LeAnn Rimes needs very little introduction. She has been singing all of her life, on the Country and Pop Charts since she was 13 years old, has had 42 hit records and has sold over 42 million records. Her fans are about to be elated by her brand new album, “Dance Like You Don’t Give A…,” which is about to explode at any moment.
She has been a relevant figure in the gay community always and is best known from the movie “Coyote Ugly,” and more recently known for her husband Eddie. She has an adorable and entertaining new show on VH1 called “LeAnn and Eddie,” which airs Thursdays at 10:30 p.m. and is a must see!
I thoroughly enjoyed my conversation with her. LeAnn is funny, extremely intelligent, sensitive and unmistakably honest.
So you’ve come out with this extremely powerful and explosive remix. It’s really poppin’! You’ve done country and pop for a minute, so the obvious question is why EDM? What motivated you to decide to do this amazing remix?
Well, actually, all of my fans have been wanting this for a really long time. I mean, everybody seems to have remixes as singles, but never actually the album. It was time, it was time! We had a couple new tracks that were remixed, that we’ve played with and had been laying around. So it was actually perfect timing and a perfect mix of songs, obviously all the way back to when I was 14 years old. There’s amazing DJs on the album, and I’m proud of it.
Which song did you enjoy transforming the most?
Oh my gosh, that’s hard. There’s a song “Strong,” which is interesting cause it’s just the word strong through the whole thing. I love the choice of that. I think it’s really beautiful. It’s one of my favorite remixes on the record. I actually performed it at a thing called Gay Days in Orlando – the first time I’ve ever performed my remixes live – and when you see me live, I actually do sing the song over the remix. So to have it on the record and then be able to still sing the remix over it when I perform is pretty cool.
Do you plan a club tour?
Yeah! We’ve been dabbling with it and playing around with it, and it’s quite fun. We’re going to start doing more of that in the near future. You know, I have so many gay fans, it’s such a great venue for me to come and play on a one on one, to have a more intimate experience, and that energy is so incredible – it’s something, definitely. You know, I haven’t had that music, and I really want to build on it.
After “Coyote Ugly” you won the hearts of the gay community, and you have a huge gay following.
And they’ve always been there, and that’s why I really wanna build on that, because I’ve had so many dedicated fans, and I’ve never really been able to – I’m out 20 years – really do musically whatever I wanted, and that is something important to me. They obviously buy all kinds of music. They buy my other records, but there’s just something about giving them something they can really dance to in the clubs forever, and I’m excited to do maybe an actual, original dance record. I mean, I’ve done everything, and like I said, right now the greatest thing is that I can do whatever I wanna do. That audience has been untouched for a while, and I love to dance!
I absolutely loved the gay bar line dancing scene in your show “LeAnn and Eddie” recently.
Aww, thank you.
We have lesbian line dancing in our venues here.
That’s awesome.
I feel that you’re very brave and courageous, being famous so young and all that you’ve gone through. So could it be possible that we’ll see a book with your story in the future, followed by a movie, of course?
Oh, I don’t know. It’s funny cause I think a lot of people think they know my story or know me. I think that the show, as far as Eddie and myself are concerned, as far as our story and our relationship, it’s been one sided, so “wrong.” And as always, the story is told by the tabloid magazines, and people kind of make up whatever sells the magazine that week. I mean, I’m flattered that we sell magazines. It gives us the opportunity to sit back and laugh at it. I mean, that’s the way we do it. So, I don’t know what I’d write about. I don’t know if I’m quite there yet. Hopefully I’ll have enough material when I’m older to write a really long book.
Where would you like to be in 10 years?
Gosh, you know, I’m starting to see myself in 10 years. You know that I’m out of the label deal and trying to regroup. This is very much a reverse for me. What I wanna do, obviously music, that’s the basis for everything. I would like to design clothes maybe. I hope to see myself in a very peaceful place and kind of settled and feel it really.
Is your life very different than you’ve imagined it to be?
I don’t think I’ve ever imagined my life to be in one specific way. I’ve always kind of gone with the changes. I don’t like change at all. I never thought I’d be in a relationship like this. Actually, I did. I told my godmother that I was gonna have two boys that weren’t mine. I had a premonition, I guess.Most things in your life [are] like, wow, I never thought that this was gonna happen. But I [have] really learned and grown so much. I’m stronger for it, and a lot of rough moments have really been a real blessing.
If you were trapped inside a cyclone cellar, who would you hope to have for company, excluding family?
Excluding family…
Well, they could be there as well.
I would want – you know I’m a big food person – I would want a chef so that he could whip up whatever we had.
I saw you and Eddie on “The View” and on your show, and you guys looked so happy. How does it feel, though, to have a husband who is practically a gay idol?
It’s funny, I joke that Eddie is a gay man’s, especially, “wet dream,” because they listen to me sing and look at him.
Pretty much.
”The Power Gay Couple” – it’s funny to watch. It really is. I mean, he’s such a good sport about it. He’s very quiet actually. He loves what he does as an actor, but I know he never wanted to be like this hot, idolized, hot guy. When I would bring him out on stage sometimes – I have to drag him out – he hates it, but he’s so cute. Women and men alike. I mean, come on – even straight men look at me and go, “I’m not gay, but your husband is hot.” I got lucky! But yeah, it’s pretty cute to watch, to watch people just look at him and melt. But I see so much more than that in Eddie. I should!
Is there anything else you would like to tell our readers or promote?
I have a Christmas EP that will be out this year, and there will be EPs in the next three years.
Is the new album “Dance Like You Don’t Give A…” released yet?
Yeah, it will be available in any Walmart. You can buy it there.
And you will be dancing to it in all the hottest venues too!
be sure to catch “LeAnn and Eddie” on VH1 every Thursday at 10:30 p.m. The show is adorable, funny and daring….
Photo By: Sara Hertel
