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Photo by Sara Hertel
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We talked with country-pop artist LeAnn Rimes about her new single, working on her 16th album, celebrating her first album, Blue, and what makes playing with the Nashville Symphony so special.
Nashville Lifestyles (NL): Your new single came out June 24 and you recently moved to a new label – tell us a little about what's happening in your world.
LeAnn Rimes (LR): This first single 'The Story,” which is a cover of a Brandi Carlile song is for the UK. The head of my label was actually over here and we were listening to music, I was referencing that song for an emotional point of view and he said, ‘Oh, I've never heard this song. I don't think we know this song in the UK very well. I would love for you to cut it.'
I love the song. I love her. I never thought about cutting it. So, it just kind of happenedthey fell in love with it and wanted me to do it. It fits my story really well, lyrically and emotionally. Once people hear the whole record, I think it really kind of fits the record all together. You can buy it in the US, but there's a completely different US/Canada single that will be out in a few months, and I'm finishing the album at the moment.
NL: This will be your 16th albumwhat's different about this than your previous records?
LR: I think every album is completely different than the last. For me it is. I look at each project as something that's specifically its own thing, even thoughgosh, when I started, I was so young that there's been so much change and so many different parts of my life and points of view.
Since the last record, 'Spitfire,” they all have been incredibly personal albums. I write from a completely different place. My heart is really on my sleeve, and it's very cathartic in a lot of ways. The last record, I think there was a story that people thought they knew at least. That allowed me this place to write from where I was being incredibly honest about my life and where I was. There was a lot of heartbreak, a lot of emotions going on that record.
But I think this new record is even more of a reveal in a way, because I'm revealing things to myself that I didn't even know existed. This being a whole new journey and a whole new label, I really got to experiment, play around. It's a very soulful record that comes from, really, a place of love. There's a lot of passion. There's a lot of vulnerability to this record, but a lot of strength. I'm much more matter-of-fact, kind of settling into my beliefs and my views and where I'm at as a woman, so it's a cool album. I'm so excited. It feels like, for the first time, I got to really explore all those different sides of myself.
NL: This year you're also celebrating the 20th anniversary of 'Blue.” What does that album mean to you, especially as you look back?
LR: It was such a different time in my life, and it was such an exciting moment and a defining piece of material. I'm so grateful for it, I really am. The place that I'm in now, [I] can be incredibly grateful for it and see what it's done for my life and my career. I think that's part of my story that I get to celebrate and completely embrace. I find that right now I'm just embracing every bit and piece of it, of all of my story. I would not be where I'm at without that record or without that song. I look at it, and I don't recognize myself back then.
NL: You were so young!
LR: I was! I was so young. That's the thing. It's like, ‘who is that?' but at the same time, I remember that girl, you know? And I think that I have such an appreciation for myself and how well I handled everything that came up at that time.
NL: You'll be performing with the Nashville Symphony July 8, which is kind of a different show for you. Talk about the show and what fans can expect.
LR: I've preformed with the symphony many times. It's something that I really enjoy doing because it adds another level of excitement and beauty to performing and to my music. It will be about half and half, performing with and without the symphony. It's an emotional performance; it always gets to me.
I always really enjoy it, and I think that translates to the audience. I like to keep it interesting. You kind of hit different audiences and different people, and that's exciting for an artist to be able to do. As for the Nashville Symphony, they've always been fantastic. I've preformed with them before, and they're a fantastic company! It should be a beautiful night.
NL: Are you going to play any of the new material you're working on at that show?
LR: We'll probably play 'The Story,” but I'm keeping everything to myself at the moment. In fact, my mom's only heard one song, and no one's really heard much of the music, which I'm kind of enjoying, kind of keeping it to myself at the moment. Soon enough...
See LeAnn Rimes perform with the Nashville Symphony, Friday, July 8. Information and tickets at nashvillesymphony.org.