Faith Hill reaches the top with There You’ll Be

I used to get her confused with Faith Evans. It was stupid. But they were both new, were named Faith and came on the international music scene at around the same time. Both were also linked to famous men. Evans was married to the late rapper Notorious B.I.G. It was for him that she did that heartfelt tribute Every Step I Take with Puff Daddy. Hill, on the other hand, is married to country music star Tim McGraw. And that is the keyword in Faith’s case, country. Faith Evans is R&B. Faith Hill is the latest country music diva who has successfully crossed over to the pop charts in a big way. Besides, there was no way anymore that we could mistake her for someone else after she caused a sensation when she appeared in the video of her song Breathe wearing only a white bedsheet.

Those still missing Shania Twain now have reason to rejoice. Before Faith came along, Canadian import Shania was country music’s reigning cross-over star. She was winning a lot of awards and charting all over the world with one hit song after another in the pop charts. Then like Celine, she retired to have a baby and now seems to have chosen motherhood over stardom. Twain has not recorded for quite sometime. Neither have we had any news about her. So it can be said that her throne was vacant and Faith came along at the right time to fill the void.

Faith Hill looks every inch a star. She was the beautiful face in Cover Girl ads about a year ago. Slim with a winning smile, the former prom queen has the sort of movie star good looks that light up glossy magazines, whether clad in casual denims or silk Armani gowns. She has in fact, become so much of a fashion icon that the news that she had chopped off her long, blonde locks sent the public into a frenzy of disapproval. Of course she sounds as good as she looks, with a sexy, soulful voice that goes from country to soul with remarkable ease.

Although the Mississippi-born Faith sang as a child in the Baptist Church her parents attended, no one thought she would end up a singer. She only started singing professionally after working for six years as a secretary and after her divorce from her first husband. Today though she has sold more than 20 million records worldwide and has garnered 11 number one singles, 11 number one videos and lots of awards. Aside from her success as a solo act, she and her husband, McGraw, who is also a consistent hitmaker and big singing star, are now considered the leading country music couple, a pairing often compared to the legendary George Jones and Tammy Wynette.

Breathe is her biggest hit. That album has already sold more than six million copies. It also produced another big seller in The Way You Love Me. Before that though there was This Kiss. Elegant and richly textured, the song rocked, cooed and easily broke through the country barrier. Recently, there was There You’ll Be, the lovely ballad composed by Diane Warren, which is the biggest proof that Faith has indeed reached the top. The song was used as the theme for the big-budgeted World War II romance Pearl Harbor. Of course, it also became a hit.

There You’ll Be first came out in the Pearl Harbor soundtrack album. However, it is now also available as the title track of Faith’s latest album. This one is a collection of her earlier recordings like This Kiss, Breathe, The Way You Love Me, which both come in two different mixes and If My Heart Has Wings. It is interestingly diverse, but like most country albums is also very personal. The latter, I believe, is Faith’s main hold on her audience. She oozes with sincerity. She sounds as though she is sharing her emotions with her listeners, be it with her romantic duets with her husband or a cover of some standard.

Other songs in the album are Let Me Let Go, Piece of My Heart, There Will Come a Day, Love Will Always Win, My Wild Frontier, You Give Me Love, Somewhere Down the Road and the timeless favorite Over the Rainbow.