Reba McEntire has released a new version of “I Needed Christmas” as a festive single. The track, from her recent The Ultimate Christmas Collection set, is written by Jared Conrad and Trannie Anderson, and produced by Doug Sisemore and McEntire herself.
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Reviewing the song for MusicRow.com, writer Robert K. Oermann describes it as “Heart-touchingly lovely. The ballad is about the healing romantic power of the holiday. Reba sings with class and restraint, letting the lyric of renewal shine. Essential listening.”
McEntire has shared a new video of “I Needed Christmas,” which is also featured in her Lifetime Original Movie, Reba McEntire’s Christmas in Tune, released in November 2021. In it, she and John Schneider play a couple who reunite for a concert on Christmas Eve. The film aired again on Lifetime on December 18 and gets another screening tomorrow (24) at 2pm.
The Ultimate Christmas Collection, released on October 14, is comprised of favorites from McEntire’s previous Christmas albums, along with “I Needed Christmas.” Complementing the album, a range of new merchandise was also unveiled, including a sweatshirt, ornament, mug. and lithograph.
“No one quite does a joyous, sweet, Hallmark Christmas like queen of country music, Reba, who’s about to enter her fifth decade of music,” wrote Entertainment Focus. “Traditional carols, heard in school halls and churches around the world, nestle alongside more contemporary Christmas songs heard on the radio.
“These ultimate songs have been arranged only slightly differently to the versions that appear on Reba’s three previous Christmas albums, offering a simpler, cleaner presentation, and keys that sound almost twinkly in places, particularly on ‘O Holy Night’ and ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas.’”
On December 8, the country heroine was the subject of ABC’s Superstar: Reba McEntire TV event, available from the next day on Hulu. It featured interviews with friends such as Carrie Underwood, Wynonna Judd, Vince Gill, Lainey Wilson, Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Nick Jonas, Darius Rucker, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Dolly Parton, and Kristin Chenoweth.
On March 9, 2023, McEntire will resume her Reba: Live In Concert tour with the first of 14 additional dates in Jacksonville, FL. It will culminate in her first-ever show at Madison Square Garden in New York on April 15.
Buy or stream Reba: The Ultimate Christmas Collection.
