Teenager LeAnn Rimes came onto the country music scene in the 1990s like no other. Drawing comparisons to Patsy Cline and Tanya Tucker, Rimes was born in 1982 in Jackson, Mississippi. Growing up in the Dallas area, she began singing as a child, performing at local talent contests. She cut her first demo at age 11 on an independent record label called Nor Va Jak.
In 1996, Rimes came into the spotlight with her debut single "Blue," which immediately captured the attention of country fans across America. Her rich, powerful vocals drew similarities to those of Cline but the fact that she was only 13 years old was mind-blowing. Rimes's 1996 debut Blue debuted at No. 3 on the pop charts - selling over 123,000 copies within its first week of release. It was nominated for several Country Music Association Awards.
Two releases came in 1997Unchained Melody: The Early Years and You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs which debuted simultaneously on three Billboard Magazine charts (Pop, Country and Contemporary Christian. The same year she starred in the ABC-TV movie, Holiday In Your Heart which was based on a book of the same title, co-authored by Rimes and Tom Carter.
1997 proved to be a good year for Rimes. Numerous awards came her way including an American Music Award, two Grammys-including Best New Artist (marking the first time a Country artist ever captured that honor),
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three Academy of Country Music Awards, a TNN Music City News Award, a CMA Horizon Award, four Billboard Music Awards and the prestigious international honor of the BBC's Rising Star award.
The following year, Rimes recorded and released Sittin' On Top of the World. In 1999, Rimes released a self-titled CD, LeAnn Rimes which featured 11 Country standards including; "Crazy," "I Fall to Pieces," "Leavin' On Your Mind," "Don't Worry" and "Me & Bobby McGee."
Recently Rimes made her major motion picture acting debut in Coyote Ugly (Touchstone Pictures / Jerry Bruckheimer Films). She cameos in the film and also recorded four Diane Warren songs, including the first single, "Can't Fight the Moonlight", for the movie soundtrack released on Curb Records.
With all of these accomplishments by the age of 18, and with another album slated for release in early 2001, LeAnn Rimes has definitely had a great start to what will continue to be a long-lived and fulfilling career.
Erin Boyle, CanEHdian.com. Copyright 2000.
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