2008_A_TC

Entertainment Beat
Continued
Nashville and feeling a bit unwelcome by
her pickin’ and singin’ peers there, LeAnn
decided she wanted to move to Los Angeles
where she would not only change
her residence, she would also change
her style in singing. Instead of reflections
of Patsy Cline in her styling, it would be
Celine Dion. She publicly stated that she
wanted to “venture into new avenues
with her voice.” A lot of country music
fans became angry, saying LeAnn was
“ashamed of the country sound that had
made her famous.”
I come to her defense here. In my first
interview with her in 1995, she let it be
known that she wanted to sing all kinds
of music.
Now, there are completely different
settings in the Rimes family. Wilbur has
remarried and lives in the Nashville
area. Belinda is now married to Ted
Miller, who used to do the photography
for LeAnn. The Millers now make their
home in Dallas; LeAnn lives in a mansion
in Los Angeles.
I believe the most damaging thing
LeAnn did was when she yelled at her
dad in a Nashville courtroom: “I hate you!”
She was suing her record label, Curb.
She had lost the suit and was angry at
the world. (She later made a public announcement
that she was sorry for those
words to her dad.)
Then, for all the world to see, while she
was hosting the Academy of Country Music
Awards and sporting a T-shirt reading
DADDY, she sang a song someone
had written which picked fun at her dad
and Curb Records. Producer Dick Clark
should have never allowed this to happen
on national television…and LeAnn
should never have performed it.
Is LeAnn a spoiled, ungrateful brat, as
one magazine stated?
LeAnn is a true professional. Yes, she
may be spoiled, but she is not ungrateful.
This, I know.
(Yahoo! Yodel Studio)
Incidentally, the lady’s birthday is this
month (August 28), and she is now 19.
Happy birthday, LeAnn.
Visit Bill at BillMackCountry.com
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