NORFOLK A 27-year age difference matters none when two people share so many core similarities.

That's especially true of Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire - the inaugural "American Idol" champ and the country veteran - both blessed with steamroller lungs, a repository of hits and easygoing wit.

The pair's "2 Worlds 2 Voices" tour, orchestrated by their joint manager (and McEntire's husband) Narvel Blackstock, is a quick, 15-date engagement likely designed to test the market for acceptance of the pair's sharing a stage beyond their successful "Crossroads" TV special last year.

The experiment appears successful.

At Thursday's Norfolk Scope concert, the crowd of about 7,000 was especially varied in age, with cowboy hats strolling the concourse alongside guys holding hands and housewives toting their kids to the restroom.

And all of them appeared to know every song in the McEntire/Clarkson canon.

The pair launched the two-hour show with a cover of "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)," which suffered from a muddled mix that demonstrated, why yes, it is possible to overpower these two.

But any technical gaffes were rapidly rectified for the double punch of McEntire's sassy "Why Haven't I Heard From You" and Clarkson's "Walk Away."

It's obviously an incredible thrill for the 25-year-old Clarkson to hear her idol singing songs that she co-wrote, and the young singer's enthusiasm was palpable all night.

Since the pair shared the stage the entire show, trading off verses of each other's songs or simply singing backup amid a 12-piece band, it gave the adorable Clarkson plenty of opportunities to excitedly clop in place as McEntire belted lines from Clarkson's "Behind These Hazel Eyes," and then return the favor during McEntire's always-stinging version of "The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia."

Clarkson is, without a doubt, the stronger singer, but McEntire deserves plenty of credit not only for putting her ego in check to share the stage with someone she knows is a powerhouse, but also for the finesse and gentle tremor she still brings to a touching ballad, such as "The Greatest Man I Never Knew."

Give the new kid credit, too, for clearly influencing McEntire's stage persona on this tour.

On past tours, McEntire has been known for frequent costume changes from one ostentatious outfit to another. This time, she matched Clarkson's clingy black bell-bottoms and printed tank top with her own simple outfit of jeans and a burnt-orange tank.

How nice, too, to see a couple of women who look as if they've actually eaten a meal since 2003.

Since Clarkson and McEntire met and performed together at the "Idol" finale almost six years ago (Clarkson had gushed all season about her adoration of the country icon), it was fitting that they pulled out the showstopper from that night - the searing wife vs. mistress duet "Does He Love You."

The two raised the temperature in the chilly arena with their fierce (mock) glares and escalating voices, but the hurt and venom of the song were quickly diffused by their giggling and bumping hips at song's end.

There is no doubt this tour warrants an encore leg this spring. And if the silly gleefulness exhibited by McEntire and Clarkson during an encore of Clarkson's unshakable "Since U Been Gone" was an indication, those two might be having even more fun than the audience.

Music review
At: Norfolk Scope on Thursday