Reba McEntire is singing the anthem at the Super Bowl. Get excited with her 10 best songs
When Reba McEntire steps up to the mic on Sunday to unfurl the national anthem, betting fanatics will set their stopwatches to time the duration of her performance.
This is not new. Betting on the length of the anthem has been sport for casual bettors for as long as there have been offshore illegal gambling sites. Thus, a while.
This year, the betting line ranges from 86 to 90.5 seconds. The “over” is favored for good reason considering the average anthem performance is one minute and 5 seconds.
Meanwhile McEntire, 68, should be a familiar name, face and voice to the majority of Super Bowl 58 viewers given her cross-generational appeal as a singer, actress and coach on “The Voice.”
She’s celebrated 100 singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart – including 24 No. 1s – since 1978. We’re not delving into that. Instead, here are 10 of McEntire’s songs that showcase her immense talent that you might want to know beyond her Sunday showcase.
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‘Whoever’s in New England’ (1986)
Though it was her fifth No. 1 song, the piano and pedal steel guitar-laced ballad about a cheating husband and eventual forgiveness is considered McEntire’s breakthrough. The album of the same name became her first No. 1 and the single, inspired by Barry Manilow’s “Weekend in New England,” landed her first Grammy Award.
‘You Lie’ (1990)
Originally recorded by country singer Cee Cee Chapman in 1988, the agonizing ballad – wife knows husband is lying to her about their love to “buy a little time” – spotlights McEntire’s innate ability to crush your heart with her delivery.
‘Fancy’ (1991)
Bobbie Gentry wrote and recorded the song in 1969, and while it wasn’t a huge country hit it did produce a pop crossover presence. The rousing survival anthem would become a signature tune for McEntire. Easy to see why: McEntire owns the song as her vocal inflections shimmer with drama and stab with audacity.
'For My Broken Heart’ (1991)
The title track of McEntire’s 1991 album, a lamentation about the end of a relationship, comes bearing heartbreak, understandable self-pity and the sighing conclusion, “I guess the world didn’t stop for my broken heart.”
‘Does He Love You’ (1993)
The duet between McEntire and country singer Linda Davis is deliciously venomous as the women convince themselves that each is the sole object of affection of the same guy. The ballad escalates with a combination of wistfulness, jealousy and anger, building to skyscraper vocals during the song’s bridge like an episode of “Dynasty” set to music. Though occasionally imitated – Liza Minnelli and Donna Summer recorded it in 1996 and McEntire and Dolly Parton recast the song in 2021 – nothing possesses the bite of the original.
‘The Fear of Being Alone’ (1996)
A solid midtempo twanger that finds McEntire cautiously approaching a new relationship, taking care not to “jump the gun” as a desperate alternative to being alone. The song spawned from McEntire’s 22nd album, “What If It’s You” and reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot Country Singles chart.
‘Somebody’ (2004)
Originally recorded by country singer Mark Wills in 2001, the toe-tapper is a sweet, dreamy tale of friends – well, a waitress and the diner patron she serves – who eventually realize they’re chasing love elsewhere instead of seeing what is right in front of them.
‘Consider Me Gone’ (2009)
Splotched with the slyness that creeps into McEntire’s vocals when she itching to tell someone to hit the highway, the guitar-driven hit spent four weeks at No. 1 – the longest of her career. “If you think you can do better than this, then I guess we’re done,” McEntire sings, her apathy admirable.
‘Turn on the Radio’ (2010)
A funky blast of guitar opens what might not be the most original offering in McEntire’s canon. Indeed, “Radio” marks a poppy detour – despite the fiddle and harmonica – for McEntire, but its Shania Twain-esque chorus is irresistible.
‘I Keep on Loving You’ (2010)
From the opening notes of the humming pedal steel guitar, you know this is going to be some kind of rumination. Turns out it’s a tribute to relationships that survive the struggles and endure, if only for the sake of stability. “You gotta play the cards you got,” McEntire sings. “Who knows what fate is holding.”
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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Super Bowl national anthem: Reba McEntire's 10 best songs to know
