Why Reba McEntire's Team Once Forced Her To Wear A Wig For Months On End

Reba McEntire has worn many hats in the entertainment and music world in her lifetime . She's a country music superstar, starred in her own sitcom, and served as a judge on "The Voice" — a position she initially turned down. But all these figurative hats could never have prepared McEntire to wear a wig for five months straight in the mid-90s.

In the early 90s, McEntire was known for her long, red, voluminous curls. The hairstyle was so recognizable that McEntire wrote in her 2023 memoir, "Not That Fancy" (via NBC), "My hair was so big back in those days that my fans could recognize me just from my silhouette." By the time 1996 rolled around, however, McEntire was ready to start switching things up.

McEntire's album, "What If It's You," was set to release that November, inspiring the country powerhouse to switch up her look in a drastic way. McEntire said goodbye to her signature long locks, trading that look for a much shorter 'do. The only problem was McEntire still had months to go between her haircut and her album's release date. To keep the reveal a secret, her team advised McEntire to wear a wig.

Reba McEntire wanted to change her hair for a while, so she jumped at the chance to finally do so and cut her locks in June 1996. However, her album, "What If It's You," the cover on which the reveal was scheduled to take place, didn't come out for months. As McEntire wrote in her memoir, "Not That Fancy" (via Us Weekly), "I had actually cut my hair off in June, but the album didn't release until November, so I had to wear a wig until we were ready to reveal the new look." She ultimately unveiled the new look at the 1996 Country Music Association Awards during her performance of "Fear of Being Alone."

Switching up styles was a leap of faith for McEntire but she thought fans would embrace the authenticity. "A new style may seem like a small thing, but it helped me feel more like myself, and I think my fans liked that. It just goes to show — trust your gut and do what's right for you. Everyone else will catch up," she wrote. McEntire was right, of course, as "What If It's You" ended up going double platinum. And in the years since, McEntire has played around with numerous bold hairstyles, further proving that no matter how the country superstar's look evolves, her fans will always throw their support behind her every move.