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LeAnn Rimes
LeAnn Rimes in concert (2004)
Background information
Birth name	LeAnn Rimes
Born	August 28, 1982 (1982-08-28) (age 26)
Origin	Pearl, Mississippi, United States
Genre(s)	Country pop
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, actress
Years active	1996–present
Label(s)	Asylum-Curb WEA International
Associated acts	Patsy Cline, Elton John, Ronan Keating, Brian McFadden, Delta Goodrem, Bon Jovi, Joss Stone, Reba McEntire
Website	Official Website

LeAnn Rimes (born Margaret LeAnn Rimes August 28, 1982 in Pearl, Mississippi) is an American country pop singer and songwriter. Her debut single, "Blue", was released when she was only 13 years old. By the age of 24 she had sold over 37 million albums. She has won an American Music Award, two Grammy Awards, three Academy of Country Music Awards, and twelve Billboard Music Awards.

She holds three important achievements in the music industry: the youngest person to win a Grammy; the first country artist to win the Grammy for Best New Artist; and her version of How Do I Live is the longest charting song on the U.S. Hot 100 at 69 weeks.

How Do I Live was the second multi-platinum country single ever, the first being Kenny Rogers' and Dolly Parton's 1983 hit Islands in the Stream.

Unlike most other child stars, Rimes has remained successful in music in adulthood, recording various kinds of music, including rhythm and blues and pop music^{citation needed}.

Biography

Childhood before success

An only child, Rimes was born Margaret LeAnn Rimes in Pearl, Mississippi. She started singing before the age of two, and was only 8 years old when she appeared on Star Search in 1990. In 1991, she released her first album, titled Everybody's Sweetheart on a small independent label. The album's release garnered the attention of label executives and disc jockeys, including DJ Bill Mack, who was fascinated by Rimes's Patsy Cline-styled voice. Mack began to cultivate a plan to make Rimes a mainstream country music artist. Between the years of 1992 and 1994, Rimes continued to release albums under independent labels that failed to gain any success in the country music world. By then, her family had relocated to Garland, Texas. She continued honing her skills as a country artist, performing on Johnnie High's Country Music Revue in Arlington, Texas, a popular show that featured local artists and national acts ¹. Throughout 1995, Rimes's career continued to gain momentum, as she performed more than 100 concerts and appeared on television shows across Texas ²

Personal life

In 1998, at 16 LeAnn tried to take the reins of her career from her father^{citation needed}. In 2000, she filed suit against her father, claiming her father and his partner pocketed some $7 million of her earnings and kept tens of thousands in cash hidden in a safe on her tour bus ³.

Amid the legal battles, she fell in love with backup dancer Dean Sheremet. The two met when he was chosen to dance during Rimes' hosting of the 2001 Academy of Country Music Awards ³ while recording Twisted Angel.

On February 23, 2002, 20 year old Rimes married Dean Sheremet (b. December 9, 1980). Rimes also reconciled with her father for the wedding ⁴. They currently live in Franklin, Tennessee.

In 2000 LeAnn Rimes was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr virus^{citation needed}. In 2008, she opened up about her lifelong struggle with the autoimmune disease psoriasis. She participated in a PSA to raise awareness about the disease. ⁵.

Career Breakthrough

In 1995 Mack arranged a recording contract for Rimes under the Nashville record label, Curb Records. He also sent out a demo release of the song Blue. It was a song Mack had originally intended for legendary country-pop music singer Patsy Cline to record. Cline's death in March 1963 halted this plan. Mack claimed that he had been waiting over 30 years for the right singer to record Blue for him. However, this story later proved to be exaggerated as the song had actually been recorded by three different artists: Bill Mack; Kenny Roberts(both men released singles of the song under Starday Records in the 1960s); and Kathryn Pitt (released in her native country of Australia). Soon, Rimes was recording her newest album (also called Blue), which was released to the general public in 1996.

1996: Blue

The album Blue (LeAnn Rimes album) hit stores in early 1996 when Rimes was still 13 years old, and sold 6 million copies. Blue debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart and sold 123,000 copies within its first week ⁶. The album was so successful, it has been certified six times platinum by the RIAA ⁷ and an additional two times platinum worldwide. The single Blue was also released in 1996, reaching number 10 on Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart ⁶. It peaked at number 10 on the Billboard charts, and reached 26 on the Billboard Hot 100 ⁶. People were awed by Rimes' Patsy Cline-styled voice, and easily accepted the story of how Blue (LeAnn Rimes song) came to be. As it was spread across the country and mainstream press, people came to believe that Rimes was indeed the successor to Cline's legacy.

Because of the success of Blue, Rimes became one of the youngest country music singers ever to rise to fame. At age 14 Rimes was a teenage country star. Rimes has been often compared to the previous teen stars to rise to fame in country music, including Brenda Lee in the 1950s, Tanya Tucker and Marie Osmond in the 1970s. Taylor Swift (who rose to fame in 2006 at age 16 with her debut Top 10 hit Tim McGraw) credits Rimes as one of her inspirations.

Two other singles were released from the Blue album in 1996. Hurt Me(which was not a major country hit) and One Way Ticket (Because I Can) (co-written by former country singer Judy Rodman) which was more successful. It reached the number one spot on the Country charts in late 1996 ⁶."One Way Ticket" is currently her only number one Billboard country song to date on the United States charts. In mid-1997 another single was released from the album The Light in Your Eyes, which peaked at #5 ⁶. Rimes won the Country Music Association Horizon Award ². She also won two Grammy awards, one for "Best New Artist" and one for "Best Female Country Vocal Performance" for Blue at the 1997 Grammy awards.

How Do I Live

In February 1997 Curb re-released a previous album by Rimes done on an independent label before her breakthrough in 1996. Re-named Unchained Melody: The Early Years, the album hit No. 1 on both the Top Country Albums list and the Billboard 200 list ⁶. The title track "Unchained Melody" reached No. 3 on the Country charts ⁶.

How Do I Live
Just six months later in September 1997 Rimes released her third full-length studio project, You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs. It debuted at No. 1 simultaneously on the Billboard 200, Top Country Albums, and Christian Albums charts ⁶.

The lead single, How Do I Live written by Diane Warren became a hit. Originally Rimes recorded her version for the 1997 film, Con Air, however her version was rejected by producers as too pop in favor of Trisha Yearwood's country version. Both ladies had success with the song: Yearwood's version became a Top 5 Country hit and Rimes' version (that peaked at #2 on the general Hot 100 chart) became the first certified multi-platinum country single and holds the record for most weeks spent on the Billboard U.S. Hot 100 ⁶ at 69 weeks. The song was not as successful on the Country charts as it only reaching #43. In late 1997, the title track of the album, "You Light Up My Life was released. The song was a cover of Debby Boone's 1977 song; it was not successful as it only reached #34 on the Billboard Hot 100, and didn't even peak in the Top 40 on the Billboard Country list. One last single was released in late 1997/early 1998, titled On the Side of Angels. It was a hit reaching #4 of the Country charts. It was helped by the 1997 movie Rimes's autobiographical book turned movie Holiday In Your Heart that LeAnn starred in.

For the first time in history at the Grammy Awards of 1998 two artists were nominated for the same song in the same category. Rimes performed the song at the award show, however Trisha Yearwood won the "Best Female Country Vocal Performance" grammy.

1998 – 2001: pop crossover leads to commercial decline

The year 1998 marked a year of new trials for LeAnn Rimes. She struggled between maintaining her country roots but wanting to explore a pop audience.

Sittin' on Top of the World
In May 1998, the album Sittin' on Top of the World (album) was released. The album was another major seller, and the album received a Platinum rating by the RIAA, Rimes' third Platinum album. The first single released from the album, Commitment, was a Top 5 Country hit by mid-1998. She had one other Country Top 10 hit from the album, titled Nothin' New Under the Moon. The song Lookin' Through Your Eyes from the same album, was a Top 20 Pop hit, but did not chart the Country list ⁶.

LeAnn Rimes album
In October 1999 Rimes released a cover album simply titled LeAnn Rimes. The album is covers of songs by singers that Rimes has credited for inspiration. Included were songs by Patsy Cline, Janis Joplin and Marty Robbins. The album was was certified Platinum. One song released from album was a new song by Rimes titled Big Deal, which peaked at No. 6 on the Billboard Country charts.

In 2000, she played herself in the film, Coyote Ugly.

I Need You
In January 2001, Curb Records released I Need You as a collection of promotional tracks and B-sides to help satisfy Rimes' recording contract obligations. During this time Rimes was in litigation with Curb Records and management and spoke out against the album. The title track was released in mid-2000, and hit No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 8 on the Country charts. The secong single Can't Fight the Moonlight, also hit No. 11 on the Hot 100, but did not fare well with Country radio, only hitting No. 61 there. The song was a major hit on the Dance music charts, peaking at No. 17. The album I Need You was certified Gold in 2001. The album was re-released on March 26, 2002, with four remix bonus tracks and the song Light the Fire Within, which Rimes performed at the 2002 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Twisted Angel
In October 2002 Rimes released another album with a pop-oriented sound, Twisted Angel. It featured two singles and videos, Life Goes On and Suddenly. Both songs were unsuccessful in the US but successful in Europe and Australia.

Rimes was chosen to sing the theme song Light the Fire Within for the Opening Ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Later that year, Rimes was ranked #39 in CMT's 40 Greatest Women in Country Music.

Greatest Hits
A few months after her 21st birthday, Rimes released a greatest hits album, Greatest Hits, which went platinum in 2007. It featured all her hits spanning from 1996–2002, along with three new songs, This Love, We Can, and Last Thing On My Mind. In 2004 the album was released internationally under the title The Best of LeAnn Rimes with a different track listing and remixes of various songs. As of this period, Rimes had not released any major country hits. For two years, Rimes' career remained in a commercial sales decline, with no major hits on either the Billboard Country or Hot 100 charts.

Soundtrack Singles

Rimes has furthered the promotion of her music by recording several soundtrack singles. These include

• 1998 Looking Through Your Eyes for Quest for Camelot,
• 1999 Leaving's Not Leaving for Anywhere but Here,
• 1999 I Need You for the TV movie Jesus,
• 2000 Can't Fight the Moonlight, The Right Kind of Wrong, Please Remember, and But I Do Love You for Coyote Ugly (film),
• 2001 You Are for Angel Eyes,
• 2001 Soon for Driven,
• 2003 Suddenly for View from the Top,
• 2003 We Can for Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde, and most recently
• 2007 Ready for a Miracle for Evan Almighty ⁸.

2005 – present: Country music comeback

In 2005, LeAnn recorded Remember When, a song written and produced by Richard Marx, for the Disney's Happiest Celebration On Earth: 50 Years CD to celebrate Disney's 50th year.

LeAnn was featured in a UK television interview called "LeAnn on Faith & Music". The interview talked about LeAnn's rise to fame and her worldwide success including her duets such as with Ronan Keating and Reba McEntire. She also starred in an episode of the American TV series American Dreams, in which she portrayed 1960s pop singer Connie Francis.

On January 25, 2005 Rimes returned to Country music, when she released This Woman. With sales over 800,000, it was her best-selling album in over five years, receiving a Platinum rating by the RIAA. The first single released from the album in late 2004, titled Nothin' Bout Love Makes Sense, hit the No. 5 spot on the Country charts late that year, her first major country hit in a number of years. In addition, the next single, Probably Wouldn't Be This Way reached No. 3 on the Country charts in 2006, and even made the Top 10 on the Adult Contemporary charts. Another single from the album, Something's Gotta Give, just missed the top spot on the Country charts at No. 2.

President George W. Bush and Laura Bush listen to LeAnn Rimes perform in the East Room of the White House in a performance honoring the Dance Theatre of Harlem on February 6, 2006.

In 2005 Rimes became the new host of the USA Network reality tv series Nashville Star, a position which she held for only one season.

On June 3, 2006, Rimes recorded a live session at Abbey Road Studios for Live from Abbey Road. Her performance was shown on an episode with Dr. John and Massive Attack and aired in the USA on the Sundance Channel and on Channel 4 in the UK. On June 6, 2006 Rimes released a new pop album called Whatever We Wanna, led by the single And It Feels Like. The album was to be released in U.S. and Canada, but due to the success of 2005's This Woman, it was only released in Europe. Rimes co-wrote 10 of the album's 15 songs.

On a special taping of a CMT Giants episode, LeAnn paid honor to Reba McEntire by singing a show-stopping rendition of Reba's 1992 song, The Greatest Man I Never Knew. She received a standing ovation from both the audience (including Reba and her parents). The episode was taped before a live audience at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

LeAnn can be heard on the track When You Love Someone Like That, off Reba McEntire's duets album released on September 18, 2007. Rimes has also recorded a duet with rock band Bon Jovi for their album Lost Highway, called Till We Ain't Strangers Anymore, which entered Billboard's "Hot 100" chart on radio airplay alone. In an episode of Bon Jovi Unplugged, Jon Bon Jovi stated that he wanted a singer who could understand the lyrics, and almost gave up, saying, " . . and couldn't find anyone and went all the way through the process, and said 'oh well' it's not gonna work out"^{cite this quote} He even joked about her: "A great artist like LeAnn, who's been around for a hundred years, and still she's only about 13 now." He also stated about her "with all that talent..." Both of LeAnn's duets with Bon Jovi and Reba appear as bonus tracks on her album Family.

In early June 2007, LeAnn was chosen at the last minute to record the leading song for the soundtrack of Evan Almighty called Ready For A Miracle (previously recorded by Patti LaBelle). The song can be heard in the movie, during the end credits, and in the trailers of Evan Almighty ⁹.

LeAnn will have a small part in the movie Good Intentions with her friend Elaine Hendricks which is filming near Atlanta, Georgia ¹⁰. LeAnn teamed up with Joss Stone for a CMT Crossroads special aired in fall 2007 ¹¹.

Family
LeAnn's song, Nothin' Better To Do is the first single from her album titled Family, released on October 9, 2007. The album is based on her own life. Nothin' Better to Do peaked at No. 14 on the Country charts in late 2007. Good Friend and a Glass of Wine, the second single released off her 2007 album, was released to country radio in early 2008 but it only peaked at #35. The third single will be What I Cannot Change and was released to radio in August 2008 and remixed for club play months after. A remix can be found on LeAnn's offical MySpace page. No physical release of the song has been released as of Novemeber 14, 2008, but as of November 18, 2008, the remixes are available on iTunes.

Rimes is currently touring with country singer Kenny Chesney where she is opening every show on his 2008 Poets and Pirates Tour, along with other artists on select dates such as Brooks & Dunn, Keith Urban, Sammy Hagar, Gary Allan, Big & Rich, and Luke Bryan. She returned to the studio in July 2008 to record a new album. LeAnn was part of the song, Just Stand Up with other female artists including Carrie Underwood, Nicole Scherzinger and Mariah Carey.

She recorded For Good with Delta Goodrem for Wicked (album)'s fifth anniversary release ¹².

Discography

Main article: LeAnn Rimes discography

See also

• Music

References

• McGraw, Marjie (1998), "LeAnn Rimes", in Kingsbury, Paul, The Encyclopedia of Country Music, New York: Oxford University Press, pp. 446–7, ISBN 978-019511671-7 

Country Music portal

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: LeAnn Rimes

• Official International Website
• Official Myspace: LeAnn Rimes
• LeAnn Rimes at the Internet Movie Database