It's been four years since Country singer Trisha Yearwood recorded her last album. During her long break from music, the three-time Grammy winner reflected on her life and career. She also used the time to carefully choose songs for her comeback album. Trisha pays homage to her Georgia roots on "Jasper County."
Trisha Yearwood admits that everything is alright in her life these days. Along with the release of her new album Jasper County, the 41-year-old singer is engaged to marry Country superstar Garth Brooks. Garth proposed to Trisha at a public event in May in front of 7,000 fans.
She's equally excited about the early success of her first album in four years. Jasper County was named after the county in Georgia where she was born and raised. First week sales of the collection exceeded 117,000 copies to mark her best-selling first week ever.
Trisha only planned to take a year off from her career, and had actually picked an album's worth of songs to record back in 2003. She later realized, however, that they didn't inspire her, so she asked her producer, Garth Fundis, to help her find a new batch of songs. Trisha feels that taking the extra time helped her meet her goal of making "a traditional Trisha Yearwood album."
Guests on Jasper County include Trisha's fiancé Garth Brooks, Jessi Alexander, Jon Randall and Ronnie Dunn, who's half of the multi-million-selling duo Brooks and Dunn. Ronnie harmonizes with Trisha on the song "Try Me."
Since arriving on the Country scene in 1991, Trisha Yearwood has become one of the field's most successful female artists. She placed 10th on Country Music Television's list of 40 Greatest Women in Country Music, which also includes such legends as Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline.
Twelve years of constant touring helped Trisha achieve that success. The rigorous schedule led her to re-evaluate her life and priorities, however. Those feelings escalated following the September 11, 2001 terror attacks on America. Trisha says she asked herself, "If this all ends tomorrow, is this where I want to be?" Now she says, "Instead of my life having to accommodate my career, my career has to accommodate my life."
Trisha won't be spending 300 days a year on the road anymore, but she'll connect with her many fans during a 30-city tour, which began on September 17. She'll perform a similar number of concerts in mid-2006.
