Sunday, June 24, 2007

What Was Reba Thinking?

I've said it before, and I'll say it again. I love traditional country music, but I am not completely locked into it; I'll listen to just about anything these days, and my music collection's really diversified in the last few years and no doubt will keep doing so. That said, I just have to ask...what on God's green earth was Reba McEntire doing when she decided to cover Kelly Clarkson?
I really like Kelly, and "Because Of You" is one of the best songs on the Breakaway cd, but I think some things are just better left alone and this was one of them. I suppose you could call this just the latest milestone in Reba's decline. She made some of the best traditional country to come out of the '80s..."Somebody Should Leave," "One Promise Too Late," "How Blue," and the list goes on. I hated to see her get away from that as the '90s rolled around, as I'd hoped to see her take a lesson from George Strait; some of his stuff has been a little more pop-sounding, but on the whole I think it's safe to say that he hasn't gotten that far from what got him to where he is. The same can't be said for Reba, especially in recent years, and it would seem she'd paid for that at least a little bit, as she hasn't gotten quite as much radio airplay as she once did. (And it should be noted that the Strait man is still a fixture on country radio, at least around here.) I don't know if I'd go so far as to call this a desperate attempt at popularity with the younger generation, but all the same I just don't like it.
It could have been worse, though. She could have covered "Gone" or "Walk Away."