Reba McEntire performed the Oscar-nominated song “Somehow You Do” from the movie Four Good Days at the 94th Academy Awards on Sunday night (March 27th). She was accompanied by the show’s all-star band, which included Sheila E., Travis Barker, Kevin Jonas and Robert Glasper.
The film’s co-star Mila Kunis introduced Reba’s performance of the Diane Warren-penned song.
After performing, the cameras panned to the song’s composer first, who mouthed “beautiful,” then cut to her boyfriend, actor Rex Linn who gave two thumbs up to the camera.
This wasn’t her first performance at the Oscars. In 1991, she sang “I’m Checking Out” from the movie Postcards From the Edge, which took place less than two weeks after the plane crash in which several members of her band and crew were killed.
Prior to Sunday night’s show, she chatted with reporters about performing at the Oscars. She explained that a few friends asked if she was excited about her appearance to which she replied that she was feeling a heaviness about the performance on Wednesday before rehearsals (March 23rd).
“I was very emotional about the Oscars because I said yes to the Oscars in ’91, and then the plane crash happened, and then I went ahead and sang the song because I felt Jim Hammon (her road manager who died in the crash) had been talking to me saying, ‘Go do it for us, we’re checked out of this heartbreak hotel.’ So, everybody said, ‘Aren’t you excited, aren’t you excited?’ and I didn’t feel excited. And so, I finally figured it out yesterday, I thought if I got too excited, something could happen, so I said, ‘God, I’m just gonna give it up to you.’ I don’t know why I didn’t when I first felt this hardness or this heaviness in my heart. So, I just said, I’m giving it all up to you, let me have a good time, let me sing it the way I am supposed to sing it, the way you want me to sing it. Your will, not my will. Your way, not my way.’ And it lifted like a hundred pounds off my shoulders. We went to rehearsal, and I had a great time.”
Click here to see Reba’s performance at this year’s Academy Awards.
Reba also just released a gospel album, My Chains Are Gone, on Friday (March 25th).
Audio / Reba McEntire said she was pretty emotional about performing at this year's Oscars, her first time since performing in 1991, just days after the plane crash that killed most of her band and crew.
DownloadReba McEntire (Oscars emotional) OC: …great time. :59
“I was very emotional about the Oscars because I said yes to the Oscars in ’91, and then the plane crash happened, and then I went ahead and sang the song because I felt Jim Hammon (her road manager who died in the crash) had been talking to me saying, ‘Go do it for us, we’re checked out of this heartbreak hotel.’ So, everybody said, ‘Aren’t you excited, aren’t you excited?’ and I didn’t feel excited. And so, I finally figured it out yesterday, I thought if I got too excited, something could happen, so I said, ‘God, I’m just gonna give it up to you.’ I don’t know why I didn’t when I first felt this hardness or this heaviness in my heart. So, I just said, I’m giving it all up to you, let me have a good time, let me sing it the way I am supposed to sing it, the way you want me to sing it. Your will, not my will. Your way, not my way.’ And it lifted like a hundred pounds off my shoulders. We went to rehearsal, and I had a great time.”
