Surviving the Sophomore Curse
By Lorie Hollabaugh
© 2006 CMA Close Up News Service / Country Music Association, Inc.
Real or imagined, the dreaded "sophomore curse" is a fear of nearly every artist who enters the studio to record a second album. The curse often weighs heavy on artists' minds as they prepare to prove to the world that their initial success was not a fluke.
Artists are given a much shorter time to produce a successful album now than years ago and are sometimes cut from a record label roster before they have a chance to prove themselves. Such was the case with Little Big Town. First signed to Sony Music Nashville, the quartet spent a couple of years in development before parting ways with the label, disheartened but feeling like they still had important music left to make. Saddled with an image that felt a bit too polished for their personalities, they went back to the drawing board and enlisted the help of writer Wayne Kirkpatrick, who had co-written songs on their debut. Kirkpatrick helped them get back to the core of who they are as a group, co-producing their latest album and their first hit, "Boondocks."
The transition was made more challenging by the untimely death of member Kimberly Roads' husband Steven and several divorces within the group, but the experiences only fueled their desire to succeed.
"We took jobs and did whatever we had to do to stay together, and we didn't talk about quitting," said Little Big Town member Karen Fairchild. "Even if we were going to make a record that we sold on the internet we would have seen that through. We believed we had something unique to share, and there's just something in you that keeps you going."
"Back when we were on Sony, I think everybody thought they were doing the right thing for our career," Roads said.
"There were some decisions made that we would have gone in a different direction, but at that point you're a new artist and you yield to people who have experience," Fairchild continued. "You have to trust and move forward, and we did, and it's much sweeter that it's happened this way for us."
"'Boondocks' defined the Little Big Town sound and showed off the group's uniqueness," commented freelance writer and former Billboard Nashville Bureau Chief Phyllis Stark. "One of their strengths is the friendship and respect among them which has resulted in a cohesiveness more reminiscent of a family than a band. This is the hardest-working band I've ever seen. They are in constant pursuit of their career goals. The New Faces Show at this year's Country Radio Seminar may prove to have been a turning point for the band, since most of the attendees agreed theirs was the evening's strongest performance."
That hard work has paid off for the group, which celebrated a Top 10 hit with "Boondocks," and now have a Gold album. They were tapped to open for Keith Urban's tour, recently performed with John Mellencamp and scored a second hit with "Bring It on Home." In August, Little Big Town received two CMA Awards nominations for Vocal Group of the Year and Horizon Award.
Occasionally a new artist comes along with such a strong sense of who they are that they won't budge for anyone, even if it means losing their chance at a record deal. Miranda Lambert is such an artist. Lambert rose to fame on the debut season of "Nashville Star," and though she took third place to Buddy Jewell, she was offered a deal with Sony Music Nashville, now SONY BMG. From the start, she was firm about the album she wanted to make and stuck to her guns, recording her own songs in her own way.
The gamble paid off for Lambert, whose debut CD went Gold and produced hits including "Kerosene." In August, she received two CMA Awards nominations, Horizon Award and Music Video of the Year for "Kerosene," directed by Trey Fanjoy. But Lambert's success wasn't instantaneous.
"Her first two singles failed to catch on at radio," Stark said. "One of the turning points was her fiery performance of 'Kerosene' on the 2005 CMA Awards in New York, which pinned back quite a few ears."
Also helping boost her popularity was her opening slot on the George Strait tour, as well as a recent spread in Blender magazine and the opening of the Miranda Lambert Store and Fan Club Headquarters in her Lindale, Texas hometown. But even with momentum on her side, a new single set for release in October, a new tour with Dierks Bentley this fall and a new album scheduled for release early next year, Lambert admits to fears about the "sophomore curse."
September 26, 2006
© Kristin Barlowe
Increased tour dates are a positive side effect of a successful debut CD, according to Billy Currington, whose dates nearly tripled after his first couple of hits from his Mercury Nashville debut.
"We went from 60 dates the first year to 160 the second year - it completely changed as far as gigs," Currington recalled. "In fact, everything is times 10 all of a sudden because you're in demand. But no complaints here!"
He's had a No. 1 single ("Must Be Doin' Somethin' Right") and two more songs in the Top 10, but Currington said the only real change he has experienced in the years since the release of his now Gold-certified debut has been in his vocal and performing skills.
"My voice has just gotten stronger and better all the way around which allowed me to record a better album," he said. "And I've heard from so many people that they hear a difference. I'm glad I worked so much on the road the last four years, and I love being out there."
Currington's sexy image has no doubt helped him reach the top as well, though he says he doesn't see himself that way. He credits being tapped by Shania Twain for her playful duet on "Party for Two" as the thing that put his career over the top.
"I consider her my little angel, 'cause she could have picked anybody, but she picked me," he said. "That changed everything for me."
Following the pairing, Currington was chosen as one of People magazine's "sexiest men of the week" and was featured on the cover of Playgirl. His latest album Doin' Somethin' Right, features a duet with one of his musical heroes, Michael McDonald, and the two have plans to write more songs together.
"It's scary, especially if your first one is really successful," she said. "But I just did what I did last time - recorded the music I believed in. They let me have all the freedom in the world again, so hopefully it'll work. I'm worried, but I know I've made a great record. I just hope everybody else thinks so too."
As far as image goes, Lambert says she is trying to be a bit more fashion forward.
"I'm growing up, and I'm not going to stay this sweet-faced, 19-year-old like I was on 'Nashville Star.' I learned a lot, and the road makes you a bit harder, so I'm growing up as a regular girl, as well as an artist. It's not an easy life. You don't get a lot of sleep, and every night is basically a party. I'm playing at bars, you know. It's a hard life, but I love it."
© Mark Abrahams
© Jeremy Cowart
