It’s one of pop music’s most curious couplings: the 52-year-old country music matriarch and the original American Idol who’s less than half her age.
But Reba McEntire and Kelly Clarkson’s friendship could benefit both.
As USA Today reports, it already has produced a hit: Their version of Because of You from McEntire’s new Reba Duets album recently reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart.
“It’s an odd but warm relationship,” says Chet Flippo, editorial director at CMT.com. “Kelly is Reba’s musical daughter. They’re completely without artifice together.”
Clarkson also was the first singer to pair up with McEntire for Duets, which features everyone from Kenny Chesney and Rascal Flatts to Carole King and Justin Timberlake. The relationship really clicked during a February taping of CMT Crossroads.
“We’d already done one song together” for the album, McEntire says.
But when Narvel Blackstock, McEntire’s husband and manager, heard them rehearsing Because of You, he said, ” ‘OK, we’ve got to do that one.’ So we went back in the studio.”
Soon after, Clarkson’s career went into a tailspin. She canceled her arena tour, criticized label chief Clive Davis and drew mixed reviews and disappointing sales for her album My December. In July, she hired Blackstock, who shares her hometown of Burleson, Texas, as her manager.
“When you’re hanging out together, you talk about the business,” McEntire says. “She would ask me my opinion, and I’d always say, ‘The best advice I can give you is go ask Narvel.’ So she did.”
With Blackstock helming her career, Clarkson could stretch in new directions, Flippo says.
“Reba hasn’t been limited to the country-music stage for years,” he says. “She’s gone way beyond that with Broadway and TV. It’s a natural thing for Kelly.”
The association with Clarkson has boosted McEntire, too. She recently received a female vocalist of the year nomination from the Country Music Association, something she hasn’t had in three years. Clarkson says McEntire was an early influence on her singing style.
“She has that big, soulful, kind of sassy voice but can also pull off a beautiful ballad,” Clarkson says. “Honestly, she’s the light at the end of the tunnel. It’s good for every young singer to have somebody they can model their careers after.”
Source: www.americanidolkelly.com
