By 2007, Reba McEntire had already reached a level of country music success that made it difficult to imagine many artists saying no to her. She had decades of hits behind her, a successful television career, countless awards, and friendships stretching across country, rock, and pop music. So when she began assembling Reba: Duets, the idea was simple but ambitious: call artists she admired, ask them to sing with her, and build an album around real musical chemistry rather than a collection of disconnected guest appearances.
Most of the people she contacted said yes.
The final album included an extraordinary range of performers, including Kelly Clarkson, Kenny Chesney, Vince Gill, Faith Hill, Trisha Yearwood, LeAnn Rimes, Ronnie Dunn, Carole King, Don Henley, Rascal Flatts, and Justin Timberlake. Reba’s official site confirms that the record was released on September 18, 2007, and eventually became the first album of her career to debut at No. 1 on both Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart and the Billboard 200.
But two famous names were missing.
During an appearance on Larry King Live shortly after the album’s release, Reba was asked directly whether anyone she wanted for the project had turned her down. She did not dodge the question or pretend everyone had immediately cleared their schedules for her.
The first name she gave was Annie Lennox.
Reba explained that she had reached out to the former Eurythmics singer about participating in the album, but Lennox was too busy to commit. What stood out to Reba was not the rejection itself, but the way Lennox handled it. She said Annie sent her an extremely kind email explaining that she was flattered to be asked but could not do the project at that time. Reba even expressed hope that if she ever made another duet album, Annie might be available for the next one.
Then Larry King asked whether Annie was the only artist who had declined.
Reba revealed another name: Steve Perry.
The former Journey frontman was also someone she had wanted to record with, but Perry told her that he was busy and could not participate. Once again, Reba did not describe the answer as a slight, a disappointment she carried, or evidence that someone had rejected her personally.
Instead, she treated it as exactly what it was.
Two successful artists had lives and schedules of their own.
King jokingly asked whether that meant Reba would never speak to them again. Her response revealed far more about her than any dramatic story of celebrity rejection could have done. Reba immediately said no and explained that she understood completely. Both artists had responded to her, told her honestly that they could not make it work, and she was simply grateful that they had taken the time to answer.
That reaction fit the entire spirit of Reba: Duets.
Reba had begun contacting potential partners more than a year before the record was released. In a Billboard interview from the time, she explained that scheduling was one of the hardest parts of making the album because everyone she wanted had a career already in motion. Some artists could not participate because of timing, and Reba said she understood that reality rather than taking it personally.
For the singers who did participate, Reba wanted something more intimate than simply emailing vocal tracks back and forth.
She preferred having her duet partners physically present in the studio so they could sing together, react to one another, and create the feeling of two artists genuinely sharing a performance. Pollstar reported that Reba emphasized how much she enjoyed singing with other people because she had grown up harmonizing with her brother Pake and sister Susie as part of the Singing McEntires.
That approach produced some remarkable combinations.
With Kelly Clarkson, Reba revisited “Because of You,” a song Clarkson had already made famous. With Faith Hill, she recorded the emotional “Sleeping With the Telephone.” With Don Henley, she sang “Break Each Other’s Hearts Again,” while Justin Timberlake joined her for “The Only Promise That Remains.” The project allowed Reba to move well beyond traditional country boundaries without losing the voice that had made her famous.
The album also showed how comfortable Reba was sharing the spotlight.
She told Larry King that she had always preferred singing with other people because collaboration felt natural to her. Having grown up singing harmony, she even admitted that she sometimes preferred harmony to taking the lead. That attitude helps explain why Reba: Duets never feels like an album built merely to prove how many famous people she could call.
It feels like an artist enjoying other artists.
That makes the stories of Annie Lennox and Steve Perry more revealing.
By 2007, Reba certainly had enough status to be offended if someone declined an invitation. She could have interpreted a rejection as disrespect or allowed the story to become industry gossip.
She did neither.
Instead, she focused on the fact that both artists had answered her honestly and respectfully.
There is something quietly telling about that response.
Reba had already spent decades in an industry where schedules change, albums get delayed, songs disappear, roles go to someone else, and opportunities can vanish overnight. She understood that another artist saying “I can’t do it” was not the same thing as saying “I don’t respect you.”
That perspective may also explain why the album attracted so many major names.
The Los Angeles Times reported that the project began when Reba and then-husband and manager Narvel Blackstock wanted to make something special for the final album under her existing MCA contract. Reba started calling and emailing friends, and the resulting guest list crossed generations and genres in a way few country albums of the period attempted.
In the end, Reba: Duets became a major success even without Annie Lennox or Steve Perry.
It topped the Billboard 200, topped the country albums chart, and eventually went platinum.
Reba could easily have told the story as two stars turning down one of country music’s biggest legends.
Instead, she remembered something else.
They were busy.
They answered.
They were gracious.
And she understood.
For an artist who had spent a lifetime learning how unpredictable the entertainment business could be, Reba McEntire apparently never confused a “no” with an insult.