reba: the cover artist.

so the acm awards often do really cool and unpredictable duets (jennifer nettles and rihanna at this last one, anyone?). in 2007, reba paired up with kelly clarkson for kelly's "because of you," which was so popular that i heard a duet version on the radio pretty often after that. here is their performance at the award show, which i quite like despite the kinda freaky siamese twin set up they've got going.

and more recently, reba has been broadening her cover artist horizons with...wait for it...beyonce! this one's a pure, good ol'-fashioned cover, with a music video and everything. i don't know how i feel about it yet. it was pretty ridiculous to hear the go country 105 dj call it "reba's new one" but not as ridiculous as hearing reba say she'd "kick it with who i wanted." oh dear is right!

but, let's face it. reba's still a genius, and her fiery red hair looks DAMN good against that emerald green dress.

did i ever tell you guys about the time i saw her at napa valley grille in westwood? she saw the waiter pour some cream into my roasted red bell pepper soup from the next table and said, "ooh, i'll have what she's havin!" naturally, i pretended i didn't hear her then proceeded to run to the restroom to call my mother. "mama!" i squealed. "she's havin' what i'm havin'!" so anyway, we're like, best friends now.

blake shelton on "the voice"

{blake shelton, adam levine, christina aguilera, cee lo green, carson daly. credit: flynetpictures.com}

i caught some of the voice this past week, the newest singing competition show on tv (nbc to be exact, but of course, i caught a rerun of this ryan seacrest production on e!). four judges slash coaches decide the fate of these hopeful songbirds, who i will add are VERY impressive. and i don't dole out support on a regular basis, so that's saying something! on the episode i watched, there was just one girl that i'd call a bit pitchy, but everyone else could definitely kick some american idol butt!

anyway, the judges are christina aguilera, maroon 5's adam levine, cee lo green (of grammy feather suit fame), and our very own mr. miranda-lambert-to-be, BLAKE SHELTON! i'm so excited that country music is being represented in such a prime time way! in fact, nbc's executive vp of alternative programming, paul telegdy, said, "we couldn't have a panel that represented the hottest american music without a strong country presence." if that doesn't get a YEEEEE-HAW i don't know what does.

get ready for even more country fun when reba mcentire joins her good friend blake to help coach the talented wannabes. reba and blake co-hosted this year's academy of country music awards and, more importantly, are joining forces this month for a tornado relief concert in oklahoma. in fact, they recently added a second show when the first one sold out in less than 2 hours!

{photo credit: cliff lipson/cbs}