Reba McEntire Delivers Emotional Tribute In First-Ever Grammys Performance

Reba McEntire performed for the first time on the Grammys stage on Sunday evening (February 1), delivering a moving In Memoriam tribute with Lukas Nelson and Brandy Clark.

McEntire, 70, honored artists, songwriters, producers, musicians and others in the entertainment industry who passed away in the last year, including her own stepson, Brandon Blackstock, who died in August 2025 after a years-long battle with cancer. He was 48. In Memoriam performances continued with Post Malone, Slash, Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Duff McKagan of Guns N' Roses, and Andrew Watt, teaming up to honor Ozzy Osbourne. Lauryn Hill took the stage to perform a stunning tribute to D’Angelo and Roberta Flack.

McEntire took the stage with a reimagined rendition of “Trailblazer,” a collaboration she released with Lainey Wilson and Miranda Lambert. The trio delivered the world premiere performance at the 2025 Academy of Country Music Awards, which McEntire hosted (and Wilson took home the Entertainer of the Year honor). Clark wrote the song with Lambert and Wilson, and McEntire produced it with Country Music Hall of Fame member Tony Brown. Clark rewrote the track and co-produced it with McEntire, per a press release issued shortly after the performance on Sunday. “Trailblazer (Dream Chaser Version),” featuring Clark and Nelson, unites “a powerful, multi-generational collaboration that honored the legacy of recently lost members of the creative community,” the release states. The release also notes that the stripped-down, acoustic version of “Trailblazer,” “blending classic country with a contemporary edge,” is available now. Listen to it here: