Reba McEntire is a country icon, but she still appreciates the simpler things in life — like red Solo cups.
While chatting with TODAY’s Willie Geist during this week’s edition of the Sunday Sitdown, the singer described her entertaining style and explained that she's still a small town girl at heart. In fact, it's a topic she explores extensively in her forthcoming book, aptly titled, "Not That Fancy."
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“We talk (about) family, friends, how to throw a party that’s not so fancy. That’s my kinda party. You know, I don’t really care if everything matches," McEntire said.
The superstar, who already has two books under her belt, said her latest release will include a mix of stories and recipes.
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McEntire knows what she likes when it comes time to set a table, and her laid-back approach to party planning might come as a surprise to some.
“Sometimes I ask to use real plates instead of paper plates. But I love Solo cups," the singer said. “I think that’s the main message of the book — don’t not have a party because everything doesn’t look right, or you didn’t have time to get this ready. Just go have fun."
Willie couldn't have agreed more.
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"Just get together the people you love, whatever you’re doing, and have some Solo cups," he said.
McEntire added, "Lotsa Solo cups."
McEntire, who opened a restaurant in Oklahoma earlier this year, admitted that she inherited her love for Solo cups from a very special lady.
"I got that from Mama. At Thanksgiving everybody wrote their name with a magic marker on their Solo cup, and that way you didn’t have to waste a lotta cups, gettin’ a new one, and you knew which one was yours," she explained. "And next Thanksgiving you look for your cup, ‘cause it’s still there."
Willie wasn't sure if the star was joking or totally serious and asked, "Oh, really? It stays, OK, you keep it, wash it out, put it up on the shelf."
"I still wash Solo cups," McEntire said.
"That is awesome. I love that," he responded with delight.
McEntire has certainly earned icon status, but she told Willie the terms "icon," "legend" and "trailblazer" still make her feel a bit uncomfortable.
"When I hear those words I think Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Tammy Wynette, Barbara Mandrell, Anne Murray, Minnie Pearl, all of those women are the pioneers, the icons, the legends that I got to learn from," she explained.
Willie could understand where she was coming from, but reminded her that a whole new generation of artists look to her for inspiration. And he was curious to know how that feels.
"It’s a cool feelin’. It’s a huge responsibility because in my span that I get to do this, I wanna find ways of doin’ it better to make it easier on them. Then it’s their responsibility to move forward, find a better way of doin’ something for the people comin’ up next behind them," she said.
We'll cheers (with a Solo cup) to that!
This story first appeared on TODAY.com. More from TODAY: