JoDee Messina
Sometimes, you need a little brashness in order to achieve success. That, and a knack for survival. JoDee Messina has demonstrated both.
Her ambition to be a star was evident early. At 16, this native of Massachusetts put together her own band -- and we do mean put together. She sang, handled publicity, did all the bookings, even ran the sound board from the stage. At SIXTEEN.
Ambition means little without talent, of course. JoDee's talent is obvious now, but for years she was just another singer struggling to first get a contract, then get some respect from her record label. Her first recording deal fell through after a change in management at the label. And so it was that, while backstage during one of good friend Tim McGraw's shows at Fan Fair one year, she approached an executive from another label and blurted, "I was thinking ya'll need a redhead on this label."
That brash approach caught his attention, and she got a contract out of it. Of course, she says now that she was so na�ve she didn't realize such a direct approach to a label executive was bad form. "If I had the rule book in front of me now, I don't think I would have come to where I am," she was quoted in her official biography, distributed by Curb Records.
How good a friend is McGraw? He paid for her first album out of his own pocket, after reluctance from the label.
McGraw's money, and his faith in Messina's talent, have since been repaid many times over. JoDee is a full-fledged star, and her latest release, "Burn" -- co-produced by McGraw and Byron Gallimore -- hit the charts at No. 1.
Photo courtesy JoDee Messina Fan Page
Photo courtesy Taz's Pictures
Photo courtesy Taz's Pictures
Photo courtesy
JoDee Messina Fan Page
Photo courtesy JoDee Messina Fan Page
Photo courtesy vlsles/Yahoo Clubs
Photo courtesy
Son_N_Ron/Yahoo Clubs
Photo courtesy kikfm.com