that signals a return to the road after a four-year concert hiatus.
The multifaceted, feisty redhead from Oklahoma will leave her mark Friday when she performs at the Cow Palace in San Francisco. Her hand-picked string of hits on this tour includes a wide array of solid classics, as well as a few current chart-toppers off Room to Breathe, her current and 28th album.
Room to Breathe, a top ten success on the country album charts, embraces the flavors and diversity of McEntire’s 26-year musical career.
“It’s a very broad spectrum,” McEntire said in a prepared statement. “From hard-core country music, a little gospel, bluegrass and a jitter-bug type song to something more contemporary.
“We did the tracking for 11 songs in three days. The feeling was, let’s get the heart and soul of it first – If it’s a song that touches my heart, I want to sing it,” McEntire explained. “I hadn’t gotten a good jitter-bug song in my whole career, so I am really tickled about that.”
Her jaunty, blues-infused jitter-bug “Love Revival” would have also fit well on an older set list that accentuated the lavish, high-drama, pull-out-all-the-stops tour pleasers she was widely known for in the past.
Nowadays, The Grammy Award-winning singer delivers a no-frills, no-fuss, straight shooter performance with dramatic results.
In place of the flashy Broadway stage sets and the tightly choreographed dance numbers, stands McEntire center-stage – comfortable with her stripped-down new approach. Gone are the endless dazzling costume changes. Instead, a trim and
toned McEntire sports a scaled-down attire, comprised of a shiny black tank shirt, black jeans and a leather cuff on her left wrist.
Snapping her fingers and side-steppin’ from one side of the stage to the other, her colorful repertoire captivated the 9,000 attendees who stomped their feet to her country-rollicking songs and swooned to her tearful ballads at her Albuquerque, N.M., tour stop.
The seasoned veteran delivers a decade’s worth of hits. On her set list are up-tempo numbers such as “How Was I To Know,” “I’m Gonna Take That Mountain” (her first release off Room to Breathe), “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” her popular rendition of Vicki Lawrence’s earlier hit, and the irresistible “Love Revival.”
She gracefully dives into her powerful, signature ballads, such as “Whoever’s in New England,” “The Greatest Man I Never Knew,” “Forever Love,” “He Gets That From Me” (her latest single) and “One Honest Man.”
Backed up by her nine-piece band, McEntire easily makes a connection with her fans. Self-assured, she stares at individuals in the audience, head on, eye to eye, while belting out each lyric poignantly.
Her crisp, powerful voice meshed with her storytelling craft, solid showmanship and simple southern charm, is a clear indication of how endearing she was to the New Mexico crowd, as they watched her every move faithfully, while cheering her on and shouting “We Love You, Reba!” in between songs.
With over 48 million albums sold, the accomplished female country singer of her generation is not only revered by fans nationwide but by her peers as well. Faith Hill, Martina McBride and Trisha Yearwood all cite McEntire as a key role model in showing them how to handle fame with grace and good humor while never backing down from values and goals.
McEntire is also a prime example of how a female country artist can successfully cross over to other creative mediums.
She is an established movie screen and television actress who’s starred in “Tremors,” “One Night at McCool’s, “The Little Rascals,” as well as heads her own popular sitcom series “Reba,” The WB’s top rated show that’s entering its fourth season.
She’s also a successful author with sales exceeding one million for both her New York Times Best Seller autobiography “Reba: My Story,” and “Comfort from a Country Quilt: Find New Inspiration and Strength and Old-Fashioned Values.”
Not stopping there, McEntire has recently paired up with Dillard’s to launch the “Reba” collection, due out next spring. What she refers to as “a sophisticated yet versatile mix-and-match-pieces line.”
Since her debut in 1977, McEntire has collected 11 Academy of Country Music Awards, seven Country Music Association (CMA) Awards, two Grammy Awards, and has had 69 charting singles, including 51 No. 1’s. She is up for “Female
Vocalist of the Year” in this year’s CMAs and “Favorite Female Country Artist” Award from the American Music Awards, both airing in November.
“Everything I’ve done in my career is a result of growing up in rural Oklahoma, because if I hadn’t had the training from Mama and Daddy to work hard, to do what I’m told, to take directions, to mind and do a good job at anything I set out to do, then I wouldn’t be were I am today.”
Her courage and challenging nature also landed her the leading role in the Broadway smash “Annie, Get Your Gun,” where she won over tough New York critics.
Today, the entertainment idol, also known as the “ambassador of country” remains the same person who gathered cows before dawn on her parents ranch. “I’ve managed to stay grounded because I don’t want to become anything else.”
“Whatever I’m doing, I feel like I’m representing country music. It’s always been my main career, and it’s where my loyalties lie,” McEntire concluded. “I feel like I’m waving the flag of country music wherever I go. I couldn’t be prouder to do it.”
CLICK HERE to discuss in our forum.
