Georgia is a successful singer who lives in Nashville. How else does she resemble you? We’re very hardworking and focused women, no-nonsense and down to business, even to the way she visits with her daughter, Belle [CandiceKing]. So a lot of similarities. I really like that. The theme of this movie is second chances and forgiveness. Do you believe in that? Absolutely. It’s hard to get to that point when you forgive and give second chances. It’s easier to forgive than it is to forget. Then sometimes, you’re like, “I don’t remember why I’m supposed to be mad.” That’s the situation in this movie. Forgive and move on is a great point to get to. Did you know John Schneider before working with him on Christmas in Tune? John and I have worked together before. As a matter of fact, we co-hosted with MacDavis the Academy of Country Music Awards years ago. Then he opened for me at a concert in California one time. John is a wonderful person to get to work with. He was very prepared, always in a great mood. What’s it like to sing together? Wonderful. He’s a great singer, he can sing harmony and lead. I just enjoyed it tremendously. You’re a producer on this. How involved were you in picking the songs that you sang? Was that part of your job as a producer? Yes, to approve and to find songs. We were looking for songs that people know, that they are familiar with. And then new songs, also, that could fit into what’s going on. And so, we had an idea to maybe just let our very talented people here in Nashville know what we were doing, songwriters all across the genres. We said, “We’re looking for a Christmas movie song about two people who are estranged but are married. Go.” And we found it. It was wonderful. I absolutely loved it. Finding the songs and really working with the writers on the script, all of that was part of my job as a producer. What are some of your favorite Christmas songs? And if we came into your house on Christmas, who would you be listening to? Some of my favorites are “O Holy Night” and “Silent Night.” I love KellyClarkson’s Christmas album. I’ve had three Christmas albums, so you’ve got to put them in there and support my band, who played with me on one of them. Lee Ann Womack and TrishaYearwood are my favorites also. How do you celebrate the holiday? Any traditions? Well, getting together with family and friends is a very important Christmas tradition for me. When you are in a divorce situation, you pretty much want to get your own traditions started. Last Christmas was during COVID, so we were forced to try it a new way. Of course, Christmas dinner was very small. I had my son and his girlfriend and my boyfriend, [CSI: Miami actor] RexLinn. So, Shelby, Marissa and Rex and I along with KellyWord, my friend, who was living there with me. It was a very scaled-down dinner guest list, for sure. But the emotion and feeling of the holiday was still there, which is the most important thing. Jesus’ birthday, absolutely. That’s always the reason for the season and the celebration and giving thanks for all the wonderful things that we’ve been given throughout the year. Thanksgiving and Christmas kind of blend in together for me on that front. You recently released a box set, Revived Remixed Revisited. Is it a greatest-hits collection? It is like a greatest-hits package, but redone. Each song is a little different than what fans have been familiar with for the last 20 or 30 years. The songs are all No. 1 hits—except for “Fancy,” that only went to No. 7 in the charts, believe it or not, and it’s my biggest song. What was the concept behind the three different sections? It’s three albums or three CDs. It’s called Revived Remixed Revisited because the Revised is 10 songs that we selected for me to go back into the studio with my band and record those 10 songs like we perform them onstage. They are a little bit different from the original recordings because some of the original recordings you have to fade out in the recording. Well, we have to have an ending, so we changed that. On some of the songs, we gave them a more grand intro just to liven them up a little bit. Some are faster, some are slower. The Remixed, we took 10 songs and did dance mixes to them. And then on the Revisited, we went back into the studio and it’s a stripped-down version of 10 songs. “Fancy” is on all three albums with the band, dance mix and stripped down, slowed down a little bit, got more feeling, got more groove into it. You share your Las Vegas residency at Caesars Palace with Brooks & Dunn. How does that work? And will you sing songs from the new album? Well, Brooks & Dunn and I, we’re on the stage together and then we split off and do three songs each without the other guys. They come on and do three and I leave and go change clothes. And then I come back on and do three. We share the stage throughout the night. These songs will be in it in different forms. Some will be like we’ve been performing for the last 20 years on the Revived section, but I don’t think we’ll be doing the dance mix at Caesars! December is the end of your residency. Any chance you would renew it? Oh, definitely. We love going to Caesars and being in Vegas. That’s the time when we’re in the one hotel, one stage, for two or three weeks and the fans come to us from all over the country. All over the world, as a matter of fact. So, yeah, we love it. You also play a very fun role, June (the ex-wife of Craig T. Nelson’s character, Coach Ballard), on Young Sheldon, and you have a second movie for Lifetime in the future. How do you decide when it’s time to act and when it’s time to sing? Well, the events themselves dictate that. You can say all you want to, “Oh, I’d love to do a movie in 2022,” but that takes a long time and a lot of getting ready for it to put everything in its place. When those things happen, they do, and I’m very thankful and grateful to have gotten to work on Young Sheldon as much as I have. I’m going back out next month to do another stint. Rex Linn, he’s on it also, and my good buddy, MelissaPeterman, along with AnniePotts and Craig T. Nelson, which I get to do scenes and episodes with him, which has been a hoot. I absolutely love it. And your health is good? We heard you had COVID but then it wasn’t COVID? It was RSV [respiratory syncytial virus], which is a form of COVID. I still don’t have my smell. My antibodies are good, though, so that’s good. I’ve been double vaccinated, waiting on getting the booster. You mentioned your divorce. What gets you through the tough times? My faith in God. Everything that I’ve been through—good and uncomfortable—I depend on my faith 100 percent. Friends and family also help out tremendously. And being so blessed to have a wonderful job that keeps me busy, it’s something I love to do. All those things combined. There’s a lot of people who’ve had worse troubles than me, so I’m just grateful for what I’ve received and what I get to do. You talked about the changes last Christmas because of the pandemic. Did you learn anything about yourself from those 15 months when everything was shut down? Oh, I sure did. Man, I know that I can stay home. I have never in my life—well, I guess I was probably 14, 15 years old, when I stayed home during the summer. I’m either working, rodeoing or singing in some fashion, working in some way. So to get to take the whole summer, the whole fall off was remarkable. I haven’t done a concert since March 1, 2020. So when we go back and do the Reba tour in January of 2022, we’ll be ready to go back to work. I learned that I could slow down, take a deep breath, enjoy life without having 20 things scheduled. I did it. I enjoyed it. Has there been a moment this year that you found yourself the happiest? Absolutely. New love Rex Linn and I have been dating since March a year ago. We helped each other through COVID and then got to know each other via telephone and texting before we actually got together physically, so it was a very healthy beginning of a relationship. You’ve said that 99 percent of the songs you choose to sing are about heartbreak, and that’s what makes country music so popular, that it’s relatable. Do you still believe that? Oh, true, I do. It’s so funny, when songwriters fall in love, all of the artists go, “Aww, man, they’re going to be happy.” Then when they’d get a divorce or their relationship would be going down the tubes, they’d go, “Yes, we’re going to get some big hit songs out of this one!” People can relate to being sad sometimes more than they can relate to being happy. I don’t know if that’s good for everybody, if that’s a bad statistic or what, that everybody’s more miserable than happy. But it is fun to find a great song that’s uplifting and happy, especially when you’re in love. With all you’ve achieved, what are you most proud of? Having Shelby. I had Shelby in 1990 and I’d say he’s my greatest accomplishment. Mom always said you hadn’t lived until you’d had a child. I didn’t think I was ever going to have one. Then when I got pregnant with Shelby, I was just thrilled to pieces. He’s my greatest accomplishment. Next, The Complete Lifetime Christmas Movie Schedule for It’s a Wonderful Lifetime 2021
