Reba McEntire's 'I'm a Survivor' TikTok was Boyfriend's Idea

When it comes to the "I'm a Survivor" TikTok trend, which finds users lip-syncing the iconic song while performing household tasks, Reba McEntire is in on the joke. In a new interview with Variety, McEntire describes how she became aware of the trend and where the inspiration for her own video came from.

"It started out so simple and it really caught on," she says of the trend. "We were watching it on TikTok, and it started growing and getting bigger and getting more attention. And Justin McIntosh, who works on all our projects, said, “What would really be fun is if you did a TikTok singing ‘I’m a Survivor.’”

McEntire goes on to explain that her boyfriend, Rex Linn, had the idea of filming her as she attempted to feed her two donkeys, Poncho and Lefty. In the clip, an exhausted-looking McEntire lugs two buckets over to where the donkeys are standing, only to have them turn their backs to her. "I'm a survivor," McEntire mouths, shooting the camera a beleaguered look.

The "I'm a Survivor" clip is by far McEntire's most popular video on the app to date, with 4.3 million likes and over 20 million views, a phenomenon that McEntire calls "hysterical," adding that it "kind of gave 'I'm a Survivor' a resurgence."

A new version of the song, remixed by the independent artist Lafemmebear, will appear on McEntire's expansive new box set Revised Remixed Revisited, due out Oct. 8 via MCA Nashville. Fans can listen to "I'm a Survivor (Lafemmebear Remix)," along with updated versions of "Is There Life Out There" and "Consider Me Gone," now.

Reba McEntire Pictures Through the Years: