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In just six years, Faith Hill has sold more than 11 million records, garnered eight No. 1 singles and ten No. 1 videos. This past year alone, she received countless nominations and statues from the Country Music Association, the Grammy Awards, the Academy of Country Music Awards, Blockbuster Awards and TNN Music City News Awards. She celebrated the enormous crossover success of her first platinum single, “This Kiss,” which culminated with her appearance on the 1999 VH1 Divas Live, where she shared the same stage with Tina Turner, Cher and Whitney Houston.
She was named the newest face for CoverGirl Cosmetics and graced the cover of numerous magazines as diverse as Country Weekly, People, TV Guide and Glamour. After completing a 50-city tour-her first headline series of performances-she found herself back in the studio with barely six weeks to finish Breathe, the follow-up to the now quadruple-platinum 1998 release, Faith. “This past year has been a complete whirlwind,” explains Hill. “I haven’t had time to take a breath. But I was on a creative high, I already had a few songs that I had recorded, and if you can believe it, I felt that the time was right to make another record.” Breathe, a musically diverse and soulful recording produced by Hill and Faith producers Byron Gallimore and Dann Huff, is remarkably close to an autobiographical collection of 13 tracks.
The album focuses on the things closest to her heart and her selection of tracks is sure to give listeners a personal look at what makes this remarkable talent tick. “The music that I make has to be right for me at the right time,” says Hill. “It has to have meaning. When I sing a song, I am in that song…and hopefully people hear and feel that. I can’t draw that line of trust with my fans if I don’t sing from my heart every time I’m in front of a microphone.”
From the title track, which mirrors Hill’s professional juggernaut, to the energetic “I Got My Baby” and powerful “If My Heart Had Wings,” Hill sings with attitude, vision and purpose on Breathe. Her fourth recording takes the listener on a journey that ranges from the passionate ballad “Let’s Make Love” (a duet with country superstar and husband Tim McGraw), to the uplifting spirit and sincere message of “There Will Come A Day.” Hill even finds a place to pay tribute to her fans, with “Bringing Out The Elvis,” and to Bruce Springsteen, with a stirring rendition of “If I Should Fall Behind.” “It was the first time I ever cried while in the studio,” said Hill. “I couldn’t have made this album and not recorded “If I Should Fall Behind.’ After seeing and meeting Bruce at one of his shows, that song took on a special meaning for me. The lyrical content is devastating and the message just hits you in your soul.”
Hill’s desire to perform and record songs close to her heart set her on a path to explore new musical and emotional territories. This innate drive is what stands at the core of this chanteuse’s success. “I reached a certain place last year, a certain level of success, and now its time to go to another place,” explains Hill. “In order to succeed you can’t be afraid to fail. I consider Breathe a mixture of musical styles that reflects my love for country, pop, gospel and rhythm and blues. Yes, I decided to take some chances here musically-as an artist that is who I am. I’ve always tried to achieve and to do better.”
But Hill hasn’t forgotten the bottom line. “There’s got to be something for the fans to connect to in order for them to go out and spend their hard-earned money on a Faith Hill recording,” says Hill. “I’m constantly thinking about them. I hope they realize that and like the direction that I am going.” With her breakout success this past year, Hill has found herself in a unique position.
Those country fans who have purchased her records for the past five years no longer find themselves alone. Hill has been introduced to the industry’s proverbial mainstream. With a new contingency of fans who might not otherwise have known about her if not for the huge success of “This Kiss,” her appearance on VH1’s Divas and her new nationwide print and television campaign as CoverGirl Cosmetics’ newest face, Hill finds herself releasing a new recording for a new audience for the second time.
“I just need to stay true to who I am,” Hill says confidently. “I could never just go out and make a pop record or, for that matter, a traditional country album. I can only do what seems natural for me, what is real to me. I just hope that in the end it works. I hope that I can create something, along with my producers and musicians, that will work across the board. As many people as I can reach with my music, I think that’s every musician’s goal.” And how has the 32-year-old Mississippi-born Hill learned to deal with motherhood, marriage and her newfound super-stardom? “The biggest issue for me now is how to take it all in,” says Hill. “It’s a challenge. I’m just learning how to take time for myself. Frankly, the thing that I want most out of life is normality. It’s difficult, but I try to find time for myself. It’s a daily struggle, certainly not a daily accomplishment.”
But you can count on one thing. Whether or not Faith Hill finds time to “breathe,” she will always stay true to those things that got her here: dedication, passion, focus and her commitment to keeping la vie en rose or life in the pink-Faith’s favorite Edith Piaf expression-for herself, her fans and those close to her. “Everything is going great,” says Hill. “Each day I try to get as much out life as I can-to keep it real, sincere and very honest. Hopefully, people can get that from my music.
And if I’m lucky, one day there will be a little spot carved away somewhere that says I made a contribution.” Her list of early gigs reads like that of many country artists - a pre-smoky dive mandatory schedule of church choir work, national anthem renderings for such down-home events as Mississippi tobacco-spitting contests, and a string of country fairs and rodeos. But not every girl who belts out “…and the home of the brave” at the tobacco-spitting contest ends up belting it out at Superbowl 2000. Not every rodeo chanteuse has enough music award hardware to pen a bull.
Faith Hill, pretty cheerleader and member of a teen country band, dropped out of community college to pursue her singing career in America’s country music mecca, Nashville, Tennessee. As the supposed student-receptionist of singer Gary Morris, she was “caught” one day singing along to the radio, and encouraged by Morris to continue in music. After countless Nashville club dates, including a stint as backup singer for Gary Burr, the 25-year-old was “discovered” in 1992 while singing in a café, and signed to Warner Bros. Records. Hill debuted at the Grand Ole Opry and released her first album, Take Me As I Am, in her first year with the company. The album single Wild One remained at number one on the country charts for four weeks, and the awards started to roll in. The performer was named Best New Female Vocalist by the Academy of Country Music that year, and with each subsequent album release the Grammy, TNN Music City News, and ACM nominations piled up.
Take Me As I Am was followed by It Matters To Me (1995), Faith (1998), and Breathe (1999), with the biggest singles timed for successful staggered release - Wild One (1993), But I Will (1994), Piece of My Heart (1994), Let’s Go to Vegas (1995), It Matters To Me (1995), This Kiss (1998), Breathe (1999), and The Way You Love Me (2000). This Kiss marked Hill’s first huge cross-over country-pop success, hitting a predictable number one on the country charts and a surprising number five on the pop charts. Sold -out cross-country tours and record sales in the millions nicely rounded out the award show appearances and critical acclaim.
Off-stage, much was made in the press of Hill’s first meeting with her biological mother in 1993 (Hill was adopted when an infant and christened Audrey Faith Perry). She married (1987) and divorced (1993) Dan Hill, a music publishing company employee; she and fellow singer, Tim McGraw married in 1996 and have two daughters. Hill has lent her name to The Faith Hill Literacy Project, and to commercial advertising. She sings Where Are You Christmas on the soundtrack of the movie, How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000), and is currently filming the video. A tour headliner, cross-over chart topper, million-seller and award-winning singer who, in a tough industry, is criticized for nothing but her fashion choices, Hill not only had what it takes to get to the top - it appears she has what it takes to stay there.
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