COUNTRY MUSIC Reba McEntire set to host awards show

The star will tour during her television hiatus.
(KNOXVILLE, TENN.) NEWS-SENTINEL
What does one of country music's most beloved singers do when her son cranks up his rock 'n' roll?
"I go to the other room," says Reba McEntire with a laugh.
Her 13-year-old son, Shelby, is heavily into the alternative-rock band Linkin Park, and has aspirations of being a guitarist for a band. When he turns up the volume, McEntire, like many other parents in the country, seeks sanctuary.
She's also glad that technology is helping out.
"You know the greatest thing? They have those plug-ins with the headphones so he can listen to it as loud as he wants and doesn't really disturb anybody," she says. "Those are great."
It's kind of hard to argue with your mom about music when she's a multiple-Grammy-winner and host of "The 39th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards" (airing at 8 p.m. Wednesday on CBS).
McEntire's home may have been built on the success of her hit records and concert tours, but that doesn't mean the entire household is in synch musically.
"I listen to country," she says, "but my husband listens to jazz, and my son likes rock."
McEntire is especially fond of country music's female artists, such as Martina McBride, LeAnn Rimes, Dolly Parton and Pam Tillis. She's toyed with the idea of doing a CD of Loretta Lynn covers, but doesn't know if she could do them justice.
A musical comeback
After devoting most of her career to her WB sitcom "Reba" the past three years, McEntire is delving back into music more these days.
"Somebody," her most recent single, cracked the Top 20 on Billboard magazine's country-music singles and tracks chart. "Room to Breathe," the CD that spawned it, has sold more than 500,000 copies since its release seven months ago.
It's a relatively modest number compared to her platinum-selling stints in the 1990s.
During her hiatus from "Reba," McEntire will go back on the concert trail.
"This is the first tour I have done since doing the TV show," says McEntire, who lives in Los Angeles. "I have toured for 25 years. I've done it all my life, but I kind of like my schedule now with the TV show. I get to go home every night and relax. You can't do that on the road."
She says she's doing the tour to push the CD, describing it as some of her most eclectic work to date.
"I want my fans to hear me do these songs," she says.
Hosting the Country Music Awards is a key move in her career. It reconnects her with the country-music community while allowing her to play off the popularity of her weekly sitcom gig.
In turn, McEntire is an important ambassador for country music, which has seen its sales slip dramatically since its commercial heyday in the mid-1990s. McEntire is the type of multi-media figure who is known beyond just a niche music chart.