Reba McEntire released new song "Pray for Peace" earlier this week.
The track is the 59-year-old singer's first new music in over three years, and entreats listeners to pray for peace. McEntire repeats the phrase in the first two minutes of the song, and the music video features fans across the country moving their hands from prayer to the peace sign. Daughter-in-law Kelly Clarkson and country group Lady Antebellum add their voices later in the track.
McEntire posted the video on Facebook, and said the idea for the song came to her last year. She considers the track "a gift from God" and "an act of perseverance, prayer, hope, fellowship and mostly love."
McEntire told People she is "totally amazed at the response" to the song. She hoped it "was a message that people would receive and share," and her post has received over 5 million 'Likes' on Facebook. Keith Urban and wife Nicole Kidman have also taken up the cause, and posted a video of themselves praying with their two young daughters.
"It's very timely," McEntire said after qualifying that her intent is not political. "We had no way of knowing what would be happening in the world when we decided to release the video this week. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the victims and families of the Malaysia Airlines flight as we continue to pray for peace."