Monday, Nov. 09, 2009

George Strait, Reba McEntire to appear in St. Louis Feb. 18

Country music star George Strait will kick off his arena tour early next year — stopping in St. Louis in February — and is bringing along Reba McEntire.

The duo will perform at Scottrade Center at St. Louis on Feb. 18.

With 57 No. 1 hits, 33 multi-platinum albums and countless sold-out shows year after year, Strait holds the record for the most Country Music Award wins and a record 17 CMA Entertainer of the Year nominations.

“I can’t wait to get back out there and perform some of my new favorites from Twang along with hits the fans already love,” says Strait. “And with my friend Reba, we will make it a really spectacular night.”

Strait’s recent release “Twang,” debuted at No. 1 on The Billboard 200 and the Top Country Albums chart. This is the fourth time in Strait’s career that a new release has debuted at that position on the Billboard 200 chart and the 13th time debuting at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart.

At last year’s CMA Awards, George became the artist with the most CMA Awards in history with Album of the Year for “Troubadour” and Single of the Year for “I Saw God Today.” He adds 4 nominations this year with nods for “Entertainer of the Year,” “Male Vocalist of the Year,” “Video of the Year” for “Troubadour” and “Vocal Event of the Year” for “Everything But Quits” with LeeAnn Womack.

His platinum-selling Troubadour was named “Best Country Album” at the 51stGrammy Awards. In April, Strait was the fifth artist ever to receive the Academy of Country Music's Artist of the Decade honor. Strait has won 19 Academy of Country Music Awards including "Entertainer of the Year."

With a career spanning more than 25 years, Strait has the most No. 1 singles of any artist in history including Elvis (57 to date). Strait has sold more than 67 million records and with 33 different platinum or multi-platinum albums has the most RIAA platinum certifications in country music and the third in all genres, behind The Beatles and Elvis.

One of the most successful female recording artists in history, McEntire has sold over 55 million albums worldwide, earned 33 No. 1 singles and was recently recognized as the biggest female hit-maker in country music history by “Billboard,” “Mediabase” and “Country Aircheck.” She is the winner of 15 American Music Awards, 12 Academy of Country Music Awards, 9 People’s Choice Awards, 7 Country Music Awards and 2 GRAMMY Awards.

McEntire’s new album, Keep On Loving You, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart – her first solo studio album to do so. With 11 No. 1 albums, Reba holds the record as the female artist with the most No. 1 albums in the history of the Billboard Top Country Albums chart. The superstar also recently scored her third consecutive Top 10 single of 2009, as her new song “Consider Me Gone” jumped into the Top 10 this week on both the Billboard Country Singles and the USA Today/ Country Aircheck Chart powered by Mediabase) charts.

Sale dates and ticket info is expected to be announced soon.