Keepin' it Country Media & Radio » LeAnn Rimes

LeAnn Rimes announces Spitfire release date

Lydia Picknell — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 13:49:44 +0000

Grammy award-winning singer/songwriter LeAnn Rimes is releasing her new album, SPITFIRE, on June 4, 2013. Rimes, who co-wrote nine of the songs on her newest offering, says:

“This album is a peek into my world; who I am, what I’ve gone through, what my emotions are. It’s an intimate conversation between me and whoever’s listening. I hope I’m saying things that are hard for others to express. It certainly took me a lot of work to get to this point. And it’s still easier to sing these thoughts than it is to say them out loud. The intimacy in my music is just beginning.”

SPITFIRE is co-produced by Darrell Brown, LeAnn’s longtime friend, whom she calls her “writing soul mate”. Rimes speaks of this album as a “journey” and says there were several memorable moments along the way from having multi-Grammy award-winning engineer, Al Schmitt (Ray Charles, Natalie Cole, Norah Jones) mix several songs to having Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminsky sing background vocals on “What Have I Done?”. After ten years of trying to write or record with Rob Thomas, the planets aligned as Rob added an undeniable groove to “Gasoline and Matches”, which also features the legendary signature guitar styling’s of Jeff Beck, whom LeAnn previously worked with on a Barbra Streisand tribute at the Grammys to benefit MusiCares.

The physical CD will launch exclusively at Walmart and is currently available for pre-order at http://bit.ly/Spitfire1. Check out the official cover and track listing for her new album below and let us know if you’ll be getting your copy on June 4th:

SPITFIRE Track Listing:

1. Spitfire

(LeAnn Rimes / Darrell Brown / David Baerwald)

2. What Have I Done? with Alison Krauss and Dan Tyminsky

(LeAnn Rimes / Darrell Brown / David Baerwald)

3. Gasoline & Matches with Rob Thomas and Jeff Beck

(Buddy and Julie Miller)

4. Borrowed

(LeAnn Rimes / Darrell Brown / Dan Wilson)

5. You Ain’t Right

(Liz Rose / Chris Stapleton / Morgane Hayes)

6. I Do Now

(LeAnn Rimes / Darrell Brown / Dan Wilson)

7. Where I Stood

(Missy Higgins)

8. You’ve Ruined Me

(LeAnn Rimes / Darrell Brown / John Shanks)

9. Bottle

(Christina Aldendifer and Gary Burr)

10. A Waste Is A Terrible Thing To Mind

(LeAnn Rimes / David Baerwald / Darrell Brown)

11. Just A Girl Like You

(LeAnn Rimes / Darrell Brown / Nathan Chapman)

12. God Takes Care of Your Kind

(LeAnn Rimes / Darrell Brown / Dean Sheremet)

13. Who We Really Are

(Sarah Buxton and Darrell Brown)

14. Borrowed (Live) – Bonus Track

LeAnn Rimes opens up about her weight

Lydia Picknell — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 02:29:58 +0000

After questions and controversy have followed LeAnn Rimes for years, she finally opened up about her weight to a British magazine. In her interview with Fabulous, she speaks about her weight, why fans don’t need to be concerned, her self confidence, becoming a step-mother, and her treatments for anxiety and stress.

On if she has purposely tried to gain weight since fans and media became concerned, she said:

“I never tried to lose weight and I never tried to gain it. It depends on how stressed I am. I was eating a ton and couldn’t put on weight!”

But the important question: is she happy with how she looks?

“I’m secure with my body. Trust me, there are moments when I’ve stood in the mirror and gone: “Oh my God, I’m getting cellulite!” but then I stand in a different light and I’m like: “Oh, it’s not so bad now.” I have my moments, like every woman.”

Read the full interview on Fabulous’ website here and let us know what you think about her opening up.

CELEBRITY DEATH MATCH: Kelly Clarkson v. Clive Davis

Jennifer Swirsky — Wed, 20 Feb 2013 17:57:38 +0000

As you have likely heard, Clive Davis used nineteen pages of his memoir to share “stories” about Kelly Clarkson and his “experiences” working with her during her time under his wing. Mind you, we use the words “stories” and “experiences” loosely here, as Kelly rebutted the allegations Clive made in his book, explaining that his recollection contained “lapses and misinformation”.

You probably know that Clive Davis is a huge music mogul (and egomaniac?) who has been credited for many artists’ careers, including Aretha Franklin, Barry Manilow, Christina Aguilera, Carlos Santana, Jennifer Hudson, and the late great Whitney Houston. Clive has also been credited for his hand in Kelly’s career, before she parted ways after some artistic differences. Kelly, as you very well are aware, won Season 1 of American Idol and was catapulted into fame, never allowing anybody to change her or tell her there was something she could not do. And, not surprisingly at all, Kelly’s hunches have never served her wrong, as she continues to be a hitmaking, album selling, touring, award-winning artist over ten years after we first met her on the Idol stage.

Several artists have spoken out since yesterday when Clive’s memoir was released and Kelly spoke up about his “memories” of their encounters and working relationship. Martina McBride, Jennifer Nettles, and Chely Wright have all declared their membership on Team Kelly. So, we ask you — whose team are you on (Team Kelly or Team Clive) and which musicians have you seen vocalize where their loyalties lie? Help us figure out who will win this celebrity death match! Our money is on our girl, Kelly!

Here are just a few of our fave country celeb tweets:

‏@martinamcbride @kelly_clarkson YOU GO GIRL!!!!! Love it.

@chelywright: I just listened to @Kelly_Clarkson sing the Anthem again.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfu… She’s IT! I believe her account over Clive’s any day

@JenniferNettles: @kelly_clarkson You could sing the phone book and it would be brilliant! Proud of you for speaking your truth. Solidarity sistah!

@LynnAshow (Lynn Anderson)
Team @kelly_clarkson ! “Because of you” was a beautiful song and u continue to compose and use those huge pipes to the top of the charts.

@blairgarner KELLY IS A ROCKSTAR RT @kelly_clarkson: Clive Davis is releasing a memoir and spreading false info about me http://say.ly/GLO5cY7

@leannrimes @blairgarner @kelly_clarkson love this girl!

@chantalkreviaz @kelly_clarkson loving your courage and truth!!! wow…inspired. xx chantal http://marquee.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/19/dont-mess-with-texas-kelly-clarkson-has-a-few-words-for-clive-davis/ …

And just to be fair, here are some of our faves that support Clive:

And that’s that!

DVR Alert: LeAnn Rimes on Entertainment Tonight

Lydia Picknell — Wed, 16 Jan 2013 13:49:32 +0000

Grammy Award winner LeAnn Rimes will be on “Entertainment Tonight” TONIGHT where she will talk about her new album, SPITFIRE due out April 30, 2013.

Continuing on with her media stops, LeAnn will perform her new single, “Borrowed”, the following Tuesday, January 22, 2013 on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”

”Jimmy Kimmel Live!” airs on ABC at 11:30 PM ET.

Curb Records has made the tracks “What Have I Done,” and her new single, “Borrowed”, both from the forthcoming SPITFIRE album, available now on iTunes.

Are you excited for LeAnn’s new album? Will you be picking it up in stores this April?

DVR Alert: LeAnn Rimes debuting new single on Tonight Show

Lydia Picknell — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 15:20:37 +0000

This should be a good early Christmas treat! Country star LeAnn Rimes will debut her single “Borrowed” for the first time on late night television on NBC’s The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. The latest single from her upcoming album “Spitfire,” is available now on iTunes for fans not wanting to wait until late tonight to hear the new music.

She’ll be heading over to the X Factor tomorrow night to perform on the finale alongside Little Big Town and country contestant Tate Stevens, so make sure you tune into that as well!

Are you excited for LeAnn’s new album in 2013?

Recap: The Voice: Episode 2 – Meet Harry Potter & The Music Man

Nicole Piering — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 12:28:26 +0000

I’ll blame it on technical difficulties, but I may or may not have missed most of the first episode of “The Voice.” I just assumed (and you know what happens when you assume…) that my DVR would record the show, but alas, that wasn’t the case. I’ll be attempting to catch a repeat sometime soon, but, on to episode two!

Luckily for slackers like me, we get a brief recap of the first episode and I learn that each judge – Christina Aguilera, CeeLo Green, Adam Levine & Blake Shelton – will get teams of 16! Holy cow, what is this, pee-wee soccer?! They each grabbed two contestants in the season premiere, including a guy who sings “Listen” better than Beyonce and a bunch of other random people who sing, cry and have REALLY sad histories.

Our first contestant tonight is 22-year-old Brooklynite, Adriana Louise. I can tell immediately by her tight dress and judges’-chair-matching lipstick that she’s going to garner a creepy CeeLo smile. She wails through Jessie J‘s “Domino,” and all of the judges turn around. CeeLo makes some weird comments about a wedding, but it’s Christina’s finger-wiggling and debut CD (the first Adriana ever bought) that convince her to join “Team XTina.”

Next up, we have a wrestler who is dressed in the most stereotypical country attire a person can possibly wear. I’ll admit that I’m prejudging him both on his name, Casey Muessigmann, (pronounced “Musicman,” natch.) and the fact that someone in his entourage looks eerily similar to Javier Bardem in “No Country For Old Men.” Casey recently lost 100 pounds due to his penchant for singing songs like “Sweet Home Alabama” or maybe it’s due to his awkward butt-slapping dance moves. Either way, both Blake and CeeLo hit their buttons. It’s no surprise to anyone when the butt-slapping, country-crooning Harold Hill joins Team Blake.

Our first one-name-wonder of the episode, Aquile, is up next. We learn that he learned guitar after having his jaw wired shut. Why does everyone who has talent also have a crazy sob story? As soon as he opens his mouth, I swoon and squeal a little. His voice is warm and fuzzy as he puts a soulful take on Sir Elton’s “Your Song.” Adam calls Blake a “dum-dum” for not turning around, while Christina and her boobs admit that they want a “private concert.” Yikes. It’s a tough choice for Aquile between Adam’s tattoos, Cee-Lo’s T-Rex arms and Christina’s boobs?! In typical male fashion, he goes for Team Boobs.

Nashvillian Ryan Fogarty works for LeAnn Rimes, and does important things like put cases of water on her tour bus. Apparently, he also sings and has the LeAnn Rimes stamp of approval. He starts super shaky on Chris Young‘s “Tomorrow” and unfortunately, never quite lives up to the intensity of the song. Blake admits that he spent the whole song comparing him to Chris Young, and he came up short. It’s back to being LeAnn’s slave for Ryan.

Following in Ryan’s lackluster footsteps, we are treated to a few more snips of performers that weren’t quite good enough. However, the One-Direction version of Harry Potter is up next, and my prediction is awesomeness. He almost died from congestive heart failure from a crazy heart-attacking virus, but he’s better now and wearing awesome red pants. His name is Mackenzie Bourg, and he’s doing an acoustic version of Foster the People‘s “Pumped Up Kicks.” It takes awhile, but CeeLo turns around, and Harry leaves Hogwarts for Cee-Lo’s magical pink-parroted lair.

Last up tonight is Julio Cesar Castillo, a Mariachi singer dressed like McKinley High’s resident mariachi singer. He says he wants to break away from that style of music, but the proceeds to sing “La Bamba.” I can’t even think of “La Bamba,” without having flashbacks to high school Spanish and watching that Lou Diamond Phillips movie about Richie Valens. Blake turns around immediately, followed be CeeLo. I can’t say I comprende what’s happening, but there’s no denying that Julio has a great tone to his voice. In what might be the most interesting pairing of the season, he joins Team Blake. Ole!

Carson reminds us that Episode 3 will be on tomorrow, and we get a quick recap of who’s on whose team. All I catch is that Christina has 2 people whose names rhyme! See ya tomorrow!

LeAnn Rimes Enters Treatment

Lydia Picknell — Thu, 30 Aug 2012 15:06:00 +0000

In what came as a surprise to most country music fans this morning, LeAnn Rimes has voluntarily checked herself into a treatment facility one day after celebrating her 30th birthday. The “Spitfire” singer is trying to learn better stress coping mechanisms as she returns to her singing career with her new single out in December. In a statement to People magazine, her representative denies that it’s for drugs, alcohol or an eating disorder.

“LeAnn has voluntarily entered a 30 day in-patient treatment facility to cope with anxiety and stress,” her rep Marcel Pariseau tells PEOPLE in an exclusive statement. “While there will be speculation regarding her treatment, she is simply there to learn and develop coping mechanisms. While privacy isn’t expected, it’s certainly appreciated.”

LeAnn herself released a statement addressing why she feels it was so important to check herself in now rather than later:

“This is just a time for me to emotionally check out for a second and take care of myself and come back in 30 days as the best 30-year-old woman I can be,” she says. “All the things in my life will be there when I get out, but you know what? I’m hoping they’re not going to affect me as much,” she adds. “I’ll have the tools to know how to deal with them.”

Read the article on People magazine’s site here. She’ll be heading out on a fall tour this year, releasing her new single, and a brand new album will hit stores in 2013. We’re hoping we see a lot more of the “Spitfire” star this year and wish her a quick recovery!

LeAnn Rimes Launches New Site

Lydia Picknell — Thu, 23 Aug 2012 18:12:13 +0000

Curb Records artist LeAnn Rimes launched her brand new website today as she amps up promotion for her upcoming album “Spitfire.” Her new website includes a brand new fan club called “Spitfire Social Club” which will give fans access to exclusive behind the scenes pictures, new information, pictures, contests, and web-chats with LeAnn. Her first web-chat as part of the new fan club will kick off on Tuesday, August 28th at 9 am PST. Fans can sign up now for the new fan club to get ready to chat with the singer herself next week. The fan club costs $12.99 to join per year.

LeAnn will be releasing her new single, the title track from the new album, “Spitfire,” this December. Her album will be released early 2013. Check out her new website at leannrimesworld.com.

LeAnn Rimes Recovering From Surgery

Lydia Picknell — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 18:07:00 +0000

Curb Nashville artist LeAnn Rimes was forced to cancel shows in Ohio and Indiana last week due to an emergency surgery she underwent yesterday. She’s now at home after an extensive root canal procedure for pain relief that had started earlier this month. She will need a second surgery on Monday, but it’s expected to only be a minor surgery. Yesterday’s root canal was the second surgery LeAnn has had this year; she had a procedure done for pain relief back in February.

While she isn’t performing while she’s recovering she is still hard at work. LeAnn is working on the cover art for her brand new upcoming album “Spitfire,” which is her last contractually obligated album on Curb Records. She was signed to Curb when she was 11 years old. There’s no release date yet for her album which is expected out later this year.

EXCLUSIVE: Interview with Rachel Holder

Ted Efron — Tue, 08 May 2012 18:35:19 +0000

It makes sense that Rachel Holder recorded a version of Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory.” The 19-year-old singer is herself on the edge of, if not glory, what may prove to be a successful career in country music.

Yes, there ae plenty of other young, pretty singers out there with her, all vying for your attention. But unlike some who might need a gimmick to grab that attention, Holder aims to attract it with one thing and one thing only: Her talent. She has a powerful, four-octave range that can both touch and amaze you at the same time.

We’ve already been given a taste of that talent with the release of her single “In Your Arms,” which only needed a few weeks to start impacting the charts.

Right now the native of Chattanooga, Tennessee is busy working on her debut album, Unstoppable, for Curb Records. It’s being produced by Chuck Howard and Wilbur Rimes, who is LeAnn’s father. If he’s able to help Rachel find a fraction of his daughter’s success, then she won’t be on the edge of glory, she’ll be smack dab in the middle of it.

In the following interview, we talk with Rachel about her single, fans going gaga for her Gaga cover, who inspires her (plus her encounters with those people) and finding her way with faith.

Let’s start by talking about your single, “In Your Arms.” How did that song come to you and what made it the choice to be your very first single?

When I first heard “In Your Arms” I was like, “Oh, my gosh! I have to cut that song!” It was just so amazing! Wilbur Rimes, who is part of my consulting team over at Curb Records and a producer on my new album, he sent it to me and just fell in love with it.

The song is just so open. You can take it spiritually; you can take it as a relationship; a friendship; someone in the Army; a sick patient; anything you want. That’s what’s so cool about a song like “In Your Arms” is that you can take it any way you want.

The song has only been out for a few weeks, but it’s already making an impact. It just broke the Top 20 on the Music Row chart. What’s your reaction to how quickly the song is being embraced?

I couldn’t believe it! I freaked out! When I found out it was number 20, I was like, “What? Top 20? Seriously?” I’m so thankful and blessed! I’m speechless about it. The way I look at it, I owe it all to God.

You already have the video out for the song. It appears that it was a day at the beach – literally!

Shooting the video was so much fun, except it was really, really, really cold! (Laughs) I was like shivering the whole time! But it was so much fun. It took one day to shoot it. The director, Eric, was amazing and I just can’t wait for my next video.

It was actually shot in Malibu, California. Well, a little bit north of it in El Matador. We really didn’t want to narrow it down when we were talking about what the plot was and everything. I guess the horse represents whatever you want it to be.

Your debut album, Unstoppable, will be coming out this fall. Is Unstoppable one of the tracks and why did you choose it as the album title?

“Unstoppable” is a wonderful song on the album. The way I look at it is it appeals to my fans and it appeals to me because I believe that whatever you want to do in life you should be unstoppable. That goes for anybody – not just me and my music career and not just for the song. But it’s for any woman or man. Go for your dreams. Don’t let anybody stop you.

What types of music will we be hearing on your album? I understand it’ll be a lot more than just country, correct?

You can expect all genres on the new album: Bluegrass, traditional country, new country, pop, rock, everything. Even a Spanish song! You can expect everything on my brand new album.

It’s so exciting. I can’t wait for the public to hear it!

How nice is it to be able to say the words: “your album”?

I know! It’s so exciting! And I also already have a Christmas album. We’ve already got that finished, too. We’re already workin’ on the second album.

It’s so much fun getting to do what I love and getting out here on the road and doing these radio tours and everything.

Your album is being produced by Chuck Howard and Wilbur Rimes, who is the father of LeAnn Rimes. Through that connection have you been able to get any guidance from her about your career?

I met LeAnn a couple of years ago before I even met Wilbur. I actually got to have dinner with her this past year in Chicago when her and her husband were up there filming a movie.

The advice she gave me was to live your dream and don’t give up. She was so young (when she started) and I respect her because she’s lived the dream that I want to live.

It’s amazing to hear the stories from Wilbur and her about how things happened and back in 1996 how they got started and everything. That’s just so amazing! It’s just not every day that you get to work with LeAnn Rimes’ Dad!

Mr. Rimes has been through the experience of starting a career with his own daughter. How great of a help has all of his experience been for you?

It’s amazing. We tell stories all the time. He tells me the ins and outs. He’s a very close person. We’re very close to his family. And his wife is amazing.

Also Chuck Howard, you know, produced the longest song, other than Jason Mraz’s, on Billboard’s history. He and Wilbur produced “How Do I Live.”

As this is your first album, what’s the most surprising thing you’ve learned about the whole recording process?

The most surprising thing is the amount of time and effort and the number of people it takes to put an album together, You’ve got the producers; you’ve got the arrangers; you’ve got the engineers; the mixers; the masters; the backgrounds; the musicians. You’ve got to have each puzzle piece and you’ve got to put it all together. You’ve pretty much got to put a puzzle together.

It’s a beautiful art and I’m just so lucky and fortunate to do what I love!

Who is role model and inspiration when it comes to music?

My inspiration is Dolly Parton. She’s just everything that you can imagine in the music business. She’s like the cream of the crop, you know?

It’s not because of what she’s done (musically), it’s because she’s given back to the community. And she’s so humble. She’s always been herself and she’s never let anything change her. That’s just so amazing.

I got the chance to meet her two years ago and ever since then we’ve been pen pals. We write to each other. I send her my music and she writes me back. Every letter she’s ever written me I hang it on my wall. So I’m pretty excited about that!

We’ have to talk about the video of your cover of Lady Gaga’s “Edge of Glory.” (See the video below) You posted it in February and it instantly went viral, getting more than one million views. Did the response catch you off guard?

It really did! I didn’t expect any of that at all! When we went into the studio, Kevin Moore produced “Edge of Glory” along with Elmer Cole, my vocal coach. They went in and put in 142 hours into it. It was a very, very long week! (Laughs)

But it came out wonderful. Obviously, it’s all a cappella and I did every part on the song. We put a lot of hard work into it and I think it came out beautiful.

Everyone was like, “Why “Edge of Glory”?” Because if you take someone like Lady Gaga who is different and absolutely amazing in the pop world, and you kind of mix her with a little bit of country, it’s definitely so cool!

You hit one note in that song that if most people tried to hit it, they would end up in the hospital! Where in the world does that come from?

I say that God gave it to me! I’ve been working with my vocal coach since I was 10 years old and I’ve developed a four-octave range. I just now figured it out about three years ago that I could actually do a whistle tone.

Everybody tells me that in that song that I can break glass or something! But I’m just doin’ what I love to do! (Laughs)

It’s clear you have such a love, joy and passion for music. You’re about to hit another level in being able to share your gift with other people. What for you will define that sharing as being a success?

Success for me is to just keep giving music to my fans. And also to keep staying on the road and meeting people; going to radio stations; doin’ shows. Hopefully one day to be on a headlining tour.

That’s a huge goal — especially for just starting out. But I believe that if I keep God first and don’t let any obstacles get in my way, that one day it will be very possible for me to have that.

But the way I look at that, too, is it’s whatever God wants me to do in life. He’s led me down this path for a reason. I don’t know why but, you know what? I’m just gonna enjoy the ride

Some artists might shy away from talking about religion, but it’s clear that faith plays a major role in your life. Would you discuss how important your faith is in all that you do?

Oh, definitely! God’s a big part of my life! It’s so cool that I can talk with you about this because sometimes you get interviews that really don’t want to talk on religion and stuff. But I’m not afraid to talk about it.

He’s the one who gave me my talent. I wouldn’t be here in this position today (if not for Him). I go to church pretty much every Sunday. I’m sure there’s been a couple I’ve missed this year, but I try to go as much as I can. I try to do a daily devotion if I can.

People need to remember where we got our talent from, because if it wasn’t for Him, we wouldn’t have our talent or we wouldn’t be here.

We’re all waiting for your big album debut, but it turns out your big stage debut came four years ago when you went from being an audience member to singing a duet with Vince Gill. How did that happen?

I was at a Vince Gill concert when I was 15 years old. I was in the second row at a show in my hometown of Chattanooga, Tennessee. I looked at my Mom and Dad and was like, “I really want to get on stage with Vince Gill tonight. I want to sing ‘Oklahoma Swing’ with him.” My parents were like, “Okay, Rachel. This is our hometown. Please don’t embarrass us!” It’s just embarrassing to have someone stand up in a 3,000 seat theater and say, “Can I sing you a song with you, Vince Gill?” I mean, come on!

So I raised my hand right after he got done singing “Go Rest High On That Mountain” and I said, “Mr. Vince, can I sing a song with you?” And he said, “I normally don’t do this, but come on up here!” So we sang “Oklahoma Swing” together. After that he said, “Well, I think you just did Reba proud!” It was amazing. We high-fived at the end!

He’s another one of my inspirations. That whole night I don’t think he was ever off pitch. He’s an amazing vocalist and an amazing entertainer.

Are there any final thoughts you’d like to share with everyone?

Thank you to the listeners! Thank you for taking the time to listen. Be sure to find me on Facebook, Twitter (@RachelHolder), MySpace and YouTube. All of the social media outlets. And my website at www.rachelholder.com.

Be sure to write me and tell me your story. You hear about mine all the time! I know people get tired of that! (Laughs) But I would love to hear from them and pay tribute to them. If they listen to me on the radio and listen to me in interviews, then I should give them respect and listen back!

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