Description

LeAnn Rimes (born August 28, 1982) is an American singer-songwriter and actress, best known for her work in country music. She is best known for her rich vocals similar to country music singer Patsy Cline, and her rise to fame at the age of 13, becoming the youngest country music star since Tanya Tucker in 1972. Rimes made her breakthrough into country music in 1996. Her debut album, Blue, reached Number 1 on the Top Country Albums chart and was certified "multi-platinum" in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album's lead single of the same name (originally intended to be recorded by Patsy Cline in the early 1960s) became a Top 10 hit. With immediate success, Rimes attained widespread national acclaim for her similarities to Cline's vocal style. When Rimes released her sophomore studio effort in 1997, You Light up My Life: Inspirational Songs, Rimes went more towards country pop material, which would set the trend for a string of albums that would be released into the next decade. Since her debut, Rimes has won many major industry awards, which include two Grammys, three ACMs, one CMA, twelve Billboard Music Awards, and one American Music award. In addition, Rimes has also released ten studio albums and four compilation albums through her record label of 13 years, Asylum-Curb, and placed over 40 singles on American and international charts since 1996. She has sold over 37 million records worldwide. Born Margaret LeAnn Rimes (in Pearl, Mississippi); the only child of Belinda Butler and Wilbur Rimes. The family relocated to Garland, Texas when she was six years old, where Rimes was raised. She was singing by the age of two, was enrolled into vocal and dance training, and by the age of five was performing at local talent shows.One of her best friends, Jordan Villarreal, supported her when she sang. Rimes initially began her career in musical theatre, performing in a Dallas, Texas production of A Christmas Carol, and almost landed the lead part in the Broadway production of Annie. However, after appearing on the network television competition show, Star Search, Rimes decided to pursue a career in country music. Following her national television appearance, Rimes made a number of appearances on Johnnie High's Country Music Revue in Arlington, Texas, which garnered the attention of national talent scouts. By the age of nine, Leanne was already an experienced singer. She toured nationally with her father and also regularly performed a cappella renditions of "The Star Spangled Banner" at the opening ceremonies of the Dallas Cowboys football games. In order to bring his daughter more national attention, he began recording her under the independent label Nor Va Jak when she turned eleven. She released three albums under the label between 1992 and 1996. Rimes was discovered by Dallas disc jockey and record promoter, Bill Mack. Mack was impressed by Rimes' vocal ability, and over the following three years, he also made various attempts to bring Rimes to a mainstream level. The center of Mack's plan to bring her success was his self-penned composition, "Blue," which he had written in the early 1960s. Mack claimed that the song was intended to be recorded and made a hit record by Patsy Cline, but she had been killed in a plane crash before ever recording the composition. By 1995, Mack was able to gain Rimes a contract with Curb Records, after record executives heard Rimes sing "Blue." 1996: Blue After signing with Curb, Rimes re-recorded a new version of "Blue" that was to be released on her debut studio album on the label. In 1996, the new version of "Blue" was released as a single, peaking at Number 10 on the Billboard Country Chart. While Curb was releasing "Blue," a claim was also sent out that Mack had been waiting over 30 years to find the perfect artist to record "Blue." However, the story was later found to be an exaggeration, as it was discovered that "Blue" had already been recorded by three different artists. Mack himself and Kenny Roberts both released versions of the song on Starday Records in the 1960s. In 1993, Australian artist Catherine Britt released her own version as a single in her native country. The story, though, was continually spread throughout the national press, adding to the idea that Rimes was the successor to Patsy Cline's legacy. Rimes's album Blue was also released in 1996, and sold 123,000 copies in its first week, which was the highest figure in SoundScan history up to that point. The album peaked at Number 1 on the Top Country Albums and debuted at Number 3 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, eventually selling a total of four million copies in the United States and 8 million copies worldwide. Allmusic considered the album to be "delightful" and that it could "help inspire other young teens." Rimes followed up the single with several charting country singles from her 1996 album, starting with "One Way Ticket (Because I Can)", which reached Number 1 on the Billboard Country Chart in 1996. She also released a duet single with Eddy Arnold from the album, a remake of his 1955 hit "The Cattle Call". The album's other hits included the Top 5 "The Light in Your Eyes" and the minor hit "Hurt Me." With the album's success, Rimes received many major industry awards. In 1996 she won the Country Music Association's "Horizon Award," becoming the youngest person to ever be nominated and win a Country Music Association award. The following year she was awarded Grammy awards, one for Best New Artist and another for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Blue." In 1997, Rimes released a compilation of previously recorded material under the Nor Va Jak label, Unchained Melody: The Early Years. The album mainly consisted of cover versions, ranging from Country to pop covers, including songs originally recorded by The Beatles, Whitney Houston, Bill Monroe, and Dolly Parton. Rimes' version of the title track became a major country hit in early 1997 and helped increase sales for the album. In September 1997, Rimes released her follow-up studio album to Blue entitled You Light up My Life: Inspirational Songs. The album covered classic inspirational songs, such as "Clinging to Saving a Hand" and "Amazing Grace". It also featured pop music remakes of songs such as Debby Boone's "You Light up My Life" and Bette Midler's "The Rose". The album was a departure from Rimes' previous releases as it contained more Adult Contemporary-styled music than Country. The album sold over four million copies in the United States, certifying 4× Multi-Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America. The album contained the single "How Do I Live", which became a major pop hit on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching Number 2. "How Do I Live" set a new record for becoming the longest-running single in Billboard Hot 100 history, spending 69 weeks on the chart. The song was originally recorded for the film Con Air, along with a version also recorded by Trisha Yearwood. Yearwood's manager at the time had told the press that Rimes's version sounded "too pop". Therefore Rimes's version received little country airplay (only reaching Number 43) and was rejected for the film. Yearwood's rendition was released to country radio shortly afterwards, peaking at Number 2 on the Billboard Country Chart in 1997, becoming the country hit instead of Rimes's version. Rimes released her third album for Curb in May 1998, Sittin' on Top of the World. The album leaned more progressively towards Adult Contemporary and mid-tempo pop music. It included pop material written by Carol Bayer Sager and David Foster. It also included a remake of Prince's "Purple Rain" and was produced by her father. The album was given mixed reviews. Allmusic gave the album two out of five stars. Rolling Stone said Rimes vocal style "holds her own in the more popular style of Mariah Carey and Celine Dion, wherein a spectacular voice upstages a song, grins and goes on about her business." Upon its release, Sittin' on Top of the World debuted at Number 2 on the Top Country Albums chart, and Number 3 on the Billboard 200, and sold over a million copies in the United States, certifying "Platinum" in sales by the RIAA. The album spawned the Number 4 Country hit "Commitment", the Top 20 Pop hit "Looking Through Your Eyes", and the Number 10 country hit "Nothin' New Under the Moon". Rimes released her fourth studio album for Curb, LeAnn Rimes, in October 1999, a collection of country standards. The album covered songs mainly by Patsy Cline – which included "Crazy", "I Fall to Pieces", and "She's Got You" – that were primarily taken from her 12 Greatest Hits album. The album also covered Marty Robbins's "Don't Worry" and Kris Kristofferson's "Me and Bobby McGee". The album included one new song, "Big Deal". The song gained many positive reviews. Allmusic called the song, "a return to her roots" and "a salute to one of her idols, Patsy Cline." The album in general received much praise. Allmusic called the album one of her "better" efforts, since they had disliked her previous releases. Entertainment Weekly gave the album a positive review and said that Rimes's voice, "dares listeners to take note of what is missing in her interpretations -- the gutsiness and gut-wrenching urgency of performers who felt what they sang." The album was a major success like her previous releases, debuting at Number 1 on the Top Country Albums chart, topping the country albums chart for two weeks. In addition, it also peaked at Number 8 on the Billboard 200 albums chart. The album also sold over one million copies in the United States, and was certified "Platinum" in sales by the RIAA. The album's new song, "Big Deal", was the lead single off the album, and became a Top 10 country hit that year, peaking at Number 6. Also in 1999, Rimes recorded a duet with Elton John for the stage musical Aida, titled "Written in the Stars".[5] The song became a Top 40 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The album would spawn a second single, a cover of Cline's "Crazy" that was released outside of the United States. In January 2001, Rimes released her sixth studio album, I Need You, an album aimed at the pop market. The album topped the Top Country Albums chart for one week, and also peaked at Number 10 on the Billboard 200. I Need You did not garner praise from many critics and was mainly given negative reviews. Rolling Stone gave the album two and a half out of five stars and called the album, "synthetic-feeling." Despite very little praise from critics, the album was sold well, certifying "Gold" in sales by the RIAA. Rimes would later go on to publicly disown the album, which she stated was compiled together from studio outtakes her father had produced. The album's lead single, "I Need You" – which was characterized by Allmusic as having similarities to that of Adult Contemporary and Pop music —[22] was originally recorded for the TV movie Jesus. The song became a Top 10 country hit and also a major pop hit, reaching Number 11 on the Hot 100. Also included on the album was the song "Can't Fight the Moonlight", released from the soundtrack of the film Coyote Ugly. The song was released as the album's second single in 2001, and by February 2002 the song also became a crossover Pop hit, reaching Number 11. "Can't Fight the Moonlight" won Rimes a Blockbuster Entertainment Award for "Favorite Song from a Movie." In mid-October 2001, Curb released a compilation of patriotic and inspirational songs, titled God Bless America, in order to benefit the disaster recovery for the September 11 attacks. It included the title track, as well as inspirational songs such as "The Lord's Prayer" and "The Sands of Time". In February 2002 Rimes re-released the I Need You album with 9 of the songs originally released on the album, an extended version of the song You Are, the song Light the Fire Within which she sang at the Olympics the previous year and 4 bonus remixes. Rimes would later that year release her seventh album (sixth studio album) titled Twisted Angel, which contained more adult material. After battling managerial control over her career the previous year, Twisted Angel became the first album released by Rimes that was not produced by her father. Instead, Rimes executive produced the album. A month following the album's release, Twisted Angel was certified "Gold" by the RIAA, her second Gold-certified album. The album received mainly negative reviews by most music critics and magazines. Allmusic stated that the album could possibly "alieniate her from her original fans" and "the songwriting is a little uneven." Rolling Stone gave the album two out of five stars, stating that the album sounded too "country-pop crossover." The album peaked at Number 3 on the Top Country Albums chart and Number 12 on the all-genre Billboard 200 chart. Three singles were spawned from the album between 2002 and 2003, however none of the singles were Top 40 hits on the country or pop charts. The lead single, "Life Goes on", reached the Top 40 only on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart, peaking at Number 19. The second single, "Tic Toc" was a Top 40 Dance club hit in 2003. The third single, "Suddenly" only peaked at 43 on the US Country charts, 47 on the UK charts and 53 on the Australian charts. The following year when Rimes turned 21, she released a Greatest Hits compilation in November. The album recapped Rimes' major hits under Curb records from "Blue" in 1996, to "Life Goes on" in 2002. The album peaked at Number 3 on the Top Country Albums chart and Number 24 on the Billboard 200 in November. Featured on the album was the single, We Can, which was originally released on the soundtrack of Legally Blonde 2 in July 2003. The album would eventually be certified "Platinum" in 2007 The following year in October 2004, Rimes issued her first holiday-themed album titled, What a Wonderful World. 2005–2006: Return to country; This Woman In January 2005, Rimes released her seventh studio album, This Woman, her first album of contemporary country music in many years. Although the album received mixed reviews from magazines and critics, it was Rimes's best-selling album in over five years, reaching Number 3 on the Billboard 200 and Number 2 on the Top Country Albums chart in 2005, selling more than 100,000 copies within its first week. Rimes explained to the Chicago Sun-Times that the album helped mature her as a person, "I have 10 years of experience, so it's tough to get anything past me in this business. I've become a very strong woman because of all I've gone through, good and bad." This Woman would eventually be certified "Gold" later in 2005, after selling more than 500,000 units nationwide. The album's singles were Rimes's first Top 10 hits on the Hot Country Songs chart in five years. The three singles released from the album — "Nothin' 'Bout Love Makes Sense", "Probably Wouldn't Be This Way", and "Something's Gotta Give" — all peaked within the Top 5 on the country charts between 2005 and 2006. From the album, Rimes was nominated for a Grammy award for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for "Something's Gotta Give". In addition, she was also nominated for an American Music Award for "Favorite Female Country Artist." In 2006, Rimes recorded a cover version of Barbara Mandrell's "If Loving You Is Wrong (I Don't Want to Be Right)", for a tribute album to Mandrell's career entitled, She Was a Country When Country Wasn't Cool: A Tribute to Barbara Mandrell. Rimes also would record a track for Disneyland's fiftieth anniversary celebration album entitled, "Remember When." Sing Me a Story with Belle on September 9, 2010, and My Christmas List on December 11, 2010 In summer 2006, Rimes released the studio album Whatever We Wanna, which was released exclusively outside of the United States and Canada. It was originally planned on being released in North America, however due to the success of This Woman, it was never released. The album spawned minor hits in the United Kingdom, including "And it Feels Like" and a duet with Brian McFadden entitled, "Everybody's Someone". The album leaned more towards Pop Rock and R&B music instead of country. Rimes would release one final single in the US from her album This Woman in August 2006 called "Some People" which would peak at 34 on the US country charts.

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