Reba McEntire honored her late stepson, Brandon Blackstock, and others who have passed away, at the recent Grammy Awards. The Country Music Hall of Fame member performed “Trailblazer” alongside Brandy Clark, who wrote the song with Lainey Wilson and Miranda Lambert, and Lukas Nelson, son of Willie Nelson.
“There are so many of my friends that have passed this year,” McEntire says. “My oldest son also passed, and he will be honored tonight, in the in memoriam. So it was very, very important to me to get to do this, and I’m very grateful and thankful.”
McEntire first released “Trailblazer” with Wilson and Lambert, although she makes it clear that the song is not just for female artists.
“It is really special, the sisterhood. With all my fellow girl singers, we do band together,” McEntire says. “And with Lainey and Miranda, I was so thrilled, along with Brandy Clark, to get to sing this song. Brandy was one of the writers. … Brandy kind of made the song fit for everybody who was our traillblazers, not just the lady singers.”
What Reba McEntire Says About Losing Brandon Blackstock
Blackstock is the song of McEntire’s former husband, Narvel Blackstock. Several months after he passed away, from skin cancer, McEntire still deeply feels the loss.
“We let him go to Heaven in August, and so we’re going to be celebrating him tonight,” McEntire tells Entertainment Tonight.
“Everybody’s hanging in there,” she continues. “We miss Brandon so much. He was so much life, joy, love. He was a prankster and a character, and we all have a big text chain that we stay together, and talk about him, and remember him. They’re all excited about tonight also.”
Shortly after Brandon, who was previously married to Kelly Clarkson, passed away, McEntire shared her thoughts on his passing.
“Last week, my stepson/oldest son Brandon Blackstock went home to be with God,” Reba writes, sharing a few photos of them together over the years. “His struggle is over and he is in eternal peace in God’s presence. There is no one else like him, and I’m thankful for the time we had together.
“His legacy and laughter will be carried on through his family,” she adds. “Rest in peace cowboy. Happy trails to you til we meet again.”
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Reba McEntire On Her Engagement to Rex Linn
McEntire and her longtime boyfriend, Rex Linn, got engaged at the end of 2024, waiting almost a full year to announce their plans to get married. The two were taking a walk on her property when Linn unexpectedly popped the question.
“I said, ‘What are you doing?’” McEntire recalls to USA Today. “And he said, ‘Would you marry me? I want to cross the finish line with you.’”
McEntire and Linn didn’t initially plan on keeping their engagement a secret, but never found the right time to share the exciting news.
“A lot of people did not know,” McEntire admits on the Today Show.. “And when he asked me to marry him, it was Christmas Eve a year ago. So we were gonna announce it when we got back to L.A., but the fires happened. And there was not room for our joy in the devastating situation that everybody else was in. So we just waited, and just kind of pushed it. And at the Emmys, somebody said, ‘Your fiancé’s going to be in this interview,’ and I said, ‘Yeah,’ and then she just announced it. I didn’t correct her.”
Photo Credit: Getty Images for The Recording Academy