Reba McEntire long ago eclipsed the profession of singer.
No doubt she earned her sobriquet as the queen of country music as she sits on a record of 57 Top 10 hits -- 25 of them No. 1s -- 26 studio albums and recent induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame.
Not a bad showing for a 35-year career.
But in the past decade, the fiery redhead with the Oklahoma twang and Cheshire Cat grin has morphed into a brand, one that includes a six-year stint as a sitcom star (“Reba”), a successful turn as Annie Oakley on Broadway and a line of footwear, clothing and luggage stamped with her name.
She describes the look of her products as “tough sexy,” and it’s an attitude that carries into her current “All the Women I Am” tour, which pulls into Gwinnett Arena Nov. 12.
In a recent conversation from a tour stop in Fort Wayne, Ind., McEntire spoke excitedly about the sets for the concert, created by stage designer Steve Cohen.
“I’m a cowgirl, but I also like to look nice,” McEntire said, punctuating her comments with a hearty chuckle. “Steve said, ‘I still don’t get it,’ so I finally said, ‘Ralph Lauren. I want it to look like that.’ When Kimberly [Perry of the Band Perry] first walked onstage during rehearsals, she looked at the set and said, ‘Ralph Lauren!’ He’s my idol. I have definitely studied him.”
Although McEntire is without a doubt the monarch of this tour, she’s sharing the bill with what she calls an “energetic, hard-working” supporting cast in the form of ultra-hot the Band Perry, Meghan Linsey of Steel Magnolia (sans partner Joshua Scott, currently in rehab) and Edens Edge.
The Band Perry, which broke an attendance record at the North Georgia State Fair in September with more than 10,000 attendees and recently saw its hit “If I Die Young” go triple platinum, especially impresses McEntire.
“They are beautiful people to look at, first of all. Kim is radiant and the guys are as cute as a button. I love to stand onstage and sing with them. They have a different sound and a different look that I just love,” she said.
As proof of her admiration, McEntire welcomes Kimberly Perry onstage each night to duet on “Does He Love You?”, the torrid duet of infidelity and crushed hearts that hit No. 1 for McEntire and Linda Davis in 1993.
Perry, meanwhile, is grateful for the opportunity to share the stage with the country powerhouse.
“It is just ... amazing. When I first started learning the song, I was like, ‘Oh my God, how am I going to learn this part?’ But I always wanted to be Celine Dion,” Perry said while in transit to the Indiana concert. “It’s been a blast, though. All of the facial interplay with Reba, it’s just great. ... Who would have ever thought I’d be sharing the stage with Reba McEntire?”
This isn’t McEntire's first time sharing the spotlight. In 2007, she and Kelly Clarkson connected on a duet of the “American Idol” winner’s hit “Because of You,” and the pair followed it with a joint tour (Clarkson is also managed by McEntire’s husband, Narvel Blackstock).
While the twosome are still close friends -- “We vacation together, we text, we go out and eat dinner a lot,” McEntire said -- there wasn’t any joint involvement on Clarkson’s new album, “Stronger.”
Not that McEntire needs to add anything else to her to-do list.
She’s already had meetings about Christmas tree ornaments for her Reba line for the 2012 season and clothing styles to debut in March. In between her duties as an impresario, she’s fielding calls and reading dialogue for her upcoming ABC sitcom, “Malibu Country.”
“I was not finished with TV at all. We had so many more stories to tell,” McEntire said regarding her self-titled show that ran 2001-2007 on the now-defunct WB network. “Thank God for syndication!”
After a couple of years of sifting through scripts, McEntire never found “anything that really tripped my trigger.” But the circumstances surrounding “Malibu” were too fortuitous to ignore.
Her son, Brandon, was on a flight with Dave Stewart of Eurythmics fame and Stewart mentioned his idea for a sitcom he was thinking about proposing to Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.
When Brandon suggested his mother, Stewart was thrilled to learn she was no longer bound to another TV show, as he thought.
On paper, McEntire’s character sounds tailored expressly for the firebrand: She will play a country singer married to a fellow country singer who cheats on her. After divorcing, her character is forced to relocate to Malibu to escape the Nashville gossip.
“Fingers crossed,” McEntire said of plans to shoot the pilot in April with a fall 2012 pickup.
She promises she still has plenty of energy and another spin on TV won’t interfere with future music plans.
At 56, McEntire looks at least a decade younger, which she attributes to getting at least eight hours of sleep every night, eating healthily and exercising.
She also observes another credo: “I try to take the stress out of my life as much as possible.”
No doubt, quite a challenge.
Concert preview
Reba McEntire with the Band Perry, Meghan Linsey of Steel Magnolia and Edens Edge. 7:30 p.m. Nov. 12. $25-$69.50. Gwinnett Arena, 6400 Sugarloaf Parkway, Duluth. 1-800-745-3000, www.ticketmaster.com.
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