LeAnn Rimes

=== 1996: Country music breakthrough with ''Blue'' ===
{{listen|filename=LeAnn Rimes--Blue--audio.ogg |title="Blue"|description=In 1996 and at age 13, Rimes had her breakthrough song on the country charts with "Blue". The song won multiple awards and drew comparisons to the music of [[Patsy Cline]]. |format=[[Ogg]]||pos=right}}
After signing with Curb Records, Rimes recorded a new version of "Blue" as a single. However, Rimes told a BBC radio program in October 2016<ref>{{cite web |title = Woman's Hour |url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07zxgn0 |website = BBC |access-date = November 6, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20161027045146/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07zxgn0 |archive-date = October 27, 2016 }}</ref> that the record company accidentally released the version she had recorded as an 11-year-old. She said it was this version that peaked at number ten on the [[Hot Country Songs|''Billboard'' Country Chart]].<ref name="cmtbio">{{cite web |url = http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/rimes_leann/bio.jhtml |title = LeAnn Rimes: Biography |publisher = Country Music Television |access-date = February 14, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090208155146/http://www.cmt.com/artists/az/rimes_leann/bio.jhtml |archive-date = February 8, 2009 }}</ref> Writers and critics drew comparisons to Rimes with that of [[Patsy Cline]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Takeda |first1=Allison |title=LeAnn Rimes Thought About Sex to Stop Crying During Patsy Cline Tribute |journal=[[US Weekly]] |date=December 12, 2013 |url=https://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/leann-rimes-thought-about-sex-to-stop-crying-during-patsy-cline-tribute-20131212/ |access-date=December 19, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Pressley |first1=Sue Ann |title=THEY'RE CRAZY FOR THIS GIRL |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1996/06/22/theyre-crazy-for-this-girl/ed222b4d-6eef-4c71-b98b-9589a6e3262f/ |access-date=December 19, 2021 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=July 22, 1996}}</ref> Promotion for the single incorrectly said that Rimes was the first person to record the song. The statement proved false as the song had been recorded by multiple artists over the years including Bill Mack himself. Nonetheless, the media attention to "Blue" further added to the belief that Rimes was the successor to Cline's legacy.<ref name="allmusicbio" />

Rimes third album of the [[Blue (LeAnn Rimes album)|same name]] was also released in 1996.<ref name="allmusicbio"/><ref name="book-pg334" /><ref name="roughguide">{{cite book |last = Wolff |first = Kurt |title = Country Music: The Rough Guide |editor = Orla Duane |publisher = Rough Guides Ltd. |location = London |chapter = Ch. 13 – Hunks, Hat Acts, and Young Country Darlings: Nashville in the 1990s }}</ref> The disc sold 123,000 copies in its first week, the highest figure in [[SoundScan]] history at that time. It peaked at number one on the [[Top Country Albums]] and debuted at number three on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] albums chart, eventually selling a total of four million copies in the United States and eight million copies worldwide.<ref name="roughguide" /><ref name="allmusicbio" /><ref name="people">{{cite magazine |url = http://www.people.com/people/leann_rimes/biography |title = LeAnn Rimes Biography: People.com |magazine = [[People Magazine|People.com]] |access-date = February 14, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090203211232/http://www.people.com/people/leann_rimes/biography |archive-date = February 3, 2009 }}</ref> [[AllMusic]] considered the album to be "delightful" and that it could "help inspire other young teens".<ref>{{cite web|url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r237851|pure_url=yes}}|title=''Blue'' album review|last=M. Haney|first=Shawn|website=allmusic|access-date=February 14, 2009}}</ref> Rimes followed up the single with "[[One Way Ticket (Because I Can)]]". The song became her first and only number one single on the ''Billboard'' Country Chart.<ref name="Country Songs">{{cite magazine |title=LeAnn Rimes chart history (Country Songs) |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/leann-rimes/chart-history/csa/ |magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]] |access-date=December 19, 2021}}</ref> A remake of [[Eddy Arnold]]'s 1955 hit "[[The Cattle Call]]" was later released as a single as well.<ref name="book-pg334" /><ref name="cmtbio" /> ''Blue'' would also spawn the charting single "Hurt Me" and the top five country song "[[The Light in Your Eyes]]".<ref name="Country Songs"/>

With the album's success Rimes received many major industry awards. In 1997 at 14 years old she became the youngest person to win a [[Grammy Awards|Grammy]], for [[Best New Artist]] and [[Best Female Country Vocal Performance]] for "Blue". She was also the first Country music artist to win the Best New Artist category.<ref name="allmusicbio" /> The same year she won the [[Country Music Association]]'s "Horizon Award" for Best New Artist Of The Year, becoming the youngest person to ever be nominated and win a Country Music Association award.<ref name="CMA">{{cite web |title=CMA Past Winners & Nominees: LeAnn Rimes |url=https://cmaawards.com/past-winners-and-nominees/?appSession=41TJ1XHB3N4UU5XN770757J8CT563BA4959GO00NOAHKS1KD73LB22X6NOY352RA370ZCCB3J3EEBA9400G10A3B6OWO44Q735E73PK550GLO82K7733LM3ZVMHE47E9 |publisher=[[Country Music Association]] |access-date=December 18, 2021}}</ref> She was nominated for similar awards from the [[Academy of Country Music]].<ref name="ACM">{{cite web |title=Search winners: LeAnn Rimes |url=https://www.acmcountry.com/winners?awardTitle=leann+rimes&awardCategory=&awardYear=&actionButton=Submit |website=[[Academy of Country Music Awards]] |access-date=December 18, 2021}}</ref>