Born 59 Years Ago Today, This Country Legend Was Once Rejected As Reba McEntire's Backup Singer

Faith Hill has sold millions of records, released hit singles, and is adored by fans all around the world, but before she achieved any of that, Hill, who turns 59 today, was once turned down at an audition to be a backup singer for one of country music's biggest stars, Reba McEntire. 

The native Mississippian Hill was once a receptionist in Nashville, sang on other people's demo tapes, and worked at McDonald's during her high school years, so everyday jobs certainly aren't foreign to the country star. But Hill has taken a step back from her music career in recent years and hasn't released an album since 2017. 

Her husband Tim McGraw explained to fans why she hasn't been performing like she used to and chalked it up to her having health issues. "My wife has been going through quite a bit of surgeries," he said on stage during a show (via Fox News). "She's had five neck surgeries, and she's had a couple of hand surgeries." As we celebrate her 59th birthday, this is how a failed audition for McEntire wasn't the end for Hill's music career; it was just the beginning.

When trying to fulfill your music dreams, you'll need some tenacity to navigate all of the potholes on the road to stardom, mental fortitude to handle all of the disappointments, and a willingness to take music-adjacent jobs to get your foot in the door. Faith Hill would probably give that advice, seeing that she moved to Nashville from Mississippi at 19 years old to try her hand at a professional music career. She eventually got the opportunity to sell merchandise for Reba McEntire, so it seemed she was getting closer to her dreams.

In time, Hill snagged an audition to be one of McEntire's backup singers, only to be beaten to the spot by Paula Evans. But tragedy would strike for Evans and the other people in McEntire's touring band when they were all killed in a plane crash in March 1991, in San Diego, California.

Hill spoke about the crash with Larry King on CNN in 2006, while also explaining why she didn't get the job. "I didn't get it because I wasn't good enough," she told King. "I don't think it was because — I don't think fate had anything to do with that for me. I wasn't a great background singer and I didn't get the part."

There's plenty that fans don't know about Reba McEntire, and in 2021 she shared some of them with Bobby Bones on iHeartRadio, including some insight into Faith Hill's unsuccessful audition. "She did audition to be a background singer, and she didn't get it," McEntire said. "And Narvel and I looked at each other and said, 'She's going to be a star, a big star' ... She could sing, [but] she wasn't that good of a harmony singer at that time. No, it wasn't meant to be."

But Hill worked on her background singing over time, and it helped her land a record deal when a Warner Bros. executive approached her when she was singing background vocals at a Nashville live music venue. Hill's first album was 1993's "Take Me As I Am," and she saw success right out of the gate. 

The album's title track reached No.2 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs Chart, while "Wild One" and "Piece of My Heart" both reached No. 1. Hill would go on to score her biggest pop hit in 2000 with the single "Breathe," off her album of the same name, which reached No. 2 that year after being released at the end of 1999, and remained on the charts for 53 weeks. Her last album was 2017's "The Rest of Our Life," a project that she made with her husband, Tim McGraw.