The surprising relationship between Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire
After 12 years, Blake Shelton’s final season on “The Voice” is here. And in somewhat of a full-circle moment, country star Reba McEntire is serving as a mentor during the show’s upcoming Knockout round, which begins April 17.
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Reba McEntire’s history with ‘The Voice’ and Blake Shelton
McEntire was Shelton’s first mentor on the “The Voice,” serving as an adviser for Shelton’s team during the Battle round of Season 1, per NBC.com.
“You were my first mentor ever here on this show, and you’re gonna be my last mentor,” Shelton said in a new “Voice” teaser.
“What does that say about our relationship?” McEntire responded.
“You brought me into this, and now you’re taking me out,” Shelton quipped.
A few years ago, Shelton revealed that McEntire was actually NBC’s first choice for a coach in the country music lane, Taste of Country reported. Although the “Fancy” singer wasn’t able to take on the gig at the time, she has still been able to offer her expertise to the show as a mentor.
Reba McEntire’s history with ‘Voice’ coach Kelly Clarkson
McEntire also has a long history with “Voice” coach Kelly Clarkson.
In the new “Voice” teaser, the pair reflects on their friendship that dates back to 2002. In 2007, Clarkson performed a duet of her hit song “Because of You” for McEntire’s 2007 album “Duets.”
“I am so proud of Kelly. She has grown as an artist, as a teacher, from when we first met ... way back,” McEntire said in the “Voice” teaser. “She was a baby! Now she’s just matured into this wonderful woman that I am just so proud of, and I love with all my heart.”
McEntire and Clarkson have performed a number of duets together over the years, per NBC.com, but their relationship goes beyond musical collaboration — the two were even briefly related, through marriage.
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McEntire married her manager and former steel guitar player, Narvel Blackstock, in 1989. Narvel Blackstock was Clarkson’s former manager, and Clarkson married his son, Brandon Blackstock, in 2013, the Deseret News reported. This means that McEntire was Clarkson’s stepmother-in-law, although that family relation only lasted for two years, as McEntire and Narvel Blackstock divorced in 2015.
Clarkson and Brandon Blackstock, meanwhile, finalized their divorce last year. But it appears that Clarkson and McEntire still have a strong friendship.
In the new “Voice” teaser, McEntire talked about her return to the show.
“It’s always a lot of fun to give advice because I study people when they perform, and I want to be touched when they’re singing to me,” she said.
“That’s the biggest thing — to capture somebody in the audience to where they’re sobbing or laughing,” McEntire tells a “Voice” contestant in the clip. “Get some emotion out of them, and you did it for me.”
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What has Reba McEntire been up to?
It’s been a busy season for McEntire, who recently celebrated her 68th birthday. The country star recently did filming for a Lifetime movie and the crime-drama show “Big Sky.” She also just concluded a massive tour with a debut performance at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
That tour made a stop at Salt Lake City’s Vivint Arena last month, and McEntire sang about everything from struggling marriages to shattered hearts to single motherhood to being a survivor.
McEntire has been in this business for a while — it’s been 46 years since she released her first album — and she really knows how to put on a show, I wrote for the Deseret News. “Every word and action has been carefully thought out, and you know her show is going to be a full-on production before she even takes the stage.
In her return to Salt Lake City ... McEntire showed that she still doesn’t have a desire to slow down. She made it painstakingly clear that she’ll be making music for a while longer. And of all the reasons her show gave fans to celebrate, that may be one of the best.
