There was no stopping Reba McEntire’s lengthy and fruitful career in country music by 1992. So, her record label was confident in the new single “Does He Love You” when she was approached with it. After initial attempts to have her duet with a famous artist like Wynonna Judd or Trisha Yearwood failed, she ultimately collaborated with Linda Davis for the final track. Their collaboration was so effective that it earned Reba a Grammy for Best Country Vocal Collaboration and became her 18th number one single.
Even though Reba and Linda Davies make a formidable vocal duet, she has no qualms about sharing the stage with other musicians to perform the song. She and Kelly Clarkson sang a cover of the song at CMT Crossroads in 2007. Comments like “These two ladies are fire together” demonstrated how impressed fans were by the seamless integration of their voices. This song has such emotion in it,” the performer said on the video, which has since gone viral and garnered over 11 million views.
The two not only put in a superb vocal performance, but they really do their best to embody their roles. In character as the song’s bereaved widow and yearning mistress, the singers aimed their words towards one another onstage, giving the impression that they were actually engaged in a fight. One admirer said, “No matter who Reba sings this with, she ALWAYS gets into full character and sings it straight from the heart as though she’s having this conversation.” The audience appreciated hearing the song’s backstory sung by the two of them.
Reba revived the song in 2021, re-releasing it alongside country music icon Dolly Parton. Although it was never officially released as a single, the song managed to go into two separate US country music charts. The two made a music video in which they resolved a complicated affair while playing different roles in a bar, and Reba once again demonstrated her acting chops. Over six million people have watched the video, and many have commented on how great it is that these two musical legends worked together.
