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Rimes and reason
Slowing down her touring
By Tim Ryan
has helped her enjoy
her performances more
Star-BulletinSHE has homes in Dallas and Los Angeles, performs 165 concerts a year, "takes meetings" where she tells the "suits" in what direction she's headed, and embraces challenges.
When many 17-year-old girls are thinking about the prom and high school graduation, LeAnn Rimes, who makes her Oahu debut Saturday at the Blaisdell Arena, says writing songs, performing and producing her next album gives more to her young life than anything she can imagine "at least right now." (She performed at the Hula Bowl on Maui last year.)
"I'm also prioritizing this year," Rimes says in a telephone interview from L.A. "I've made a conscious decision to slow down on the number of concerts I do and take some of that creative energy to other outlets like acting.
"I started feeling like a robot on stage; basically I was working every day. I may do only 25 concerts this year but I'm enjoying them more because I'm taking my time, enjoying the moment. I didn't want to start hating what I love doing, being on stage."
The pace of 400 or so concerts in the last three years was "driving me insane."
"I was living on a bus ... this noisy moving house," says Rimes sounding older than her years. "I've had to grow up really, really fast, but this is who I am and I'm doing what I've always wanted to do."
That's for sure.
Rimes won her first talent contest at 5 then, she says, persuaded her parents to move from Mississippi to the Dallas area so she could pursue a singing career. She appeared on Hawaii resident Al Masini's "Star Search" at age 8, winning it twice but losing in her final appearance.
Then a Fort Worth disc jockey sent the song "Blue" to Rimes at her Garland, Texas, home, since her voice was so reminiscent of Patsy Cline, to whom he had offered the song some 30 years earlier.
The original version of "Blue" appeared on an album Rime's father produced that was released regionally. "Blue" became the title song of Rimes' first nationally released album, which won two Grammy Awards and sold close to 7 million copies.
"Unchained Melody" and "You Light Up My Life" followed in 1997, and "Sittin' on Top of the World" in 1998 also went platinum and put Rimes' total album sales past 21 million units.
In concert
Who: LeAnn Rimes
These days, Rimes listens to music as diverse as Prince and Aerosmith, Barbra Streisand and Celine Dion, and considers Madonna an inspiration.
"She not only invented her own style but keeps reinventing herself regardless of the obvious gamble," Rimes said. "I never want to copy or sound like anyone else.
"Whatever I do musically, I make myself start from scratch and just be myself. It draws people to your act."
Rimes enthusiasm about taking "the next step" gushes through the phone lines.
"I'm so ready to take myself to a new level musically. I have visions of where I want to go, and I'm the only one who can take it there. Every day it seems like I know myself better."
A mix on her new album, "Country Classics," has tones of a country Hank Williams, even a bluesy Ray Charles in "Your Cheatin' Heart." There's some Kris Kristofferson or Janis Joplin in "Me and Bobby McGee." The album went to the top of the country chart in its first week.
Rimes said she recorded the album "to bring great music back to my generation."
"I just found some of my favorite songs that I'd listened to when I was growing up," she said.
Other songs are by Marty Robbins and songs recorded by Cline, "Faded Love," "I Fall to Pieces" and "Crazy."
"When I did 'Crazy,' I listened to her record and I didn't want to vary it very much," Rimes says. "There's nothing you could really do to that song, it's so perfect."
Part of Rimes' cutting back on performances was to enjoy being a teen-ager. She's getting a high school degree through Texas Tech University after three years of home schooling, and she "love hanging out with friends," shopping, going to movies and playing beach volleyball.
One of the reasons Rimes decided to perform in Hawaii was to take a vacation. She plans to try surfing for the second time.
"The first time was after a benefit I did with Andre Agassi and he gave me this huge surfboard. I loved it, though I'm a little afraid of the ocean because of, well, you know, the sharks."
More personal time also has allowed Rimes to become involved in a romantic relationship.
"I do have someone in my life, but I want to keep it private though I'm sure you know his name," she says. "I don't talk about it because I want this to be as normal as possible."
Then Rimes almost giggles about a secret.
"The best advice I ever got was from my mom who said unless the guy opens the door for you, don't date him. He has to respect you. The guy I'm seeing does and I love it."
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