A/N: I listened to country music a lot when I was growing up. Now, not so much. But I caught wind of this music video and thought it had Beca written all over it! This fic is based on Reba McEntire's new dance-mix of Fancy that celebrates the 30th anniversary of the release of her version of the song.
After Beca had opened for DJ Kahled on the overseas USO tour after graduation, she'd scoured the area to find Chloe to celebrate. She'd denied her feelings for the redhead for years and finally worked up the nerve to come clean with Chloe about her feelings. Imagine her surprise that, when she found Chloe, her roommate was kissing Chicago, the Army captain who had been one of the Bellas' escorts throughout the tour.
Chloe had always been flirty with both men and women, dating throughout the five years Beca had known her. But in her heart, Beca had not been prepared for what she saw on the very night she was about to confess her feelings to Chloe. After bringing the Bellas on stage to sing with her, Beca assumed that the soldier would be far from Chloe's mind as the girls celebrated together.
After returning to New York City to prepare for her move to Los Angeles to work for DJ Khaled, Beca distanced herself from Chloe as much as possible. The redhead seemed oblivious to her best friend's changes, the emotional separation, as Chloe got all wrapped up in her long-distance relationship with Chicago. All of this together made Beca's move to LA much more comfortable than expected. So easy, in fact, that when the time came, Beca simply left.
Per her nature, Beca quickly put all her time and energy into her music after moving to Los Angeles. Between writing her own music and lyrics and laying down vocal tracks, Beca didn't have much opportunity to miss Chloe and the other Bellas who had been an integral part of her adult life. Before her work with DJ Kahled, he'd only officially produced one song in her life, Flashlight for Legacy. So Beca worked closely with Theo and another junior producer to create the perfect sound for her freshman album.
One evening, Beca was stretched out on her couch with chopsticks and a box of shrimp low mein resting on her stomach, eating dinner before she crashed. A surprising knock sounded on her door. Sitting her food on the coffee table, she wiped her mouth and headed to see who was there. A quick glance through the peephole revealed a shock of wavy red hair. Low and behold, Chloe Beale was standing on her doorstep. Chloe had a large suitcase next to her and looked incredibly nervous.
Beca leaned up against her door and took a few calming breaths before unlocking the series of locks and swinging the door open. The two women stood looking at each other. Finally, Beca gave a face splitting grin and opened her arms wide. "Well," she questioned. "What are you waiting for?"
Chloe rushed forward and wrapped her arms around the brunette, holding on for dear life. The redhead's face was pressed against Beca's shoulder. When Beca pulled back, she saw Chloe's tear-streaked face. "Hey, hey, what's all this?" She used her thumbs to wipe away the tears on Chloe's face.
"I-I-I've missed you, Beca." Chloe sniffled and wiped her face with her sleeve.
Beca grabbed Chloe's suitcase, and the women made their way inside Beca's flat. Beca learned that Chloe's relationship with Chicago was short-lived. The singer/songwriter was low-key pleased hearing this, although she felt her friend's sadness. After some prodding, Chloe admitted that something was missing from her dynamic with the soldier.
"I don't know how else to say this, Becs." Chloe took Beca's hand and pressed it against her cheek. "Chicago… he just wasn't you."
Chloe quickly engrained herself back into Beca's life. But this time, the woman had admitted their honest feelings for each other. Four years later, they were married and were well established in their respective occupations. Beca's freshman album and the limited tour had been a hit. This had allowed them to move into a respectably sized house in a suburb of Los Angeles.
"Why the strange look, babe?" Chloe turned around to mind the food on the stovetop. "You look utterly confused.
"That's because I am. That was Theo." Beca wandered over to the salad and snuck a cherry tomato off the top. Avoiding Chloe's teasing hand slap. "I have a meeting with a new-to-me artist. Her agent wouldn't give us any hints as to the project. Still, I'm confused at why the artist specifically requested working with me."
"I don't know why that's confusing. You are coming off a Grammy win, and you're huge right now. What has you perplexed about this? Who's the artist?"
"Reba McEntire," Beca chuckled. "I mean, she's a country music icon. But that's why I'm puzzled. Country music." Beca shrugged as she finished setting the table. "I wish Theo would give me a hint as to what's going on. He claims he doesn't know any more than he's let on, but I never can tell with him."
"That's pretty awesome that Reba has asked to work with you personally. Weird, though, since your sound is so far away from the country genre, though."
"Right? I suppose we'll find out more on Wednesday. She's flying to Los Angeles from her place right outside of Nashville."
Because Beca was so far removed from the country music industry, she started researching Reba McEntire's music career while Chloe watched a movie. After a bit, Beca paused the movie. "Chloe, listen to this." Beca began to tick off the country singer's accolades on her fingers. "Seven Academy of Country Music's Top Female Vocalist Awards. Twelve American Music Awards for Favorite Country Female Artist. Reba was the first to win the Country Music Association's Female Vocalist of the Year Award four times in a row, a feat only three other female artists have done since. We won't even get into the outrageous number of nominations she's received. No wonder since she has solo number-one hits across four decades, starting in the '80s."
She looked over to Chloe to make sure she was listening. "Chlo, I don't know country. I don't do country. I don't even listen to it. I don't think I can do anything for Reba." Beca's nerves were definitely getting the best of her. Beca's leg was nervously bouncing her laptop up and down.
Chloe was used to her wife not having faith in her abilities. She also knew Beca was such an ambitious worker, striving for perfection in everything she touched with her job. That dedication had paid off in spades with artists that flocked to her studio, not to mention her recent Grammy award. "Beca Mitchell!" She scooted close to the brunette, encroaching well into her wife's personal space. "You can do anything you set your mind to. You've worked with some of the best in the industry."
Beca motioned to her laptop screen. "But with these kinds of accolades? And her longevity of success in the music industry?"
"Hush, I don't want to hear any more negativity. You are fucking perfect to me," Chloe sang with a silly smile on her face.
"Okay, P!NK, I get your point."
For two days, Beca hounded Theo for details. He insisted he had none to give, only that their meeting was first thing Wednesday morning. "She's flying in on Tuesday, so if you don't leave me alone about this, I'll invite her and her agent out to eat Tuesday night. Why are you so nervous, Beca?"
"Reba McEntire is such a prolific recording artist with an award list a mile long. I mean, she released nine full albums before I was even born. Why does she have to sing country music?" Beca flung her hands up in the air.
Since Beca knew nothing of the possible project, she had no preparation. However, this did not alleviate her anxiety. Theo had one of the interns set up the large meeting room for the meeting, stocking the side table with many of the singer's favorites such as a pitcher of freshly brewed ice tea and a bucket of ice, coconut water, and aloe vera juice. The intern also included some chips and salsa along with a variety of fruit. "That's all I could find about her online."
Beca and Theo took their seat on one side of the table to wait for the country superstar. Not knowing what to expect, Beca was shocked to see Reba come walking into the office wearing a military green shirt beneath a leather jacket and jeans. Somehow she expected the redhead singer to be a bit less informal. She stood up and extended her hand towards the country singer.
"Oh no," Reba announced with her thick country twang. "I'm a hugger." She wrapped her arms around Beca and squeezed for all she was worth. "Aren't you just cute as a button?" She held Beca back at arm's length and looked her up and down. "I love it."
"Are all redheads this touchy-feely friendly?" Beca didn't mean for her muttering to be audible.
"What's that? The country singer's smile was broad.
"Did I say that out loud?" Beca nervously chuckled. "You just remind me of my wife, is all."
Once the small group got settled, Reba revealed her reasoning for wanting to meet with Beca. "I've followed your career and immediately saw you as a force to be recognized as soon as I lay eyes on you. You have an ear for music like nobody I've ever heard, any genre, and I've worked with many, many people in the industry."
"Okay, Ms. McEntire, what can I do for you?"
"First, you can call me Reba. Ms. McEntire is my mama. Next, I want to break into a new music genre for me – something that won't alienate my fans but bring a different set of people into my world. I want to enter into the club scene."
Beca sat silent for a few moments. "Am I understanding that you want to cut a dance song? Written especially for you, I presume, and sung by you. Is that correct?"
"No," Reba smiled a devilish grin. "I want a remix of one of my top hits. No writing, no laying down new tracks, a pure remix. And this is where you come in. I've heard your DJ work and many of your remixes from over the years."
The music producer contemplated what Reba had said before speaking. "You know I've never worked with any country artists before. I'm ashamed to admit I don't even listen to country music. I did get on YouTube and listened to a lot of your songs over the last several days, though."
"Do you think what I want is possible?"
Theo jumped in at that point. "Anything is possible with Beca Mitchell." He was afraid to look over at his prize producer in fear of being admonished. "Right, Becs."
"Mmmm," Beca hummed noncommittedly. "I'm afraid plodding through your entire discography to search for a suitable song would be incredibly time-consuming."
Reba's agent slid a sheet of paper across the table. "Our team has identified these five songs for you to choose from. We know her sound and what songs can easily be reverse mastered and have a good original beat."
"Let me go through these songs. Send over the mastered versions and any separate track files you may have for these songs. I'll listen to these along with the song breakdowns. Once I choose one, I'll let you know."
Reba's blue eyes lit up. "Does this mean you'll do it?" She jumped up.
Beca nodded. "I'll do my best." Now that she knew what the project was, she had relaxed considerably. She was still uncertain of her abilities to complete the task to Reba's standards, but she knew she'd work her butt off trying. Remixing was definitely in her wheelhouse.
"So," Reba started. "You mentioned a wife."
Beca grinned. "Yeah, she's a blue-eyed, red-headed firecracker. Pretty touchy-feely like yourself. Pardon my Freudian slip earlier. I've never been much on being touched by others. She busted those walls right down my freshman year of college."
"Sounds like someone I need to meet."
"How was your meeting with Ms. McEntire?" Chloe greeted her wife at the door, giving her a kiss and swatting her on the rear end.
"First, call her Reba," Beca teased. "The meeting went well. She..." Beca chuckled as she took off her jacket. "She wants to release a dance mix of one of her songs. Isn't that a riot?"
"Are you going to accept the job?"
"Yup. Sounds like a challenge, and you know how I live for demanding situations. Theo cleared my schedule, so all I have to do is concentrate on this project. Plus, she reminds me a lot of you." Beca told Chloe of the country singer's touchy demeanor. "Just like another redhead I know."
"Sounds like I need to meet her!" Chloe smiled, knowing how Beca was with personal space.
"I was hoping you'd say that; we're doing just that for dinner."
"WHAT? When?" Chloe immediately raced to her bedroom closet before Beca could explain more.
Following her wife, Beca explained that when Reba learned about her similarities to Chloe, she insisted on taking the couple to dinner. Chloe started rambling that she didn't have anything to wear. "Heh," Beca chuckled. "You sound like I felt this morning. It's all good. She showed up in jeans today."
Beca explained that Reba made it clear that the dinner would be casual. She'd be disappointed if either of the women showed up dressed better than her. Of course, Chloe argued with Beca that they weren't meeting the country music star in jeans. Finally, after selecting a pair of lovely tops, Beca won the jeans battle.
Indeed, Chloe was as nervous as Beca had been before meeting her. By now, Beca was fine. She'd realized that Reba McEntire was as normal as any of the pop music superstars she'd worked with in her career. They headed to a low-key seafood restaurant where Theo had arranged a back corner, out of the way table for the trio of women.
The couple arrived before the singer and found that Theo had pre-ordered wine for the table. When Reba arrived, she quickly waved off her agent and assured him she wanted to have a girls' night, and she'd message him if he needed anything. The server instantly appeared and poured their wine, also making a few suggestions of appetizers. The group decided on mini-crab cakes, Asian tuna bites, and salmon spread, all small bites so they could share.
"Darling, you chose this one well," Reba drawled to Chloe as she patted Beca on the hand. "She's a keeper."
Blushing, Chloe responded, "I think so." Then Reba insisted on hearing the details of how they met. She was fascinated by the Bellas and their acapella history. "There are lots of clips on YouTube," Chloe chattered.
"You played for President Obama?"
Beca shook her head. "Yeah, don't play that video."
Soon Chloe was free of all her inhibitions and was back to her cheerful, non-nervous, perky self. She simply glowed when Reba called her an absolutely adorable ball of sunshine.
Dinner was over way too quickly. Reba had an early flight back to Nashville the next day, and Beca had her new all-important project to tackle.
"I enjoyed meeting you, Chloe." Reba gave both women huge country-music sized hugs. "Keep the redhead cheer alive! And you," she pointed to Beca, "I'm looking forward to hearing what song you choose and what you do with it."
Beca poured over the five songs Reba's team had selected for the project. She listened to every version available. She scoured YouTube for all the videos she could find – official videos, live concert videos, and fan-made lyrics videos. She narrowed the choice down to two. Fancy and The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia. She hadn't experimented with altering either yet and was basing her decision on the songs' original beats and content.
When Beca learned that Fancy wasn't even a McEntire original, having been written for and recorded by Bobbie Gentry in the late '60s, Beca knew that Fancy had to be the song. The controversial subject matter had been a brave choice, even for a superstar mogul such as McEntire. She had decided about the piece she wanted to use for the remix but needed to clear it with the artist. So Theo arranged a video call.
"Beca," Reba's voice rang out as she smiled into the camera of her laptop. "How nice to see you on my calendar today. I hope this means you've selected a song."
"Yup. Well, if it meets your approval, that is." Suddenly Beca was second-guessing herself again. "I'd like to talk to you about Fancy."
Reba's face showed her excitement. "I'm pleased you chose that one. Secretly, it's my favorite. Plus, it's my number one number one, if you know what I mean."
This response made Beca feel a bit more at ease. "Talk to me about the song, from your point of view."
"I love rags-to-riches stories," the country singer started. "Cinderella, Annie Get Your Gun, all poverty and then make it big in the world. Fancy had things rough, but she stuck to it and finally succeeded. Fancy's mom used 'every last penny we had' to buy her a dress. After dolling her daughter up, she sent Fancy off into the world with nothing more than the advice of 'just be nice to the gentlemen, and they'll be nice to you.' At the time, my agent was aghast that I wanted to sing about a family that sent their daughter into prostitution. Still, I felt it was a message that needed to be re-heard."
Beca nodded her head, agreeing with the subject matter's sentiment being controversial yet necessary evil.
"The story was harsh, but Fancy met enough high rollers that she was able to move out of poverty and turn her life into something her mother could have only dreamed of. I always wanted to record it, so I did."
"So, do I have your permission to move forward with the song?"
"Definitely."
"Hey, Theo. Can I talk to you a minute?" Beca stood at the door to his office. She'd been working tirelessly on the dance remix of Fancy. She just felt something wasn't complete. Not musically but elsewhere.
After glancing up from his computer, Theo motioned her in. "Shut the door." Beca took a seat in her favorite chair across his desk. "How's the McEntire project going?"
"Okay," Beca nodded.
"That's not what I like to hear, Beca. We need more than okay on this." He propped his chin on his hands with his elbows on his desk.
"I know, I know. I've already sped the rhythm from about 88 to 108 beats per minute and started creating beats. But I don't think we need just a song. That part of the project is moving along well. We need more. What would you think of releasing a music video along with the single? With today's social media atmosphere, I feel the music video would drive the single's sale. When Reba originally released this song, she might as well have turned the music video into a mini-movie. I won't go into now, but I sent the video to your inbox. Our dance remix needs something to compete with that."
Theo contemplated what his star producer said, then started nodding. "I see your aspirations here. Let me give Reba's agent a call."
Once he got clearance from the country singer's team, Theo reached out to his music video editors. He secured a team who would take care of the editing. Reba's team sent over thousands of hours of footage of Beca's chosen song. The music producer created some rough storyboards from the YouTube videos she'd watched, so the other team wasn't starting from scratch.
As Beca diligently worked on the remix, the video production team worked on the digital portion. Once both teams were relatively finished, Theo arranged for the two groups to work physically together at the video production studio. Beca had the remix marked with the sections she wanted from the pre-existing videos.
The video started with a sepia-colored clip from the original music video, Reba playing Fancy. She was dressed up, going back to her hometown with her teased out hair, round sunglasses, and large bobbly earrings. While the first video goes through the song's story in detail, Beca only uses the old opening a few seconds to open the new remix.
The next clip was pulled from Reba's many concert performances of the song, her walking down the steps of an old rickety shack in a ragged black mink coat. The clips then alternated between the country star wearing the black mink coat and various red dresses. All the footage was pulled from multiple concerts.
Reba had such an intensity to her when she sang. Having watched countless videos of the singer, Beca had caught on to several of her idiosyncrasies. There was her single eyebrow raise, a curl of her lip, and what Beca had lovingly labeled her "Bobby Flay shoulder shrug." She made sure to capture all Reba's quirks in the new video.
As Beca layered dance beats on top of the original song tracks, she had the video producers tint a red sepia tone over the video clips, aging them much like old film footage. She really liked the way everything was coming together. As promised, the music video made the remix complete.
"Are you really not letting anyone on my team preview your masterpiece?" Reba peered into the video conference camera.
"Nope," Beca replied. "I want it to be a surprise. I'm sure you could weasel it out of them, but you can't out of me." She chuckled as Reba had a mock look of shock on her face. "Just promise me you'll give me honest feedback."
"Oh, honey, I've always been a blunt kind of person."
Because of COVID, the release party had been reimagined. Limited seats were available for Beca and Reba's teams, and all attendees had to be medically screened before the show. Rather than having a large fan audience, the release was live-streamed on YouTube, where the music video would probably get the most traction. Beca had secured tickets for the Bellas who lived in Los Angeles and were bold enough to brave the small crowd. Assigned seating spread groups out in front of the stage to ensure proper spacing.
Beca was visiting with Reba when her wife entered, followed by Aubrey, Stacie, Ashley, and Jessica. They were all wearing long, black fur coats. Beca rolled her eyes as she apologized to the country superstar. "Pardon my wife and our fangirl friends. They've talked about this party non-stop since I invited them."
The redhead singer laughed. "Not to worry. I've always liked Chloe's style."
The Bellas were escorted to their seats. Before they sat, they allowed the coats to slip from their shoulders, revealing five different red dress styles. Reba burst out laughing. "Now, I like her friends, too." The lights flashed a few times, indicating it was time for everyone to take their seats. Beca went to sit with the Bellas while Reba took her place on stage.
And then the show went live. "Welcome everyone out in KJ87 land. I'm Jason Farmer here with country music superstar Reba McEntire. Welcome, Reba."
Reba flashed her famous smile. "Thanks, Jason."
"2020 is about to start looking real "Fancy." For those of you who haven't heard yet, Reba McEntire is going to be hyping up living room dance floors in 2020 with a reimagined Fancy remix. So tell us about the new music video. Is it swankier than ever?"
"I don't know. I've been working with Grammy Award-winning DJ and Producer Beca Mitchell, and she's kept it as secret. I'll be seeing it for the first time tonight, same as you." The crowd all laughed.
Stacie leaned across Chloe to whisper to Beca. "Sounds like something you'd do, Becs."
The DJ continued. "Despite the clubs being unable to open right now, I'm sure your release of one of your top hits as a remix will shoot right to the top of the charts."
"When Bobby Gentry released "Fancy" in 68, it was a huge hit. I absolutely loved it. Every chance I got to sing it, I would, and then re-recording it in 1990 was the icing on the cake. I have every faith this remix will have all the staying power of the first two releases."
"How about we watch this new video?" The crowd all stood and began cheering as Reba made her way to her seat.
The lights dimmed as what appeared to be an old film reel count down appeared on the screen. Black and white numbers counted down to an old-timey red bill announcing "To Thine Own Self Be True starring Nell as Fancy Rae Baker." The triple split-screen from Reba's original video was powerful. Then the video started flashing scenes from various live concerts.
Sometimes Reba would be wearing her black mink coat, sometimes she'd be in a red dress. The video mastering was second only to the dance beats layered over the sped-up song. The remix video captured all things Reba – from different types of red dresses to hairstyles representing thirty years of concerts. What remained the same was her energy and powerhouse voice.
By the end of the five-minute song, the entire audience was dancing crazily to the new beats. As the music faded, a deafening cheer arose from the audience. The Bellas were all clamoring around their music producer friend, leaving her without a chance for escape. Finally, she broke free of her friends and made eye contact with Theo across the room. He was grinning from ear to ear and gave her a huge thumbs up.
Beca wanted to get Reba's reaction, but the singer was swarmed with her own people and press, so she hung back. When Reba saw her, she pushed through everyone and came flying towards the producer. Beca stumbled backward as Reba hit her full force. "Ummm, Reba?" Reba was chattering so fast, Beca could barely understand her. "Reba," Beca chuckled. "Slow down. I take it you liked the music video?"
"You! Are! Genius! Beca Mitchell. I loved it. It couldn't have been more perfect. I only have one question."
Beca shifted nervously on her feet, waiting for the hammer to fall.
"What song are we doing next?"
A/N: You'll have to YouTube both the original video and the remix. :)