LeAnn Rimes has become a staple in country music. With all the tacky, hit grabbing headlines aside, Rimes has been consistently performing, recording, and releasing quality music for almost two decades. Since her mega-debut at the age of 14 with the hit album Blue, Rimes has become a country music force to be reckoned with. Multi-talented, LeAnn Rimes has had country music success, pop music success, cinema success, and has become one of the industry’s biggest philanthropic artists.
Rimes most recent full length release was the successful 2015 holiday album, Today Is Christmas reaching number two on both the Billboard Top Holiday Albums, Independent Albums, as well as breaking into the top ten Top Country Albums. With a Christmas tour, seasonal performances, and holiday appearances, Rimes is back on the road for a busy 2016 with a brand new musical style and vocally charged acoustic performances.
4 March 2016, Rimes took to the Casino Rama stage, located in Rama, Canada. Casino Rama is a fantastic and beloved venue by artists of every caliber. Bringing world class entertainers to Canada, it comes as no surprise that Rimes returned to the venue once again for another great evening of music.
The evening started off with “Commitment,” which was a Top 5 hit for Rimes back in 1998. Dressed in a light floral print dress and black knee high boots, Rimes looked confident, energetic, and enthused to be on stage. Rimes let us know right out of the gate that these songs would sound totally familiar and completely brand new all at the same time. Tempo and arrangement changes turned this song into a more mature sounding love song. A lot different from the songs very first appearance on Rimes’ 1998 release, Sittin’ on Top of the World. In top vocal form, Rimes broke out some particularly high notes to emphasize her passion for the new sound.
Another successful new arrangement, Rimes took her first number one hit, “One Way Ticket (Because I Can)” and turned it into a completely beautiful ballad, mashed it up with the Tracy Chapman hit, “Fast Car.” “One Way Ticket (Because I Can)” became an instant number one hit as the third single from Rimes’ debut release, Blue. I would absolutely love if this new arrangement of “One Way Ticket” happens to surface as a new cut on an upcoming album. Hint, hint.
Since the dawn of her career, LeAnn Rimes has had the constant comparison to the legendary Patsy Cline
Rimes has never been shy about her admiration of the legendary country music vocalist. Recording and performing many of Cline’s biggest hits throughout her entire career, Rimes was sure to include a stunning medley of some of Cline’s biggest hits. “Leavin’ On Your Mind/Walkin’ After Midnight/Crazy/Sweet Dreams” seamlessly melted into one huge powerhouse performance, ending with Rimes belting out “Sweet Dreams” acapella and not leaving a dry eye in the house.
Rimes took the time to introduce songs and call out the names of some of those who requested specific songs via social media and Rimes’ official website. One of the night’s best performances and set list selections belonged to Rimes performing her rendition of the 1995 Jann Arden hit, “Insensitive.” Rimes explained what the song meant to her, and how she came to record it back in 1998. Performing the song acoustically, it was a perfect showcase of everything that is LeAnn Rimes, her vocal talents, stage presence, and overall humble demeanor.
The night also included some of Rimes’ more up-tempo tunes; “Can’t Fight the Moonlight” The theme from Coyote Ugly, “Something’s Gotta Give,” “Nothin’ Better to Do,” and “I Need You” all brought thunderous applause and cheers from fans. Rimes also performed the song that started it all, “Blue” in a way that shows the maturity of her vocal and music creativity and stylings. Full of emotion Rimes also performed “How Do I Live,” “He Stopped Loving Her Today, “Probably Wouldn’t Be This Way,” and closed with the semi-biographical “What I Cannot Change.” Performing the famed Elton John classic “Rocket Man” as her one and only encore, fans still could not get enough of Rimes.
With the most recent success of her holiday release Today Is Christmas, Rimes has hinted on her website that 2016 will be a very exciting year; “2016 is an exciting new year for me. Hopefully for you too! I’ve got new music coming your way. New tours. We’ve been having fun creating different musical experiences. Each tour and show having a bit of a different “hook.” There really are so many new adventures just around the corner. So many new roads for us to travel down together. No two shows will be the same this year!” With many tour dates down, and still more to go, my suggestion is to catch Rimes in action this year. Hopefully with each tour date being vastly different, this will create a one-of-a-kind experience for fans all over North America.