The country music star Reba McEntire is speaking out in a new interview to reveal why she nearly quit singing after the death of her beloved mother Jacqueline, who passed away back in 2020 at the age of 93.
Our Mother, Jacqueline McEntire, made that wonderful cross over into Heaven today. She had a wonderful, full, healthy life and was absolutely ready to go. The cancer might think it won the battle but we’re giving God all the credit on selecting the time for her to go home to Him. pic.twitter.com/h7298Quctc
— Reba McEntire (@reba) March 14, 2020
McEntire Nearly Quits Singing
“Oh I didn’t want to (sing),” McEntire, 68, told TODAY. “I told my little sister Susie when we were working at the house, I said, ‘I don’t know if I want to sing anymore.’ She said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘Because I always sang for Mama.’”
“Mama was the one that inspired us kids, taught us kids how to sing, took us to our singing gigs and was our biggest cheerleader,” she added, going on to say that Jaqueline had dreamed of being a singer when she was younger.
“She said, ‘Reba, I will be living my dreams through you.’ So golly, why wouldn’t you want to go sing?” she recalled.
McEntire’s new song “Seven Minutes in Heaven” was inspired by her mother, and you can check that out in the video below.
McEntire has been helped in her grieving process for her mother by her actor boyfriend Rex Linn.
“When you have somebody to share the grief with, when you have somebody to share the fun (and) the sad times, it’s always so much better,” she explained. “And Rex is a very uplifting, positive man, and I love him with all my heart.”
Check out McEntire’s full comments on this in the video below.
Grammy winner @Reba McEntire sits down with Hoda & Jenna to talk about dealing with grief following her mother’s passing, her new album, coaching @NBCTheVoice and her 50-year career in the music industry. pic.twitter.com/w4UUE8DCub
— TODAY with Hoda & Jenna (@HodaAndJenna) October 10, 2023
Related: Reba McEntire Urges America to Go Back to God
McEntire Loses Her Mother
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McEntire was devastated when she announced her mother’s passing in March of 2020.
“Our Mother, Jacqueline McEntire, made that wonderful cross over into Heaven today,” she said at the time, according to American Songwriter. “She had a wonderful, full, healthy life and was absolutely ready to go. The cancer might think it won the battle but we’re giving God all the credit on selecting the time for her to go home to Him.”
Though she considered quitting music for good after her mother’s death, McEntire ultimately decided that it was her destiny to keep singing.
“I realized, I’m still doing it because I love it,” she stated. “It’s my God-given gift that I cherish. I absolutely love to sing songs to make people feel something, whether it’s sad, happy, or whatever it is. So that’s what Mama, that’s the gift she gave me, and so, you’ve got to keep on going. I feel she’s still with me.”
Today is #TeacherAppreciationDay and I am thanking my original teacher, my Mama, Jacqueline McEntire. Not only did she teach us kids to sing harmony, but she also served five school districts for almost 20 years as a teacher, secretary and librarian! pic.twitter.com/whnICdauFN
— Reba McEntire (@reba) May 8, 2018
Related: Reba McEntire’s New Song Praises God, Explains How to Make America Great Again
McEntire Joins ‘The Voice’
These days, McEntire is as busy as ever, as she’s currently a coach on the latest season of “The Voice.” This comes after she previously revealed that she turned down the opportunity when she was offered the seat that was ultimately taken by her fellow country music star Blake Shelton when the show first premiered back in 2011.
“It is very true,” she said, according to Fox News. “It was a very popular show in Holland, I’m pretty sure, and I watched the tape, and I said, ‘No, I’m going to pass on that,’ because I don’t think I could ever be able to tell somebody that they’re terrible or ‘Go find another job’ or ‘Hope you like your nighttime job.’ I couldn’t do that day in and day out. I just couldn’t do it. So I did pass on it.”
‘The Voice’: Reba McEntire loses 4-chair singer after sabotaging John Legend with block https://t.co/ho8dcDemRd
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) October 10, 2023
While our hearts go out to McEntire as she continues to grieve her mother, we’re certainly glad that she decided against leaving country music behind. In the end, Jacqueline would want McEntire to keep singing her heart out, and she’s clearly doing just that!
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