http://www.tulsaworld.com/entertainment/article.aspx?articleID=20080201_8_ES1_hReba23352Because of twoBy JENNIFER CHANCELLOR World Scene Writer
2/1/2008
Last Modified: 2/1/2008 3:50 AM
Reba and Kelly give new meaning to the phrase 'Dynamic duo'
A sold-out show on Friday will meld a whole lotta country with a little bit of rock 'n' roll - and more - when the Queen of Country performs with Miss Independent at Tulsa's Mabee Center.
Reba McEntire will perform with Kelly Clarkson on their "2 Worlds 2 Voices" tour - a show that proves that the unlikely duo does indeed bring out the best in each other.
Combine McEntire's greatest hits with a collection of Clarkson's infectious pop melodies, and it's no wonder tickets were snatched up so quickly.
In fact, a concert review on the Country Music Television Web site raved of a recent two-hour tour stop in Louisville, Ken., "From the curtain's rise to the encore, there was never a time when either singer left the stage during their Friday night concert in Louisville, and they traded verses like they've known each others' songs for years. . . ."
Well, that's probably because 25-year-old Clarkson has known the country music veteran's songs for years.
"Clarkson has been an obsessed fan since she was 12 years old, when a friend played McEntire's version of 'Cathy's Clown' at a party, and she told the audience the tour was hands-down the coolest thing she's ever done," the CMT report went on to say.
The story goes that Clarkson met McEntire for the first time after winning "American Idol" in 2002, and McEntire agreed to perform with her.
McEntire, an Oklahoma legend in her own time, is now tied with Loretta Lynn for the female artists with the most No. 1's on Billboard's Top Country Albums.
Friday's show also is a fairly rare glimpse of McEntire for Tulsans - Pollstar Pro shows that she hasn't played a local venue in years. The closest she came was the Country Fever festival last year out near Pryor.
She's sold well over 50 million albums, and pulled a talent coup with her last release, "Reba Duets," which features duets with some of the heaviest hitters in music, including Clarkson, Justin Timberlake, Rascal Flatts, Faith Hill, LeAnn Rimes and Carole King.
The disc debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's 200 Top Albums in September 2007, breaking a record and unseating megastars Kanye West and 50 Cent.
That's quite a change from McEntire's start in the biz, which was somewhat unspectacular. It happened in 1974, with a performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the National Finals Rodeo in Oklahoma City. It did, however, catch the attention of multitalented country music icon Red Steagall.
She released her first, self-titled album in 1977, on Mercury Records.
"I remember Reba calling me back then," said Billy Parker, a longtime radio personality for KVOO AM radio station in Tulsa.
McEntire's album had just been released and she was ecstatic - mostly because her family heard her music broadcast for the first time when Parker spun the record on his late-night show.
"She said that she and all her nearby family huddled around a little radio in their hallway because that's where it got the best reception," he laughed.
The "clear channel" station beamed her music from coast to coast, so the family also shared the stirring moment of her first national exposure, all while nestled in the McEntire ranch home near the tiny town of Chockie, south of McAlester.
"I loved her then and I love her now," said Parker. "She's always been a wonderful person."
Since then, she has had nearly two dozen No. 1 hits and sold millions of discs, including the multiplatinum "Greatest Hits Vol. II."
Her 1998 tour with the duo of Brooks & Dunn, promoting their duet "If You See Him/If You See Her," was, at the time, the top grossing tour in country music history.
McEntire's also been honored with more than 70 music awards, including a record seven Top Female Vocalist trophies from the Academy of Country Music.
Over the years, her name has grown simpler - she prefers to be known simply as "Reba" - while her concert performances have grown elaborate, full of choreographed moves, costumes and effects, all showcasing a vocal style that former Tulsa World country music writer John Wooley once described as "one that can get about 12 syllables out of a single vowel."
For this tour, however, the dazzling costumes and special effects are reportedly being kept to a minimum in favor of highlighting the pair's sparkling dynamic.
Clarkson hasn't performed in Tulsa since 2005, records show.
She won the first season competition on "American Idol" on Sept. 4, 2002, earning 58 percent of the audience vote over Justin Guarini.
Since then, she's worked hard to shake her early reputation of having a somewhat manufacutured sound - she's writing more music, garnering Grammys and several best-selling hits along the way.
Last year, she also joined the Starstruck Entertainment artist management team - a company started in 1988 by McEntire and her husband, Narvel Blackstock. Blackstock is now Clarkson's manager.
More than anything else, though, what proves Clarkson's legitimacy as an artist are the stellar performances she's given with her own American idol, Reba McEntire.


