She`s been performing since she was five, released her first album at the age of 13 and sold 26 million during her teenage years. But just a few years ago LeAnn Rimes, who`s just turned 21, almost gave up her career as she struggled to cope with the pressure of fame. After performing more than 500 shows in three short years, she was forced to retiere from the limelight for a while just to keep her sanity. "I had a complete bournout," recalls LeAnn in her sot Southern twang. "I had to take two years off to recover and just try and get back to nornal again. I was getting caught up in the whole industry and I wasn`t enjoying it any more."
It got to the stage where she was breaking down in tears after most concerts and hat to be carried off the stage several times because she was simply too exausted to sing. "I was in a fishbowl," she says. "I couldn`t go anywhere or do anything. i grew up fast because i had to and being in the industry meant I was always surrounded by adults. It became very intense and very stressful and I realised that i didn`t have a life outside the business," she remembers. "It would have been so easy to get caught up in drugs , but I was raised in a strong family unit and I just bypassed that completely. But it did get to stage where if I didn`t take time off I was never going to perfo again."
Thankfully it never came to that, but LeAnn di sue both her dad Wilbur and co-manager Lyle Walker, claiming that the pair embezzled her out of 5 Million Pfung in as many years. The dispute was settled last year, but details of he settlement remain under wraps.
LeAnn will only say tht she ow enjoys a close relationship with both her mother and father, who are divorced.
"Things are great with my dad and everythings`s wonderful. Things change and so do people, �s all she`ll add. The voice behind the classic hits How do I ove you and Can`t fight the moonlight, freshfaced LeAnn looks more like a pop star than one of the world`s biggest-selling country artists. Speaking exclusively to NOW, she`s the first to admit that, after her enforced break, life couldn`t get much better at the moment. She`s back touring again, she celebrated her 21st birthday on 28 August and she`s blissfully in love with her husband Dean Sherement, 22. "Married life is just great", she says with a laugh. "It`s so much fun to be married and have connection with someone knowing that you can`t just up and walk away from it."
LeAnn decided to marry her dance boyfriend after a whirlwind romance. She met him at the Acadamy Of Country Music Awards in May 2000, they were engaged within two years.
"I got married at 19. For most people it`s a very young age, but I was 19 going on 30. Dean was the right person and it felt like the right thing to do", she admits "I ove him to death and we`re the best friends. We were having so much fun together that we had no reason to wait. It was crazy because my mum ha to sign a waiver so I could dring champagne on my weeding day because I was still under 21."
Two years on, LeAnn couldn`t be happier with Dean and credits him for bringing the fun back into her life. "He`s a true comedian and laugh a lot. I`m definitely the adult out of us two. I grew up having to be so responsible at a very young age and Dean really brings the child out of me. I think Dean`s given my life a whole new meaning. We realise that the most important thing is keeping family together."
LeAnn is refreshingly down to earth. After spending five years in Los Angeles, she`s just moved to Nashville and admits that she`s much happier hanging out at home with Dean and their seven dogs rather than partying with other celebrities. "I don`t really have any fmaous friends - apart from Elton John," she muses. "He`s a great guy ans we kept in contact after working together a few years ago. But apart from that I�m not really keen on being part of te whole scene."
Mississippi-born LeAnn has always stood out from her counterparts such as Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. She became an overnight star at the age of just 13, thanks to her massive debut hit Blue. But during her absence from the scene her rivals appeared to eclipse her - until now. She`S back in the limelight again, having recorded the theme song We can for Reese Witherspoon`s movie sequel Legally Blonde 2. "I`m a big fan of Legally Blonde and after i was sent clips of the new film, I just knew it was something I`d want to get involved in," she enthuses.
"Everything`s going on really well for me and as far as the future goes, I just take each day as it comes - but this is the happiest I`ve been in a long time."
Selina Julien
Magazine NOW