LeAnn Rimes’ Age When She Released Her First Song "Blue" Is Mind-Blowing
LeAnn Rimes is a country music veteran.
Wait, LeAnn Rimes was how old when she made her major label debut? The Voice Season 27 Playoffs Mega Mentor and country music star has certainly been in the game for a minute, releasing her first major label album in 1996, despite being very young at the time.
LeAnn Rimes first broke through with "Blue" (1996)
After recording two albums with an independent label as a kid, Rimes got her big shot when she was signed to Curb Records, which released her single "Blue" in June 1996, and the album, also called Blue, in July 1996. With her birthday being August 28, 1982, that means Rimes was just shy of 14 when Blue hit record stores.
The titular single, with a yodel in the chorus, was the critical favorite, with Randy Lewis writing in the LA Times, "The way she resurrects the sound and spirit of Patsy Cline on ['Blue'] would be remarkable by any standard—at so tender an age it borders on the miraculous. Nothing else here equals 'Blue,' though her duet with Eddy Arnold on his 1955 hit 'Cattle Call' brings her back near the same ballpark."
Blue reached number one on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and the single “Blue” peaked at number-26 on the Billboard Hot 100. Mike Curb, CEO of the Curb Group, told Billboard that such records “come along only once in a lifetime.” By 1998, it was certified gold.
RELATED: Reba McEntire & Trisha Yearwood's Harmonies Are Sublime Belting This Murder Ballad
How LeAnn Rimes got her start
Rimes’ parents moved from Jackson, Mississippi, to Dallas, Texas when Rimes was 6 in part to give her more performing opportunities.
At 8, she showed off her big, brassy voice on Star Search and ended up winning. Reflecting on that experience years later, she wrote on Instagram, "That little lady had dreams even bigger than her hair 😂 and a belief in herself that was unstoppable. from where i’m sitting now, at 41, I’m pretty in awe of that kid!"
Rimes thinks it's "crazy" to sign a record deal so young
"My oldest stepson is 11. I signed my record deal when I was his age, and it kind of puts things into perspective when you have an 11-year-old kid around. As an adult, you realize how crazy that was," she told Vice in 2014.
RELATED: Kelsea Ballerini on Being Nominated for Music Awards: "I've Changed My Relationship..."
She also revealed a fun story from her earliest days on stage, recalling, "When I was little, I opened up for Merle Haggard, and I don’t remember any of this, but my dad told me that he came onstage, in the middle of my show, and grabbed the mic and said, 'This girl’s the real deal' and hugged me and went off stage."
