On today’s episode of “Daily Variety” podcast, country music superstar Reba McEntire discusses celebrating her golden anniversary in music this year with a series of EP releases that pair a newly recorded song with several vintage tunes. McEntire also weighs in on how she’s navigated a turbulent TV marketplace to get her NBC comedy “Happy’s Place” to a third season.
McEntire credits her manager, Justin McIntosh, with the concept behind the EP releases, which began in April and will continue through December via her longtime label, MCA. Next up is “Ring, Ring,” which bows on July 24. As part of the release plan, McEntire has assembled special playlists for fans that dive deeper into her vast catalog.
“It’s genius to be able to bring a new song to the fans along with five songs that are in the catalog,” McEntire says. “I think it’s a genius idea because even when you are at a concert, you say, ‘OK, I’m gonna play you a new song. Everybody goes, oh yeah, but they want to hear familiarity. They want to hear songs where they can sing along and they know the words and it takes them back to a place the first time they heard it, or with their best friend or someone they love. So to prepare a brand new song with older songs that they already are familiar with and they love is genius. And I’m so glad to be a part of this project.”
