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Martina McBride celebrates 20 years in country music with a new album, a meaningful charity, and a concert in Pittsburgh on February 27.

By Victoria Bradley  |  Photos Courtesy RCA

I do this thing when I’m interviewing celebrities for the magazine. I call it my “fan moment.” It’s the three minutes I allot to gush, to say exactly what I’ve always wanted to say — to Taylor Swift (“I knew that I was happy in my relationship when I was singing “Love Story” at the top of my lungs in the car.”), to Brandi Carlile (“Your version of ‘Hallelujah’ is the best ever recorded.”), to Kate Moennig (“That scene with you and Rosanna Arquette on The L Word…”), to Mario Batali (“You’re the Best Chef in America. Really. Like, that’s your title.”). Most recently, I had the true honor of a phone conversation with country star Martina McBride. I couldn’t help it; I started with:

“When you sang ‘Where Would You Be’ on the CMT Flameworthy Awards in 2001, and you were wearing that white suit, I completely died. I taped it, and I’ve watched it over and over again. You were my inspiration to buy a white suit! You were probably my inspiration for my breakup at the time!”

She says, “Thanks.”

She tells me she still loves to sing my favorite song live, “The important thing is that once I sing songs live for a while, they really evolve. ‘Where Would You Be’ has turned into one of my favorite songs to perform live. It’s just more passionate.”

She’s currently traveling on the “Shine All Night Tour,” a co-headlining show with Trace Atkins, scheduled to make tire marks into Pittsburgh on February 27 for a concert at Petersen Events Center. The tour celebrates McBride’s new album, Shine, her ninth studio album, said to be a shoo-in to land among her seven other “Gold” albums, as awarded certification by the Recording Industry Association of America. McBride has sold more than 16 million albums worldwide in her career and has won the Country Music Association’s “Female Vocalist of the Year” award four times. She’s also won the Academy of Country Music’s “Top Female Vocalist” award three times. This year, she was nominated for a “Best Female Country Vocal Performance” Grammy for her song, “I Just Call You Mine.”

 

(Left) McBride and her daughter, Delaney, campaign for loveisrespect.org.
(Right) Froggy 104.3 Program Director Dave Anthony, Froggy Afternoon Host Danger Frog, and Martina.
loveisrespect.org

But it’s her current single, “Wrong Baby Wrong Baby Wrong,” that has radio execs talking about a new industry standard.

“This track has the potential to be one of the biggest songs of her career,” says FROGGY Radio program director Frank Bell. “I usually don’t make statements like that because they come around to haunt me, but the tempo has some attitude, the chorus is catchy. With a little luck, it’ll end up being one of the biggest hits she’s had in several years.”

Bell believes that McBride still reigns supreme in the industry.

“In my opinion, she has the most powerful voice in country music,” the program director says, “heads and shoulders above anyone else. If you imagine her in the pop world, she falls among the ranks of Celine [Dion] and Mariah [Carey]. Martina can hold her own with any other singer in the business.”

Bell credits much of McBride’s success to her accessibility to fans. He remembers the last time the country star visited Pittsburgh, to perform the national anthem for the AFC Championship game, featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Baltimore Ravens. FROGGY Radio was broadcasting live outside of Jerome Bettis Grille 36 when McBride came out to play on the air with radio personality “Danger Frog.”

“She was interacting with fans, the whole nine yards,” Bell says. “And country fans can sniff out a phony — especially Pittsburgh country fans. Martina was as real and as authentic as it gets.”

It’s a celebrity that has lent itself to her charity work. McBride is currently teamed up with loveisrespect.org, a national helpline for teen dating abuse. They’ve recently rolled out a program called “My Time To Shine,” which provides live chat support by trained peer counselors.

“I’m the parent of a teenager — Delaney — and she hasn’t started dating yet,” McBride says, on the phone with me. “But, when you’re a teenager, you don’t really have any idea what dating is supposed to look like or what’s it’s really supposed to be. Now we have technology, which is a new way to abuse. I think a lot of teenage girls might, at first, think of it as attention, but constant texting and instant messaging can be dangerous, controlling.”

Sheryl Cates, the CEO of loveisrespect, says that McBride is the perfect spokesperson and role model.            “She’s fabulous,” Cates says. “She has such high esteem for her daughter, and you can tell that she wants for teens to have great relationships. She’s made it fun. She’s excited about the information, and she has taken it upon herself to talk eloquently and to get the word out.”

The awareness that McBride has given to the cause is unmatched. Cates says the credit goes to her stardom.

“It makes a huge difference,” the CEO says. “This information is getting in front of a new audience, a wide audience. It’s important for teens and parents to have these conversations early.”

McBride is also a spokeswoman for the National Domestic Violence Hotline and the National Network to End Domestic Violence. Naturally, her inspiration to get involved came through song.

“The thing that really inspired me to really get involved was the song ‘Independence Day,’” McBride says. “Ever since that song, I became really passionate about trying to do something to help women and children in an abusive relationships.”

The singer went on to record “Concrete Angel,” a track that deals with the realities of child abuse. In 2003, McBride was awarded the Minnie Pearl Humanitarian Award.

The affects of her work can be seen locally.

Jane Smith* checked into the Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh on Saturday, after five years in an relationship with a man who reportedly verbally and physically abused her. By Tuesday, she was ready to talk to me on the phone. It was a much different call than the one I had with Martina McBride. This is conversation quiet, with pauses for tears and deep breaths.

“I knew I had to get out when the very last person I had in my life walked out because they didn’t want to deal with it any more,” Smith says.

She tells me that she her boyfriend put a gun to her head — years after he started monitoring her cell phone calls and texts, bank statements, and visits with friends and family. She found the Women’s Center and Shelter through an ad in the newspaper and called.

“Every time I was in trauma, I got the same lady on the phone,” Smith says. “Today’s the first day I got to meet her. Today, I got to express my appreciation to her. Maybe there are women who hear country songs and who listen to Martina McBride and then they find their shelters. But the first time you meet the woman who talked you through the hardest times, you’ll feel like you’re meeting a celebrity.”

Her “fan moment” trumps all of mine. Her call is one I’ll remember and quietly recount when I score interviews with country stars, top actors, and celebrity chefs. And the next time Martina calls, hers will be the first story I share — even before a gush about the white suit.

Martina McBride, martinamcbride.com. National Teen Dating Abuse Helpline, 866.331.9474, loveisrespect.org. Women’s Center and Shelter of Greater Pittsburgh, 877.338.8255.

*Name has been changed.