Saturday, November 18, 2006

Reba Giants is on tonight!!!!!!!

I am so excited I can hardly stand it!!! CMT Giants are on tonight!!! It is in honor of Reba McEntire!!!! Here is some of the info. I recieved on the show. Check it out!!! Reba revelry — Trisha, Faith, Martina and more sing her praisesThe stars come out to pay tribute to country's fiery redhead in 'CMT Giants' showBy PETER COOPERStaff WriterLOS ANGELES — Twenty-one years ago, Reba McEntire signed autographs for a crowd at RiverGate Mall. When one awestruck young woman got to the front of the autograph line, she stood frozen in front of her singing hero, unable to think of anything to say.After several moments of pregnant pausing, McEntire initiated conversation, saying, "What's your name, honey?" The shy 19-year-old answered back, softly, "Trisha Yearwood.""I'd never stood in line and gotten someone's autograph before," said Yearwood, backstage at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre, where she and other star vocalists were preparing to honor McEntire in song. The occasion was the live concert taping of "CMT Giants," a show that airs at 7 p.m. Saturday on Country Music Television.Once Yearwood got a record deal — on McEntire's MCA Records, where the younger singer could have been considered a challenger to the star's throne — McEntire helped guide her through some of the more confusing business aspects of a burgeoning professional life."She taught me about owning your photographs, about keeping in charge of your own career," Yearwood said. "And then she also led by example, because she's someone who has stayed so true to herself. She doesn't care what someone might say about what she's doing, or how she dresses or how she does her hair. She does whatever she wants."McEntire's "whatever" has included 33 No. 1 country singles, 29 albums, a couple of Grammys, a critically acclaimed stint in the star role in Broadway's "Annie Get Your Gun," the title role in sitcom "Reba," a signature clothing line and charity work for Habitat for Humanity and other organizations. The CMT special is a celebration of such efforts, and it features Yearwood, Dolly Parton, Faith Hill, Martina McBride, Wynonna Judd, Kelly Clarkson, LeAnn Rimes, Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland and Megan Mullally singing songs and praises.The praise-singing came easy to these performers, the song-singing not so much. McEntire has a knack for choosing songs that provide a full showcase for her multi-octave voice. Even for singers who regularly tackle tough melodies, singing McEntire songs can be a struggle."This is a hard song," said Hill, during rehearsals, after a run through "You Lie." "Lord, my intestines are crawling up into my throat."After the rehearsal, Hill said, "Of course I'm a fan, and Reba is so great. But after singing that song, I have even more appreciation for what she does. Her gift is just huge."McBride, who cites McEntire as one of her prime influences, performed two songs on the show. One was the rangy "Whoever's in New England," and the other was a cat-fight duet with pop star Kelly Clarkson on "Does He Love You."In rehearsals, Clarkson was wide-eyed at her chance to sing with McBride, while McBride's children seemed thrilled to be in Clarkson's presence. The duet was a meeting of two singers clearly in control of their powerful voices and of their substantial stage presence. Backstage, McBride was quick to turn the talk from her singing summit with Clarkson to her admiration of McEntire."I just want to do a good job while Reba's watching," said McBride, who used to tour as McEntire's opening act. "She's an influence on all of us, and she has always done songs that matter. I think, for my generation, she's one of the only true stylists. We're friends, now, and she's always open and kind and real. But whenever I see her, I still have that reaction like a fan. I still think of her going on the CMA Awards, singing a Patsy Cline song and blowing everyone away."Clarkson, by the way, didn't use a Teleprompter for her duet with McBride or for her romp through "Why Haven't I Heard From You." A fan of McEntire all of her young life, she had no need for lyrical prompts.With rehearsals done, the cast reconvened the next night for the show, this time walking a red carpet filled with shouting media members wielding cameras. Though the concert was a television taping, there weren't many stops and starts: Mullally did "You Can't Get a Man With a Gun," a song from "Annie Get Your Gun" twice, and Judd's false start seemed to galvanize the audience and land them squarely in her corner during her version of "Is There Life Out There."The theater itself is the same one used for the Emmy awards show. In person, it appears grander and more intimate somehow than on television. As the show began, McEntire took a seat beside her parents, her husband and her son and watched as the others delivered her songs, and as non-musicians including her "Reba" show co-stars and Goodlettsville-reared James Denton of "Desperate Housewives" talked of her achievements outside of music. McEntire often leaned to her family members and expressed her surprise at what was going on: She knew who was going to be performing, but not what they would perform or what they would say about her."I was knocked out," she said. "After Kelly sang 'Why Haven't I Heard From You,' I told her, 'That's your song now,' " McEntire said.By night's end, though, McEntire said it was difficult to stay in her seat. She closed the evening with her own version of "Fancy," a hit for her and for Bobbie Gentry."You know when you were a kid at school and you got held in class during recess, because you were talking too much or something?" she asked. "Then, finally, maybe when recess is almost done, the teacher says, 'OK, you can go out and play now'? That's how I felt. I loved listening to them sing, but I wanted to get out there so bad." • If you love any of these singers...YOU HAVE TO SEE THIS!!! I will give you a review after It's over...K......

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