After first being performed during a CMT Unplugged session, Reba McEntire’s (or just Reba!) remake of Beyoncé’s “If I Were A Boy,” has taken a little life of its own. It singlehandedly had Reba and her label partner Scott Borchetta changing course from recording a new Christmas album for the 2010 holiday season to quickly getting the songs together that make up the album All The Woman I Am. While not chosen to be the lead single from the album – the #1 hit “Turn On The Radio” earned that distinction, giving Reba book-end #1’s in 2010 with “Consider Me Gone” – it makes all of the sense in the world to make it the next single from Reba’s album.
While some might have thought that remaking a pop/R&B hit into a country song would result in a saccharine, misguided attempt, in the hands of Reba the transition is seamless with a production style that is reserved and allows Reba to enunciate the lyrics cleanly and clearly, except in places where she bends the notes in her trade-mark style. The lyrics should hit home with the core female audiences of country music as well as they’re all about a woman trying to figure out how to understand boys/men better to see what they do. It plays off of gender stereotypes (that are largely true) and makes for a pleasant song.
While there certainly are some other fantastic singles on All The Woman I Am – an album which is her strongest recording of the last 10 years or so – the choice of “If I Were A Boy” as a single was expected and it will have a strong, maybe quick run up the charts. It should have no problem hitting the Top 10 and could – perhaps – give Reba three of her last four singles the distinction of being #1 hits. That alone should make Reba a STRONG contender against Carrie and Miranda for the CMA Awards’s Top Female Vocalist this fall, and not just another 'filler' in the category.
You can support Reba by purchasing this single at Amazon | iTunes.
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