Reba McEntire Brings Holiday Cheer With ‘CMA Country Christmas’

The star-studded CMA Country Christmas airs Monday night, Dec. 10. The show, hosted by Reba McEntire, features some of country music’s biggest artists, including Dustin Lynch, Brett Eldredge, Old Dominion and more.

“[It’s] the most beautiful stage,” McEntire gushed to PopCulture.com and other media at the CMA Country Christmas taping. “When everything is lit up and the scenes are shot in the back, it’s incredible looking. So that’s going to get everybody in the Christmas spirit, and it’s working for me for sure.”

Lynch, who was inducted earlier this year into the Grand Ole Opry by McEntire, used the televised show as a way to help him get into the holiday spirit.

“It’s gonna be a fun night, and I’m having a lot of fun onstage up there with everybody,” Lynch said. “I’m having a lot of fun onstage with the band, and the backup singers during my song. And I’m doing ‘Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home),’ which is an uptempo, kind of fun Christmas song, which is kind of my thing.”

The Tennessee native chose the song, originally recorded by Darlene Love, because he wanted a feel-good, festive-sounding tune.

“I just want it to be happy and energetic,” Lynch explained. “I’m not here to win a singing competition by any means. We’ve got Brett Eldredge and Dan + Shay to do that. So, I just want to have fun and get up there and do my thing on stage. It’s all about interacting with the crowd and celebrating the holidays. It’s easier to smile than to be serious during the Christmas songs. So that’s what I went for.”

Dan + Shay stepped out of their comfort zone for their CMA Country Christmas performance, putting their spin on a holiday classic.

“We’re changing it up a little bit this year,” Dan Smyers revealed. “Everybody’s falling in love with these Christmas songs over generations and generations, but traditionally we’ve stuck pretty true to the song. This year, we’ve spiced it up a little bit. We’re doing a little bit of a different arrangement on ‘I’ll Be Home For Christmas,’ and it’s going to be fun.”

“It’s a little more rocking, and we’re moving around a little bit more than we traditionally do,” he continued. “In the past, we’ve kind of stuck at the mic, tried to look stoic, a little bit in between lines. And tonight, we’re going to be cruising around and having a lot of fun. So, it’s a little different, but hopefully the fans like it. We’re excited about it.”

CMA Country Christmas airs on Monday, Dec. 10, at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Photo Credit: Donn Jones for CMA