Country star LeAnn Rimes talks love, life and music

Rimes, 33, has spent the past two decades carving out a career as a powerhouse performer. Since making her professional debut at age 11, she’s won two Grammy Awards, released 16 albums and recorded some of the genre’s most enduring hits, including “How Do I Live,” “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” and “You Light Up My Life.”

Rimes comes to San Luis Obispo on Saturday for a special Valentine’s Day weekend show that’s sure to appeal to romance-minded fans. (Proceeds benefit charities supported by Rotary Club of San Luis Obispo de Tolosa.)

“It’s the first show of the year (for me),” the singer-songwriter said, adding that she’s looking forward to taking the stage again. “It’ll be really fun. It will be really intimate.”

Born in Jackson, Miss., and raised in Garland, Texas, Rimes followed a speedy path to stardom.

Before turning 10, she made her stage debut in a Dallas production of “A Christmas Carol,” appeared on the TV talent competition “Star Search” and performed “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Dallas Cowboys football games.

“I was 5 when I started singing on stage,” Rimes said. “There isn’t a moment when I don’t remember entertaining … or being in front of people.”

She inked her first record deal, with independent label Nor Va Jak, at the age of 11. Two years later, she signed with Curb Records, which released her breakthrough album, “Blue,” in 1996.

“When you’re 11 and signing a record deal, you think that it’s really cool,” she said. But, she added, it’s difficult for a child performer to grasp the enormity of that decision.

Rimes was just 14 when she garnered her first Grammys, snagging awards for best new artist and best female country vocal performance for her cover of Bill Mack’s “Blue.” She further cemented her fame with her hugely successful sophomore release, 1997’s “You Light Up My Life: Inspirational Songs.”

Asked whether she ever considered a different career path, Rimes paused, then listed a number of alternative occupations: dermatologist, interior designer, psychiatrist.

“When I was little, I told my mom I was going to be the first woman baseball player,” recalled Rimes, who was “super into softball” at the time.

“I had all of these options as a kid, but music ultimately is … what my path is,” she said. “There’s no question in my mind that it’s what I was born to do.”

Rimes said she’s worked hard over the years to find balance between her busy career and her personal life. In addition to her recording career, she’s acted in a handful of television shows and movies and published a novel, two children’s books and the self-help book “What I Cannot Change.”

“Right now, my music and my family are my two big focuses,” said the singer, who lives in Los Angeles with her husband, “Sunset Beach” actor Eddie Cibrian. (The two, who co-starred in the brief-lived VH1 reality show “LeAnn & Eddie,” met on the set of the 2009 made-for-TV movie “Northern Lights.”)

“I’m diving deeper into my songwriting,” she added. “Everything in my life has given me this big, empathetic heart (with which) to communicate through my music.”

In fact, Rimes is working on a new album that she described as “definitely very soulful.” As yet untitled, it comes on the heels of her 2015 holiday album, “Today Is Christmas.”

“There’s a maturity to this (new) recording” similar to her 2013 album, “Spitfire,” Rimes said.

With “Spitfire,” which earned critical acclaim for its authenticity but had limited commercial success, “I was very open and very honest and made a record different than any record that I had ever made before,” Rimes said.

Now, she added, “I feel like I’m coming home for the first time. I feel like I’m doing the things I want to do and saying the things I want to say.”

Getting to that place, Rimes acknowledged, has been an ongoing struggle that she’s shared with her fans via Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.

“The more vulnerable I get, the more there are things thrown in my path that make me afraid to be vulnerable,” said the singer.

“It’s a daily practice of remaining open enough to be an artist,” Rimes explained. “It’s revealing part of yourself and being terrified to reveal that. I’ve definitely been working on that part, to be more open … (and) authentic about it with the stories I share and the feelings I share.”

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 12:48 PM with the headline "Country star LeAnn Rimes talks love, life and music."