| Show yS ? Is- o'Wi Messina McGraw among music award contenders By JOHN CROOK TVData Features Syndicate A formidable list of performers and nominees has been assembled for the 34th annual “Academy of Country Music Awards” airing Wednesday at 7 pm on KUTV Channel 2 And in a story worthy of a country ballad many viewers will be watching nominee Jo Dee Messina with special interest during the ceremonies Messina has survived what looked like a career catastrophe and come back stronger than ever with “I'm Alright” an album that earned her ACM nominations as top new female vocalist and overall best female vocalist as well as album of the year “My first album (“Jo Dee Messina”) was released in January 996 and we got a couple of hit singles off it” the Boston-bre- d singer explains “But the third single stumbled so we decided to wait for the second album for our next single” Unfortunately that second album “I’m 8 Alright” was a long time in coming months to be exact and that delay coupled with a popular but expensive tour backed the young singer up against a financial wall It’s not surprising that “I’m Alright” has attitude about a determined it - one that resonates with old and new fans alike “My fans are the best and they come up and say ‘I want to give a copy of “Lesson in Leavin’ ” to my boyfriend If you only ’ knew and I say T know! I know! Believe me!’” In fact Messina says during her live performances she asks her audiences how many have been dumped “And I raise my hand as high as I can” she explains “I really relate to my fans and I try to spend as much time as possible with them” Messina says her parents split when she was 4 but she remains close to both and probably gets her stubbornness in equal measure from the two of them “I think that's who I am If I see something I want - say a quarter across the yard but there’s an electric fence -- 1 will keep trying to find a way to get there” she says “And I don’t even mean in terms of my career I mean with life in general It’s never a question of ‘Can I have it?’ It’s ‘How can I have it?’ ” Messina's competition for album of the year includes releases by such country giants as Garth Brtxvks Faith llill Dixie Chicks and George Strait and she admits she'd love to vs in 1 - MAY 1 -- 8 1999 - 1 Tim McGraw is among the performers vying for top honors as entertainer of the year at the 34th annual ‘Academy of Country Musii wards ‘airing Wednesday at 7 pm on KUTV Channel 2 Scheduled to perform arg Jo Dee Messina Garth Brooks Faith Hill Alan Jackson Brooks & Dunn Martina Mi ide and Reha McEntire j “I probably will be stressed" she says laughing “but vs hat I am really looking forward to is performing I performed at the (Country Music Awards) last year and I was so scared I don't even remember my performance I remember my chest hurting so much I thought was having a heart attack” While Messina says she has done her fair share of big concerts she hadn’t had to perform in front of Brooks and Shama Twain before “I mean come on! All I remember clearly is thinking ‘Oh my God am going to die on national teles ision1’ 1 1 1 Standard-Examine- r hope I've gotten up enough nerve this time to just do it and I look forward to it” she says Messina says the past year with its over-helming public enthusiasm has been like a dream - topped by a surreal encounter with one of her country music idols At home in bed with the flu she answered the phone ‘‘Hi Jo Dee! I just hxxxxwe ‘Bye Bye'” Messina says affecting singer Reba McFntire’s distinctive drawl “I'm thinking ‘This is a sick joke' but I finally realized it really was her I mean who else talks like that?” 47 w |
