I didn’t say that Carrie or Taylor could not have pulled off “If a Were a Boy” or “Somebody’s Chelsea.” While I don’t think they could make “Chelsea” any more interesting, I actually think they could pull off “If I Were a Boy” better than Reba could. The songs I said they couldn’t pull off were “The Fear of Being Alone” and “When You Have a Child,” because those songs are at a level of maturity that’s better suited to an artist of Reba’s age.

In my earlier comment, I wasn’t saying that there is no double-standard in the music industry with regard to gender. I was saying that my review does not reflect that standard, because it made no comment on what’s age-appropriate for a male artist.

I don’t personally see anything about “Here for a Good Time” that’s ill-suited to George Strait’s age. He sings about the shortness of life, and how any day could be his last, and to me that makes sense coming from a man in his late fifties. For me, the important thing is that I can see the artist in whatever situation the song’s narrator is supposedly in. With “Here for a Good Time,” I can see that, but with “Somebody’s Chelsea,” I can’t.

Sorry, that should have read, her only single to reach the Top 10 …”

There’s nothing new or unusual about this. In fact, we were having a similar conversation on MKOC about Dolly Parton. She had two #1 hits on her White Limozeen album and then radio didn’t play any of the album’s subsequent singles. Her only single to hit #1 after that was her duet with Ricky Van Shelton “Rockin’ Years.” Artists can be right in the middle of a career resurgence and on a hot streak when radio suddenly stops playing them. I don’t know why that is but it seems to happen quite a lot.

In Reba’s case, this current album is one of her poorer offerings. If she releases some better material the next time around she may be able to enjoy a few more hits.

I do not agree with the age comments about Reba…I read all of the comments and I realize you said you meant no disrespect but it sure sounded like it to me. And I agree with Rudy, there is a double standard in the industry. George Strait is 59 and his new song is here for a good time, come on is that age appropriate? If you want to be heard on radio and sell music then you have to change. I also disagree with Carrie or Taylor not being able to pull off Chelsea or Boy. If Carrie had recorded If I were a boy…I can assure you the radio would have played it to death. Country music is very different today from the 70s, 80s and 90s for that matter. One of my favorite songs on the album is The Day she got divorced but I guarantee you radio would not play it.

To me it seems that Nashville (the music industry) is trying to weed out the older artists…because the younger fans “BUY” downloads, cds, etc. It is all about money and promotion…they are promoting the younger ones big time. I honestly think that certain record companies were behind the “not playing Boy and When Love Gets a Hold of You” why do I say that? Well because Reba spent 4 weeks at #1 with Consider Me Gone, had a top 5 with I Keep on Loving you and then came out with a #1 with Turn on the Radio!…Certain folks in the industry got nervous…Reba wsa on her way to outshining the younger ones so they got radio to suffocate any chance of that…If I Were a Boy at certain stations was one of the most played and requested songs and then WLGAHOY…nothing sorry..there’s something rotten in the the industry…it is called politics… I personally think the listeners should decide who plays what on radio not just what the DJs and programmers like.

Reba has always been beyond her years in the entertainment business. In the 90s she had the most fantastic stage shows..a lot of people criticized her for that…now Taylor, Carrie and Brad are doing all kinds of props and it is being hailed as awesome. Maybe Reba just set the standard so high in her early songs that everyone expects that now…but…I can assure you radio would not play her 80′s songs and probably very few of her early 90′s songs because they are “too country”. I am 58 and have always been a country music fan. Johnny Cash, Waylon, Willie, Loretta, Dolly,Tammy, Charley Pride were some favs. I have been to numerous concerts of other stars through the years so I feel like I know about country music and how its changed. I feel that Reba is trying to hang in there. I have all of her cds…she always takes you through different emotions with different songs. Reba is very versatile otherwise, she could not have pulled off AGYG in NW or done South Pacific in LA. The woman is one of the BEST singers that Country Music has ever had and she still is a great singer and puts on an awesome show.