If the tour combination of country entertainer Reba McEntire and "American Idol" groundbreaker Kelly Clarkson seems almost as weird as that time Garth Brooks tried to pretend he was a grunge singer, you wouldn't know it listening to the ladies.

In a taped video interview provided by management, McEntire and Clarkson sound giddy about gigging together. (Neither singer was made available for a phone interview with the Idaho Statesman.)

Fans will hear their biggest hits performed in a single, no-intermission evening as part of their 2 Worlds, 2 Voices tour, which graces Taco Bell Arena on Thursday, Oct. 9.

"It's kind of a selfish concert for me," Clarkson, 26, admits, "because I get to sing a lot of her songs that I love. And I get to hear her sing. Like 'And Still' is one of my favorite parts of the show. Oh, it sounds so beautiful."

"And 'Be Still,'" McEntire, 53, adds. " 'Hazel Eyes.' I love those songs."

The idea for the tour sprung out of "CMT Crossroads," a made-for-TV concert that put the women on stage together in 2007. Clarkson, the first and most commercially successful winner of "American Idol," had spokenly fondly of McEntire's music years before. Soon after the taping, she joined Starstruck Entertainment, a management company run by McEntire's husband. Clarkson had been having much-publicized problems with music industry guru Clive Davis related to her modestly received third album, "My December."

Hooking up with talented, experienced McEntire may have been the smartest thing Clarkson could have done.

"My fans loved 'Crossroads,' " Clarkson says.

"I did, too," McEntire adds.

The 2 Worlds, 2 Voices tour allows each woman to step in and out of the spotlight, relieving the constant pressure of being the star of a show. Plus, they get to sing vocal harmonies. It's one of life's little pleasures that, again, they usually don't get to experience.

"The harmonies and the acoustic sets are what capture me," Clarkson says. "So I hope people like that."

The first leg of the tour in early 2008 was so well-received that organizers put them together for another run this fall.

USA Today has called it "one of pop music's most curious couplings." There's no getting around the fact that McEntire looks a little goofy trying to dance while Clarkson belts out "Since U Been Gone." But, hey, it's hard not to get caught up in their enthusiasm.

In a popular YouTube video, Clarkson smiles broadly after she and McEntire finish singing the hard-rockin' hit.

"That was awesome!" she exclaims happily.

Michael Deeds: 377-6407