Balloon Fest artists discuss motivation, musical philosophies
LeAnn Rimes reflects on early start in music industry
by Taylor Evans
LeAnn Rimes’ drive as a singer never had anything to do with fame. From the very beginning of her two-decade career, the country music superstar and All Ohio Balloon Fest headliner has been about the music.
“I loved entertaining,” she said of her young self. “I loved being able to kind of escape through my music.”
Although life is not effortless, Rimes said, at an early age, she found music to be the opposite. The singer knew she had the talent to make it in a notoriously tough industry. She said she had “gut instinct” and a “desire” to sing.
Rimes broke onto the country music scene at the age of 11, at a time when music makers in Nashville weren’t interested in working with a child. Rimes said when she started singing, country music meant ballads about drinking, cheating and broken hearts.
“At 11, I didn’t think anything of it,” she said. “I’ve been singing all of these songs beyond my years.”
Rimes’ talent for singing beyond her years garnered accolades for her first national hit “Blue” in 1996, solidifying a then 13-year-old Rimes’ no. 1 spot on Billboard’s country album chart. She went onto win a 2 Grammy awards at 14 for Best Female Country Vocal Performance, according to grammy.com. She was the first country artist to win the Grammy for Best New Artist
Rimes called her career a “unique experience.” As a child, she didn’t know what challenges came with having a popular singing career taking off on a meteoric trajectory.
“You’re fearless as a child,” Rimes said. “You really had no idea what had happened.”
The artist had to learn certain skills to make it in the industry as she became more and more in demand.
Read more at the Marysville Journal-Tribune!
