HOUSTON – Music legend Reba McEntire is known as the “Queen of Country” for good reason -- she has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide and is the recipient of more than 50 music awards, earning honors from the ACM Awards, People’s Choice Awards, Grammys and American Music Awards (to name a few). With that kind of pro status, McEntire is a coveted coach on NBC’s ‘The Voice,’ the Emmy Award-winning musical competition series now in its 25th season.
“The best thing is we get the front row seat to some of the greatest new entertainment known to man,” says McEntire of her coaching gig. She serves as coach alongside John Legend, Chance the Rapper, and Dan + Shay.
McEntire has a soft spot for Houston in her heart. In the 1970s, she was set to compete in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo’s barrel racing competition in the Astrodome, but her horse suffered a last-minute injury and she was forced to pull out of the competition. Less than 10 years later, she would find herself performing on the Astrodome stage -- her first of 19 RodeoHouston appearances. She’s also the only woman to have performed for more than a million fans in the Astrodome.
Another Houston connection? Her sitcom, ”Reba”, which ran from 2001 to 2007 (and is now streaming on Netflix), was set in a suburb of Houston.
“I gotta tell you a funny story,” she told Houston Life’s Derrick Shore. “I was in Los Angeles at a store and this young lady walks up and she said, ‘what are you doing here?’ and I said, ‘I live here’ and she said, ‘no you don’t, you live in Houston!”
In addition to her wildly successful entertainment career, McEntire has a clothing line at Dillard’s and a western footwear line by Justin. The Oklahoma native and Golden Globe-nominated actress also owns a restaurant, bar, retail and entertainment venue in Atoka, Oklahoma.
When asked what’s next for the megastar, she says, “I’m healthy, I’m happy, I love my jobs, so I’m very grateful and thankful and just as long as the good Lord lets me do it, here I’ll be.”
Catch Reba McEntire on NBC’s ‘The Voice,’ Monday and Tuesday nights on KPRC 2.