Oops! Reba McEntire Flubs ‘9 to 5′ Lyrics During Dolly Parton CMAs Tribute [Watch]
Reba McEntire took the stage at the 2016 CMA Awards on Wednesday night (Nov. 2) as part of an all-star musical tribute to Dolly Parton, and she got so excited that she blew part of the lyrics for an iconic song.
McEntire was part of a tribute medley that began with Jennifer Nettles and Pentatonix offering up an a capella cover of Parton's "Jolene."
The medley then segued into the pulsating opening music of "9 to 5," but McEntire got momentarily distracted by Parton, who was beaming at her from the audience, and missed the opening lines, which caused her to come in mid-phrase with a halting partial lyric that only bore a passing resemblance to the actual opening phrase.
"I saw Dolly and I got mixed up," she said sheepishly into the microphone, then recovered to sing the next part correctly. But when it came time for the next stanza, a now thoroughly confused McEntire instead substituted what should have been the song's opening line for the second part of the lyric.
She recovered like the true pro that she is, and went on to join Kacey Musgraves, Carrie Underwood and Martina McBride for a stunning finale with “I Will Always Love You.”
“Gosh dang it Dolly, we love you!” McEntire exclaimed from the stage as the tribute came to a close.
Parton was on hand at the 50th annual CMAs to receive the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award, and she was clearly moved by the tribute, singing along in the audience as the women performed.
“Wow, what a tribute. This was so touching I would have cried, but I didn’t want to mess up my eyelashes," she joked. "This is such a great compliment. This is a wonderful, wonderful night for me so thank you for all of that. For me to be receiving the Willie Nelson Award, this is an absolute high for me … I want to thank all my fans for allowing my little girl dreams to come true.”
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