VANCOUVER -- Last night Reba McEntire proved once again why she is the best in the business.

The lights, the glitz, the dancers and the costumes helped bring an end to her 1996 tour which included over 100 shows. The tour began Oct. 3 in Dallas and wrapped up here last night at GM Place before an audience of about 15,000.

A recent skiing accident in Park City, Utah, left Reba confined to a chair that was placed on a platform specially designed to move from one end of the stage to the other.

"I'm a great skier and was skiing down the hill when a sled jumped out of no where and hit me. My right leg went one way, my left leg went the other and my butt went south."

She woke up in the hospital.

"They operated on my knee (for a broken bone), but the show must go on."

This tour delivered a huge punch with the most creative stage design ever presented in an arena atmosphere, including a stage that stretched the length of the arena floor (200 ft. long) and incorporated three separate performance areas.

Reba's knee may have been weak but her voice was strong and she was raring to go.

She started off with Why Haven't I Heard From You which left the audience screaming, then went right into 'Til You Love Me.

Her singers and her band were tight and Reba went back in time as she sang some of her songs from the early '80s including If I Were You and Somebody Should Leave.

As the platform moved up and down the stage, members of the audience passed her flowers.

On My Own brought the beautiful Linda Davies on stage and video brought Martina McBride and Trisha Yearwood.

Davies and McEntire performed their smash duo Does He Love You and brought on a standing ovation. The teary-eyed Reba waved goodbye to an appreciative audience and the lights went out.

A dramatic video introduced her encore song Is There Life Out There and no one in the building was sitting except for the injured McEntire. More tears flowed down many faces and the 1996 tour came to a dramatic close.

Opening act Billy Dean proved he's more than just another pretty face. Being the last night of the tour, this meant practical jokes. Wearing overalls, sans shirt, Dean had the crowd mesmerized singing songs from his past such as Somewhere in My Broken Heart and Billy The Kid. Dean brought the crowd to its feet for That Girl's Been Spying on Me.

And what's a last night without silly string? Dean and his band were covered and yet they never missed a beat.