Kelly Clarkson’s Tribute to Her Friend Reba McEntire Was Pure Magic That Left the Crowd in Awe and Reba Visibly Moved to Tears
Kelly Clarkson’s stunning tribute to her friend Reba McEntire was expected by the crowd, but no one could have know just how much love and passion she would deliver on the stage that day.
Using all of her vocal powers to honour her friend, Kelly started off with an emotional speech saying Reba was a “rad grandma” to her children as she became tearful on stage at the Kennedy Center awards. Watch her wonderful tribute in the video below.
By 1992, Reba McEntire already had a long and successful country music career. So, when she was approached with a new song, ‘Does He Love You’, her record label knew it would be a hit. At first, they tried to convince her to duet with a well-established star, such as Wynonna Judd or Trisha Yearwood, but she ended up collaborating with Linda Davis on the final track. The duo worked well, as the song became Reba’s 18th number one, and they received a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Collaboration.
Despite forming such a powerful vocal team with Linda Davies, Reba hasn’t been shy about performing the song with other artists. In 2007, she teamed up with Kelly Clarkson to perform a cover of the song at CMT Crossroads. Fans were amazed at how well their voices worked together, leaving comments such as, “These two ladies are fire together. Such feeling in this song,” on the video of the performance that has gone on to receive over 11M views.
Not only did the pair deliver an impressive vocal performance, but they also committed to getting into character. Taking on the roles of the heartbroken wife and yearning mistress from the song, the singers directed their lines to each other on stage, as if truly fighting it out. Fans loved seeing the pair perform the song’s story, with one viewer praising: “No matter who Reba sings this with, she ALWAYS gets into full character and sings it straight from the heart as though she’s having this conversation.”
In 2021, Reba brought the song back again, this time recorded and released with country music legend Dolly Parton. Despite not being regarded as an official single, the song entered two different US country music charts. Reba once again showcased her acting skills as the pair recorded a music video of them playing characters in a bar, resolving a complex affair. The video has achieved 6.2M views, with commenters praising the collaboration between these two musical icons.
Even though Reba has recently made a nostalgic return to her past body of work, her career continues to push forward over 30 years after ‘Does He Love You’ was originally released. In 2023, she undertook a US tour and performed at Madison Square Garden for the first time. She has also once again proved her talent as an actor by appearing in dramas such as Big Sky, as well as taking on a coaching role on The Voice in 2023.
