Push aside your image of LeAnn Rimes as a child star. Although she made her name as a child prodigy, Rimes is now 25, married, reconciled with her parents and starting what she sees as the second phase of her career.
“With the new album I found my own style. It blends country, rock, blues, it’s an organic sound which developed in a natural way,” said Rimes of the recently released “Family.” “I finally feel like I am an adult, not a little girl with a big voice.”
That big voice captured the attention of music lovers when Rimes was just 13. Her debut album, “Blue,” won her two Grammy Awards. But after that early success, Rimes style shifted from country to pop and back as critics sneered a bit and wondered if she’d become another child star who lost her way.
But Rimes proved the naysayers wrong with her 2005 album ” This Woman,” which went gold. Now comes “Family” wherein Rimes puts to music some of her own family’s struggles.
“?2005’s “This Woman” unexpectedly found LeAnn Rimes maturing into a vocalist of sensitivity and sophistication,” wrote Jonathan Keefe of Slant. “Rimes’ latest record, “Family,” is an even stronger effort?.[which is] among the strongest mainstream country albums of the past several years.”
But don’t think that Rimes music is classic country. Although the title song is reminiscent of a classic Tanya Tucker tune, Rimes also turns a bit toward pop in some of the songs. So how do you define Rimes music?
“I hopefully define it as good music,” said Rimes. “I grew up in a house where we never knew [creative] boundaries. It’s natural to dabble in different things.”
IF YOU GO
LeAnn Rimes, 20th Annual Concert to Benefit the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, with The Hard Travelers
VENUE: 1st Mariner Arena, 201 W. Baltimore St., Baltimore
WHEB: 7:30 p.m. Saturday
TICKETS: $27-$69
INFO.:410-547-SEAT
