Terri Clark tried in vain to focus on the questions at a mini press conference Friday night. But she couldn't ignore the sound of hundreds of fans chanting her name over and over again. "That's so distracting," she giggled. "I've never heard them go on like that for so long before." It's mind-bogglinig. I can't understand why they like me so much."

Clark, a Medicine Hat native, returned to her home province to perform at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose. "It's neat to come back here. That's when I realize how much has happened to me. It takes me back to when I was 16 thinking about doing this." Bad weather in Sal Lake City almost forced Clark to miss the show. She was in Calgary at 3 pm and still had to drive to Camrose. Lucky for her, a sever thunderstorm warning postponed the Jamboree. She hit the stage at 7:40 pm.

Clark said most people in the US have no idea where Medicine Hat is. They always want to know if it's ttwo words or one. And journalists are always asking her how she ever became interested in country music living in Canada. "They think we live in igloos or something. They don't realize how big country music is here."

A bad case of jet lag had Clark feeling exhausted before Friday's show. But she said there'sno way she can let that bother her. "Most of these people haven't seen me perform before." "You can't look at it like just another show. If you do rotten, they're all going to tell everybody."