Jenny asked me recently about her favorite growing up, because in essence they grew up together as they are about the same age, LeAnn Rimes. This will probably be the only time we honor someone in a "memory lane" article that is not yet 40 years old. Rimes is 39, and that in itself is hard enough to swallow.
Blue - How We All Met LeAnn
She has an interesting story. She had a memorable appearance on the old TV talent show, Star Search where she made friends with host, the late Ed McMahon. LAR then became one of those singers that is just a great - singer. She has sung every kind of music imaginable and done it well. She's hard to define for a lot of reasons, but one thing is sure, fans love to hear her. I absolutely remember the first time I played her first hit, Blue on the radio doing the morning show at WPCV in Lakeland, Florida in 1996. The phones lit up and everyone wanted to know who that was. Blue charted fine, but it's a very good example of a song that was way beyond the chart success of its top 10 position, fans loved it, and her. And when they found out she was only 13, they loved it more. We really hadn't had someone this age since Tanya Tucker.
Her First Number One
When you look back at the country charts, you will see her success was decent. She did well of course, and there was also a place for her on the pop charts as time went on. But LAR was far more during that time. She was incredibly blessed with talent and the entire music scene seemed to love her. She, at a young age was dealing with a lot. You may remember she "divorced" her parents legally as far as her business affairs were concerned and that was a strange situation. She was in big demand and her rise to the top was quick for anyone, let alone someone as young was she was.
Great Song - Top Five
After a short while, her musical direction switched and it was clear her sights were more set on a crossover or pop sound. Even with this, much of her music continued to be played on country radio, as I feel for some reason we didn't seem to mind her new direction as much as others who had tried this. I think fans were rooting for her because of her age and remarkable talent. You see, then, successful singers that young were not common like today. Tanya had great success two decades earlier and it was tried again later with a singer named Kippy Brannon. Kippy was out in the early 80's at age 14 with a lot of fanfare, even won an ACM, but her long term success was not great. She's now about 55 years old.
Fantastic Performance Here
But at first, LAR was a big country success story. Blue was a fantastic song and One Way Ticket was a big number one. Her first album, Blue, sold a ridiculous amount of copies, over 6 million. In fact, her albums have always sold a ton, as over the course of her career in various genres, she has sold about 40 million albums. Few sold more music in the 1990's. She is also a rarity, as her albums routinely charted better than many of her singles. A sure sign of love, when fans are willing to drive to the store (in those days) and spend money on their favorite.
A Little Different For Her
But LAR was also a big success story outside of the country charts. She acted, did some TV, and recorded lots of albums that were various types of music, all very successful. She did Christmas albums, tribute albums, patriotic albums, she recorded songs for movie soundtracks like Coyote Ugly which was a huge hit. She has sung National Anthems everywhere and performed in countless venues. It's very hard to say what kind of music she did best, or that had the most success. She weaved in and out of country, and in the end, you would have to say people liked hearing LAR sing no matter what it was.
A Much Loved Song
No one can argue with her total success, but I have always believed this in my heart. I saw the reaction to her at her start and this I believe to be true. If the decision would have been to have LAR dedicate herself strictly to country, stuck by it, and evolved with it she may have been a country star to have success few others have. I felt there were times she was asked to record songs that she was too young to tackle and that put her believe-ability in question. But she was loved, and her voice was pure and was a traditional talent. But things generally work out the way they should I guess, and her career is undeniably great.
Big, Big Song - Coyote Ugly
She brought a lot of very young fans to us at first and I will always be thankful for that. Young fans grow up too and become adult fans, who have kids - and so on. LeAnn Rimes can sing anything well, she was blessed with that gene. She broke in as a young girl and competed in an era that was very competitive and held her own.
She Sounds GREAT Singing About Any Song
The amazing LeAnn Rimes.
