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10 Questions with ... LeAnn Rimes
January 9, 2017
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BRIEF CAREER SYNOPSIS:
Facebook: www.facebook.com/leannrimesmusic Twitter: @leannrimes Instagram: @leannrimes
LeAnn Rimes is an ASCAP award-winning songwriter. She has won two Grammy Awards; 12 Billboard Music Awards; two World Music Awards; three Academy of Country Music Awards; one Country Music Association Award and one Dove Award and she has sold more than 44 million units,
At 14, Rimes won "Best New Artist" making her the youngest recipient of a Grammy Award. Her debut album "Blue," celebrates the 20th anniversary of its release this year. Out of the 42 singles she has released throughout her expansive career, LeAnn's song "How Do I Live," ranks #4 on Billboard's "Greatest of All Time: Hot 100 Songs," and it holds the record for being the second longest charting song ever on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. 15 of her multi-genre singles are top-10 hits, including "Can't Fight the Moonlight" which went #1 in 11 countries.
1. Please tell us how you came to release your debut studio album "Blue" when you were just 13 years-old? What led to you recording this album at such a young age and what was it like watching your album rocket up to #1 on the Top Country Album Charts and #3 on the Billboard Top 200 Album Chart?
I actually sang the track "Blue" right before I turned 12, so I was technically 11 years-old, but when the entire album was finished I was 13 years-old. I was barely a teenager when I recorded the "Blue" album. I just knew I wanted to sing, that was the one truth I held on to then and that still holds true for me today. I really had no idea or concept on how I should have felt back then, it was completely unreal. I was so happy for the success of it all but it wasn't until I was much older that I truly began to understand and grasp all of the wonderful things that happened for us.
2. In 1997, your next album "You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs" exposed you to an even bigger audience as the single "How Do I Live" became one of the longest running singles on the Billboard Top 100 and the album was certified 4X platinum. How did this success in the Mainstream Pop genre help you grow as a performer?
"How Do I Live" was and is still a very special song to me. Diane ( Warren ) wrote a timeless hit and that it stuck around the way it did is truly a testament to what great songs can do for artists. That was the first song that opened up the entire world to me. Not just here in America, but Europe, Australia etc. I recorded a new song of hers ( " I Couldn't Do That To Me" ) for my new album.
3. Your new song "Long Live Love" will be released in the U.S. to Adult Top 40 in January 2017. Please tell us about the inspiration for this song?
The body of work on my new album 'Remnants" is about the looking for love, the learning about it, the getting it, the losing it and then finding it again, standing up for everyone to be able to love who they want to love, for the family love that surpasses blood ties, oh yes, and the sexy hot kind ... So I guess "Long Live Love" is the "standing up for one's own self-worth and believing that a greater love will rise up for you" kind of song...
Mark Batson (Dr Dre, Skylar Grey, Alicia Keys, Eminem) and my long-time friend and collaborator Darrell Brown co-wrote the song with me. When we recorded the record, I recorded my vocals only against Trevor Lawrence Jr's drums. The stark space, my vocal mic and the drums brought out everything I wanted to communicate on the lyrics. So when the chorus of women comes in singing with me at the hook, well it just makes me want to shout up to the rooftops!
4. What other songs on your new "Remnants" album are you excited to share with your fans?
The first songs that hit my head are "Love Line", "Mother", "Outrageous Love", "How To Kiss A Boy", "Love is Love is Love", and the title track "Remnants". I guess I am excited about the whole album. We should just do a radio show on the whole thing together so I can go tell stories of why I love each and every thing I am singing on this album.
5. What is your approach to songwriting? How do you capture the inspiration when it comes?
Writing songs for me is more a like a group therapy session with hooks than work. I am always writing down lyrics pieces and recording melody lines into my phone. I am never not writing. The "Remnants" record is about to come out and I am already wanting to head into the studio and start writing the next record.
6. What are the biggest changes you would like to see happen in the music industry?
You look at a few of the iconic artists we sadly lost this year, Prince, David Bowie, Leon Russell, Merle Haggard, Maurice White and many more and you want to tell the industry two words "artist development" Look for the real deal and give them the money, patience and room to grow.
7. Who are some of your biggest musical influences?
Like almost everyone reading this i grew up listening to all kinds of music ... Aretha Franklin, Patsy Cline, Prince, Johnny Cash, Janis Joplin, Barbara Streisand, Elton John, Michael Jackson. the list goes on and on.
8. Who are some of the artists we might find on your playlists now?
Florence and the Machine, Jack White, Kaleo, Prince, Fink, Beyonce', Kings Of Leon, Hozier and One Republic.
9. Of all your many accomplishments so far, which ones have really stood out to you?
Wow! There have been so many unbelievable moments that I have been able to be a part of because of music and because of the fans of music. But I have to say my favorite accomplishment has been learning to put my family, my life, our lives first, before anything else. That I have been able to learn and grow as a person, to love, to be able to create and keep my priorities centered. Right now that stands out for me. That is the something that makes me happy and gives me the freedom to go out on stage and sing with everything I have to give.
10. Is there anything in particular that you'd like people to take away from listening to your music?
I hope they hear my heart speaking.
Bonus Questions
What do you do in your spare time? When you aren't performing or recording new material, what do you like to do for fun?
I love to cook for my family. I am constantly reading new books. I am obsessed with ordering vinyl records for our turntable. Cooking and listening to vinyl is dream time for me. I also love to hop in the RV with my husband and step sons, find an out of the way place to just to relax and enjoy the quiet times together and just be.
Do you have any pre-performance rituals?
I spend a good amount of time warming up my voice, but it is far more than that for me. I try to take at least 30 to 40 minutes before a performance to be by myself, breathe and mediate and center myself so I can go out on stage and be the most authentic heart that I can be.
How do you balance your family life?
We keep really good calendars. If you don't schedule family life, the balance will not happen. So we make sure it happens by writing it in the ICal.
What has been the biggest thrill of your career?
That at the young age of 33 years old I am still making music that I love to sing.
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