LeAnn Rimes: Comfortable in Her Own Skin, the Little Girl with a Big Voice is All Grown Up

LeAnn Rimes: Comfortable in Her Own Skin, the Little Girl with a Big Voice is All Grown Up

By Bobby Reed

As LeAnn Rimes puts it, she is no longer "that kid with a big voice."

Similar to former child stars Brenda Lee and Tanya Tucker, Rimes has successfully made the transition from gifted prodigy to mature artist.

When Curb Records released Rimes' new album, This Woman, in late January, fans snatched up 101,000 copies in the first week. The disc debuted at No. 3 on The Billboard 200 chart and at No. 2 on the trade magazine's Top Country Albums chart.

The lead single, "Nothin' 'Bout Love Makes Sense," is one of the early hits of 2005, and has propelled the 22-year-old Rimes back into the Country Music spotlight. The infectious tune was written by Gary Burr, Joel Feeney and Kylie Sackley.

"That song was brought to me by Dann Huff, my producer," Rimes said during a recent visit to Chicago. "I adore Dann and I would not work with anyone else. I've found my soulmate as far as producers go. I thought 'Nothin' 'Bout Love Makes Sense' was a great way for me to re-introduce myself as someone who is lighthearted. There's a side to me that people haven't seen because the focus has always been on my ballads. This album is uplifting and lighthearted, and it reflects where I am in my life and who I am right now."

April 5, 2005

In 1996, the title track to Rimes' debut album, Blue, made her a household name when she was 13-years-old. As fate would have it, Huff was one of the guitarists who played on the album. Huff, who has also produced material for Faith Hill, Lonestar and Keith Urban, has vivid memories of the Blue recording dates.

"I met LeAnn on the session for 'One Way Ticket (Because I Can),'" he recalled. "She sang the song in one take. It was the funniest thing I've ever seen in my recording career. We were all awestruck that a 13-year-old girl could sing like that. She's remained an amazing singer all these years, but now she's become an artist as well."

Rimes co-wrote three of the tracks on the new album and she'll have even more writing credits on her next project.

"I write a lot for my voice and whatever I don't record, I start pitching to other people," Rimes said. "Dann and I are working on an album for the European market. It will have about half of the tracks on This Woman remixed, and the other half will be completely new songs. I've written several songs for that project, which will be more of a rock album. I enjoy seeing where my writing fits because I write all different kinds of stuff, from Country to pop to rock to inspirational songs."

One of the most energetic cuts on This Woman is "I Got It Bad," which was composed by Rimes and her husband, Dean Sheremet, along with songwriter Trey Bruce.

"NASCAR approached LeAnn to do a song for their promo spots," Sheremet explained. "They were doing a campaign with the slogan 'How Bad Have You Got It?' So we wrote an answer to it. 'I Got It Bad.' It's a Southern rock, uptempo song for NASCAR."

Rimes and Sheremet are currently collaborating on the third installment in a series of children's books that feature a young jaguar named Jag. Published by Dutton Childrens Books, Jag and Jag's New Friend are illustrated tales aimed at readers between the ages of four and eight.

"LeAnn has so many little fans who hear her sing, but they don't exactly know what she's talking about," Sheremet observed. "We wanted to give something to them on their level, that they can relate to. We actually have ideas for up to five books. We're also working on an animated TV series with the character Jag, so it's gone way beyond our wildest dreams."

In addition to being a CMA Award and GRAMMY award-winning singer and a successful author, Rimes is tackling a new challenge as the host of the USA Network's television series "Nashville Star," which kicked off its third season on March 1.

"We're adding a lot of drama to the show this year and get into the contestants' heads a little bit," Rimes said. "We've got great judges in Anastasia Brown, Bret Michaels and Phil Vassar. We've got a lot of people on the show who are definitely going to speak their minds."

Rimes has also taken on a new role as the spokesperson for an educational initiative called Treat Eczema Now. Eczema is an itchy, red rash that can appear all over the body. An estimated 35 million people have eczema.

"I was diagnosed with eczema when I was 2-years-old," she said. "When I was young, it was extremely tough to deal with, but as I got older, it got a little bit easier. I really wanted to let people know that it's okay to live with this. There's a wonderful Web site, TreatEczemaNow.com, where people can find information about treatment options. It's been great to be able to talk about it and help a lot of people."

Rimes, who grew up in the Dallas area and later lived in Los Angeles for five years, has now relocated to Nashville.

"Dean and I wanted to be someplace quiet where we could work, but get away from it all at the same time, and Nashville's perfect," she said. "Five years ago, I wouldn't have been able to live in Nashville and be a kid. There wasn't enough for me to do and I didn't really want to be around the business that much. Living in L.A. was a blast, and I found myself, but I love it in Nashville now. It's a nice place to settle down."

Now that she's a Nashville resident, Rimes won't have to travel far to participate in this year's CMA Music Festival - Country Music's Biggest PartyT. She is scheduled to perform in concert at the Festival on June 9 and sign autographs at Wrangler® Fan Fair (Exhibit Hall) on June 10.

Rimes' career has taken a few twists and turns, but today she is reaping the benefits from all her past experiences and lessons.

"My voice has matured beyond belief and I've learned how to take care of it," she noted. "I've also learned a lot as an entertainer and now I'm able to talk to the audience like they're friends. I've learned a lot about writing and putting my heart and soul into things. When you listen to this album, you take a piece of me away more so than ever. And I think from this moment on, my albums will be more autobiographical and show where I am in my life. I have a confidence now that I've never had before."

On the Web: www.rimestimes.com

photography courtesy of Curb Records