McEntire made a major comeback into the music industry the following year with her twentieth studio album, "What If It's You." The album's lead single, "The Fear of Being Alone" reached No. two on the country charts, and its further two singles ("How Was I to Know" and "I'd Rather Ride Around with You") reached No. 1 and No. 2 respectively. The release garnered higher critical acclaim than "Starting Over", with Thom Owens of "Allmusic" calling the album "nevertheless an excellent reminder of her deep talents as a vocalist". MCA Nashville chairman Bruce Hinton told "Billboard" how pleased he was with McEntire's release, calling the album's 10 tracks "powerful" and concluding by stating "There are so many writers and so many great songs in Nashville, and Reba has collected her disproportionate share[...]She's country music's female artist of the 90s." "What If It's You" peaked at No. 1 Top Country Albums and No. 15 on the "Billboard" 200, while also becoming her first album in three years to certify in multi-platinum sales, selling two million copies by 1999. At the end of 1997, McEntire also charted at No. 23 the charity single "What If". The proceeds of sales for this single were donated to the Salvation Army.