With Garth Brooks set to co-host the ACM Awards for the first time next month, his pal and fellow country music icon Reba McEntire offered him some advice on how to approach the annual event.
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During their virtual sit-down on TalkShopLive to discuss McEntire’s upcoming book, Not That Fancy, the ACMs were quickly discussed. Reba had some thoughts about her friend Garth co-hosting. She had previously hosted the event 16 times.
“The best tip I can give you is, get out there and have fun,” Reba McEntire told Garth Brooks. “When I was first doing the hosting situations, I would be so uptight and precise, and it was not as much fun for me and therefore it’s not as much fun for the audience. But when you get out there and cut up and have a good time — which I know you guys will, I can’t wait to watch the show — you guys’ll have a blast.”
Brooks will notably be hosting the iconic event with Dolly Parton on May 11th.
Reba McEntire Opens Up to Garth Brooks About Her Career’s Early Years
Along with chatting about the upcoming ACM Awards, Reba McEntire spoke to Garth Brooks about the early years of her music career, including her performances at “beer joins and honky tonks.”
“It was mama who encouraged us kids to sing, taught us how to sing, took us to our singing jobs,” McEntire recalled. “Thirteen years old playing beer joints and honky tonks, Peg, Susie and I getting up there and singing.”
The country music star then shared other people’s reactions to her performances at bars. “And people would say, ‘You’re playing clubs at 13?’ I’d say, ‘Yeah, mama and daddy are sitting right there.’ Took us. Took us home, encouraged us, and kept us out of trouble. We were [doing] rodeo, and playing basketball and singing. So mama was there for all three events.”
Reba went on to speak about her mother, who passed away in 2020. She noted that her new single Seven Minutes in Heaven is a special tribute to her mother. “I got so choked up,” she said about the song. “Because if I had seven minutes in heaven, I know exactly what I’d do. I would pass by all of the formal introductions.”
McEntire further explained that if she had a seven minutes in heaven chance, she would go find her mom and ask her if she gets to go fishing in heaven. “And then I’d say I’ll come back and see you soon.”
Reba McEntire noted that while she immediately said yes to the song, she struggled with being able to record it. “I couldn’t record it, I mean I couldn’t sing it in the studio probably the first two or three times through,” she added.
