“When You Love Someone Like That” is a duet track from Reba McEntire’s twenty-sixth studio album Reba: Duets, released on September 18, 2007. It featured diverse collaborations of artists from country to pop and rock. In addition to LeAnn Rimes, Ronny Don’s “Does that Wind Still Blow in Oklahoma?” Kelly Clarkson’s “Because of You,” Justin Timberlake’s “The Only Promise That Remains,” and more renowned singers joined the album tracklist!

During the 41st CMA Awards in 2007, both singers took the stage to perform the hit country song. LeAnn brightly shined in the spotlight as she sang the first verse. In the chorus, McEntire gracefully enters the stage, receiving a loud cheer from the crowd.

Before opening up on the CMA, Rimes shared her admiration for McEntire: “I grew up studying every move this woman made. She is a strong, fearless class act who is more powerful than ever 30 years into her career.” She gleefully added, “A lifelong dream of mine was fulfilled recently for an album of duets. The woman I’m speaking of is Reba.”

The pair gave the audience a treat to heaven for an angelic harmonization of the single, where both of them looked absolutely wondrous.

The single “When You Love Someone Like That” was part of LeAnn Rimes’ ninth studio album, Family, which was released on October 9, 2007. The song was written by Ed Hill and Karyn Rochelle and produced by Tony Brown and Reba McEntire. It was the 14th track on Rimes’ aforementioned album. The album’s themes cover the different facets of life, from highlighting the essence of family to fixing messy relationships.

Where does the 14th track’s theme fit, then? “When You Love Someone Like That” is all about loving someone deeply, even after the relationship has ended. The singer reiterates the regret and lament of a relationship that wouldn’t work out, no matter how much the two lovers loved each other. This is the complex and bittersweet nature of love as an all-consuming yet painful to let go. Often, you’d feel helpless for making several attempts to save a relationship beyond repair. There are times when the only decision you’re left to make is to walk away from it.

In hindsight, the singer eventually realizes that there was no one to blame for the split-up, it was only the man’s lack of commitment to a lasting relationship that ended it. It offered comfort at the song’s bridge reassuring that love and loss are a universal experience. It is safe to say that the relationship described in the song needs not fixing but rather separation.

Watch the video below to get LSS to LeAnn Rimes and Reba McEntire’s mesmerizing tune, “When You Love Someone Like That.”