Singing has always been a major part of Reba McEntire's life, but she says she was almost ready to call it quits when she lost her mom three years ago.
The country icon's mother, Jacqueline, died in 2020 at the age of 93. McEntire says she didn't have the same passion for music as she once did after her mom's death.
“Oh I didn’t want to (sing). I told my little sister Susie when we were working at the house, I said, ‘I don’t know if I want to sing anymore.’ She said, ‘Why?’ I said, ‘Because I always sang for Mama,’” McEntire said during an appearance on TODAY on Tuesday.
The 68-year-old went on to explain why her mother's death affected her so much.
“Mama was the one that inspired us kids, taught us kids how to sing, took us to our singing gigs and was our biggest cheerleader,” she says.
In fact, McEntire's mom had a passion for music herself and wanted to be a singer.
"She said, 'Reba, I will be living my dreams through you.' So golly, why wouldn't you want to go sing?" she said.
McEntire's latest song, "Seven Minutes in Heaven," was inspired by her mother, and she performed it while appearing on TODAY. She also opened up about her boyfriend, Rex Linn, and how he has helped her cope with the loss of her mother.
"When you have somebody to share the grief with, when you have somebody to share the fun (and) the sad times, it's always so much better," she said. "And Rex is a very uplifting, positive man, and I love him with all my heart."
Earlier this year, McEntire spoke with TODAY's Willie Geist about the important role her mother played in her singing career and said music was always a big part of her family's life.
“We didn’t have radio in the car. It was four kids in the backseat, rough-housing and, you know, Mama would get us to sing to pass the time,” she said. “We were the singing McEntires.”