The Only Promise That Remains

"The Only Promise That Remains" received lukewarm reviews from contemporary music critics, who deemed it a surprising collaboration.

The song was serviced to country radio in the United States by MCA Nashville on November 5, 2007 as the second single from Reba: Duets.

After completing her residency show at the Las Vegas Hilton, McEntire began reaching out to the artists on her list, by phone and e-mail.

Larry Gold arranged and conducted the strings, which were provided by Alyssa Park, Amy Wickman, Caroline Buckman and the Section Quartet.

The song was mixed by Jean-Marie Horvat, with assistance from Colin Miller at Oz Recording Studios in Valencia.

[6][7] It is an acoustic-based Celtic love song[1][8] whose instrumentation consists of strings, cello fills, the dobro and an upright bass.

[10][11] Cooper wrote that in Timberlake's "unexpected surprise cameo" he "fades into a secondary role", as opposed to the other artists on Reba: Duets that "make a strong showing" next to McEntire.

[10] She wrote that Timberlake "sounds pretty enough" and that he does "contribute a certain mood" to the song, however, commented that "anyone expecting more of a collaborative effort out of him would be sorely disappointed".