judgeson
Nashville
Star,
USANetwork’s
realityshowalong the
linesof
American Idol
,
in2003. Lambertfin-
ishedasa thirdrunner-
up, andmusicexecutives
atEpicRecords took
noteandsigned the
feistyyet confident teen
toa recorddeal. Her
debut CD
Kerosene
sold
1.1million copies,
topped thecountry
chartsatNo. 1, andher
starkeepsrising.
CurrentlyLambert’sOnFire tour isoneof the
hottestandmost sought-after ticketsof theyear for
country fans (manyhavealreadysoldout). Shehas
touredwithcountrymusic legendsTobyKeith,Kenny
Chesney, andKeithUrban, andclearly loves lifeon the
road. “Country isdifferent thanpopasyou tourall
yearasopposed tosixmonthsonandoff,”shenotes.
“Everypersonon tour I learnedsomething from.My
first tourwaswithKeithUrbanand itmademewant
tostepupmygame immediately. I learnedsomuch
aboutperformance.Keith,Toby, andKennywereall
mentorswithoutknowing. Ihope topass thison.”She
occasionallyperformswithherall-girl band thePistol
Annies (with fellowsinger/songwritersAshleyMonroe
andAngaleenaPresley)andhasreceivedravereviews.
Inabusinesswheremost singers relyon thewords
of others, theyoung songstress isalsoa songwriter.
Lambertwrites from theheart, andat times, about
herself. “I try tobehonest inmymusic. It’smore
aboutwritingabout otherpeople’sproblems.”Often
hermusic is culled from stories sheheardasa child
—bothherparentswereprivate investigators—as
was the casewithherhit
CrazyEx-Girlfriend
. “Asa
songwriter,youcansometimeshidebehind the lyrics,”
she says. “In
Revolution,
I feel like I didn’t holdany-
thingback frommy fans. I let them inoneveryaspect
ofwhere I’mat in life right now.” Manyof her songs
hit close tohome suchas thepoignant
OverYou
. Co-
writtenwithherhusbandabout hisbrotherwhodied
ina caraccident, the songbecameoneof themost
popular singlesof her career.
Lambert certainly sings thepraisesof herother
half, BlakeShelton,who’snot onlyamajor country
music singerbut alsoa star judgeofNBC’s
TheVoice
.
InMayof 2011, the couple said “I do” inamuch-
publicizedmarriage,making them thepresent day
KingandQueenofCountryMusic. “Wemet singing
onaCMT [CountryMusicTelevision] duet showand
soonbecame friendsashehassuchagreatpersonality.”
They’vebeen together for several years, andLambert
iswell awareof theplusesandminusesof a show-
businessmarriage. “The challenge is thatweare
Mirandawith husband,
countrymusic singer
and star judge of NBC’s
The Voice
, Blake Shelton.
“
”
COVER STORY
Queen of Hearts, Queen of Country
45
celebratedliving.com
SUMMER 2012
