Given that this is the week of the CMA Awards, I have to say it--before there was a Miranda Lambert, before Carrie Underwood was a gleam in her mother's eye, there was Reba McEntire. And she is far too impacting even up into these present days to use the past-tense verb "was" in any sentence about her.
Reba's new album, All The Women I Am, is out on Tuesday, and we were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to ask her a few questions about her career as it presently stands. Here, she discusses the diversity of the new record--her method of songwriting (you'll be surprised at some of the methods she's used in the past, as well as the one she uses today), selecting songs for the tracklisting, and the overall making of the album.
My favorite part of this interview involves talking to Reba about her amazing history straddling both the traditional and modern country scenes. Despite considerable competition from younger female country artists, Reba remains more than up-to-speed on the cutting edge (more than 1 million Facebook followers, anyone?). What other artist on the country scene has been able to so seamlessly maintain her roots and credibility while still pushing the envelope with every new album she releases? What other country artist can cover both Loretta Lynn AND Beyonce in the same year, hang tough with Kelly Clarkson, and out-funny Kenan Thompson?
Who wants to be Reba when they grow up? Raise your hands out there; I'm raising both of mine.
And, in the meantime while we're all working on that, enjoy our exclusive interview with Reba now. Be sure to let me know what you think of it!
As always, be sure to:
Follow Yahoo! Music on Twitter