Reba McEntire Lets ‘Freedom’ Ring at 2019 ACM Awards

Reba McEntire got to host and perform at Sunday night's (April 7) 2019 ACM Awards ceremony: The country icon shared her newest single, "Freedom," with the audience at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas and those watching live on CBS.

Introduced by her friend and former Reba co-star Melissa Peterman, Reba kept the performance simple, delivering a pitch-perfect performance as the band played along and lyrics scrolled across a stage in the background.

"Freedom" feels like classic Reba McEntire in many instances, especially when she hits the chorus. Though at first listeners may take the tune for a patriotic anthem, the freedom Reba is singing about is much more personal.

"Freedom," McEntire's first single from her just-released album Stronger Than the Truth, was written by Jay Brunswick, Tommy Cecil, Real Country winner Jaida Dreyer and John Pierce. Dreyer tells Taste of Country that the song "can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people."

Says McEntire, "It’s about this woman who’s had bad relationships, bad luck in love and then she finds this one person. He gives her the freedom to love. He is the right person for her."

McEntire notably divorced her longtime husband Narvel Blackstock after 26 years in 2018. She attended this year's awards with current boyfriend Anthony "Skeeter" Lasuzzo.

McEntire is hosting the ACM Awards for a second consecutive year in 2019. It's her 16th time hosting or co-hosting the ceremony.

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