Reba McEntire has lit up stages, dominated prime time, and won over generations of fans. Now, she’s bringing her signature spark to a whole new role: helping Americans find a home.
As the new face of Realtor.com®, the beloved icon stars in a sitcom-style campaign that blends heart, humor, and Southern charm to make the homebuying journey feel a little more joyful—and a lot more human.
McEntire, 70, who boasts accomplishments across a wide variety of industries—including music, TV, books, and theater—brings all of those talents to the table and more while starring in a new sitcom-themed campaign, aptly titled “Nearly Home.”
It is a role that the famed songstress doesn’t take lightly, she explains to Realtor.com on the set of her new campaign, and one that she believes is a very natural fit.
Homebuying “is not only a serious subject, but it’s also something that is very near and dear to our heart,” she explains. “People are putting up their hard-earned money, their savings, and they want to find the right place.
“[Things like] the backyard, the front yard, the closeness of a school or a church of their choice, all of those things come into play. And if one is not there, it’s like a little piece missing from the puzzle of the pie.”
Having spent years touring the globe, performing to sold-out crowds along the way, McEntire knows better than most that home is where the heart is. For her, that place is Nashville, TN, a city she has called home for more than 30 years.
During that time, the country legend and actress has created a space where everyone feels at home—whether they are visiting for the first time or the 15th. It’s a talent that she says she learned as a young girl growing up in Oklahoma with a mother and father who were endlessly generous with their good old Southern hospitality.
“When people come see me, the first thing I say is: ‘Are you hungry? Would you like something to drink? When was the last time you ate?’ Now that is Southern hospitality,” she says.
“I knew growing up that Momma and Daddy couldn’t afford to feed everybody, but if they walked in that front door, Momma asked, ‘Were they hungry? Would they like something to drink? We have sweet tea, unsweetened tea, whatever you like.’”
But McEntire knows that achieving the dream of homeownership isn’t always easy and can, at times, be a downright nightmare. Luckily, she also knows how she can help—by highlighting the ups and downs that are involved in both buying and selling, while also putting a positive spin on the whole process.
That is the theme at the heart of the first “episode” of her “Nearly Home” campaign, “The One Without the Break-Up,” which sees the sitcom veteran lending a helping hand to a couple whose house hunting journey is taking a major toll on their relationship.
Just as they are reaching their breaking point, McEntire bursts into their living room to rescue them from their nightmare—by revealing how they can use Realtor.com tools to make their hunt so much easier (and more enjoyable).
“OK, let’s simmer down now,” she tells the desperate duo. “Y’all need Realtor.com—the app the pros trust most. With over 500,000 new listings every month, you could find the one today.”
Tough love and Southern charm aren’t the only things that McEntire is bringing to the table. As well as taking on a starring role in the campaign, the singer has lent her iconic vocals to the videos for a charming jingle that is sure to delight her fans.
Speaking about her decision to partner with Realtor.com, McEntire explained that the collaboration felt entirely natural, particularly given her own love of looking at house listings.
“I was like, ‘Oh, this will be fun!’” she says of the moment the campaign was introduced to her. “Especially when I found out how successful Realtor.com is. They have over half a million new listings every month! I didn’t know that. And they’ve been in business for over 25 years, so I thought, ‘They know what they’re doing.’
“And I do like to look at listings. When you’re driving down the road and you see a house for sale, you kind of want to whip in there and see how they’ve decorated it, how that house is … why would they leave? Although I’m happy with my home, it’s just curiosity.”
Indeed, her role in the campaign felt so natural that it left her considering whether she might have a hidden talent as a real estate agent—a career path that she feels might be a great fit for her.
“I do love to go look at houses,” she says. “But … I might be a little opinionated and say, ‘You don’t need this house.’ And maybe that’s what makes a great real estate agent! I don’t know. But I’d be an honest representative.”
As for her own life at home? McEntire says much of it revolves around the most popular spot: the kitchen.
It’s often the first (and only) place she and her partner, Rex Linn, spend their time—despite her best efforts to enjoy other parts of her house.
“Rex and I both love to cook, we love to host,” she explains. “But, I mean, you’ve got this house where you’ve got a living room and a kitchen, then a TV room and a game room, and there will be 50 people all in the kitchen.
“You can tell them to go and sit down, but they’ll always come back to the kitchen. I don’t know why, it’s just always been that way.”
Still, McEntire admits there’s one thing about her home she would love to change if given the chance: its lack of 360-degree views, something that she says is her “dream” as far as the perfect amenity is concerned.
“I want to be able to see the sunrise and the sunset,” she shares. “And I don’t have that yet.”
Luckily for McEntire, one thing her Nashville property does have that many other homes don’t is the perfect roommate in Linn, whom she readily picks as the person from her life she would choose to live with again and again.
“We get along. We love the same television, we love the same foods, we just line up in every subject matter you can talk about,” she explains.
For McEntire, this gig as the new face of Realtor.com is about cutting through the noise—and the nonsense.
“Buying a home should be exciting, not exhausting,” she says. “If I can help folks laugh a little and feel more in control, then I’ve done my job.”
With “Nearly Home,” Realtor.com isn’t just showing listings—it’s also showing up with a little heart, a lot of help, and one very familiar face.
To see the first installment of the ‘Nearly Home’ campaign, ‘The One Without the Break-Up,’ head to www.realtor.com/nearlyhome