Reba McEntire is the biggest-selling female country artist in the world. That's not too hard to understand after seeing her performance at the Point Depot on Tuesday night. She's a great pure-country singer, but spends much of her time veering toward country-inflected pop ballads, Trisha Yearwood-style. The material isn't always the best, but she puts everything across well. McEntire oozes confidence, commanding attention without the aid of costume changes or fancy choreography. She was ably assisted by a 10-piece band.

The band came into their element with The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, providing a sizzling accompaniment while McEntire brought the lyrics to life with her crisp, bouncy delivery. Whoever's In New England was in contrast a pure pop ballad, throwing in a token steel guitar.

It can be hard to keep up momentum in a loose, greatest-hits style concert like this - after around ten songs, there was a loss of direction with a succession of dull songs (sometimes featuring saxophone solos, which is never a good sign). However, McEntire brought things back to life with a wonderful rendition of For My Broken Heart. This was followed by The Fear of Being Alone - probably her best song, it combines joy and desperation in equal measure. She was joined by Linda Davis for the duet Does He Love You. This is a ridiculously corny ballad, but the two women brought it off. McEntire received a standing ovation, and courageously chose to end with an unaccompanied version of Sweet Dreams.