Holidays or not, for Martina, there’s no place like home
A dog barks in the background as Martina McBride discusses her “family show.” The country star is calling from her Nashville home, which she shares with John, her husband of 16 years, and their two daughters: Delaney, 10, and Emma, 6.
“I got one on the way,” says the singer, who’s three months pregnant. “We don’t know what we’re having yet.”
Before she gets further along in the pregnancy, McBride hit the road with her extravagant, family-oriented holiday show, “The Joy of Christmas.” She has been doing the concert for the past three years.
“I wanted to put together a show that combined elements of Broadway,” says the 38-year-old Kansas native and four-time winner of the Country Music Association’s award for female vocalist of the year (including this year).
“I wanted it to be more than just singing in a gown in front of an orchestra. It’s kinda multimedia with enormous screens in the back behind the props. We have a scene where we’re in Victorian England, and you see the English clock tower on the screens. It’s not just my face on the screens all the time.”
Because the stage is filled with so many props, there’s no room for a band or an orchestra, so McBride uses pre-recorded tracks. But she promises that her vocals will be live throughout.
Which is a good thing, because she is undoubtedly one of the best female singers in country music – a smart, emotional interpreter with a clear, strong tone and wide range.
Her songs are often inspirational, “You go, girl!” odes to resilient women – like her recent hit, “This One’s for the Girls.” She’s had six No. 1 singles, including her signature, 1993’s “Independence Day.”
In the two-hour Christmas show, McBride performs such tried-and-true holiday standards as “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” “The Christmas Song (Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire)” and “Silver Bells.”
Those songs and others are also included on her “White Christmas” album. Released in 1999, it is still a consistent seller, garnering a platinum certification last year.
Her latest album and seventh overall, “Martina,” came out last September and has sold more than 2 million copies.
It was recorded in a state-of-the-art Nashville studio McBride and her sound engineer husband recently purchased. She was able to lay down her vocals and take breaks to cook dinner for her family in the studio’s kitchen.
Despite success and the demands that come with it, McBride stays grounded: Family comes first. She tours only when the kids are not in school. She still drives her 1992 Honda and shuttles the girls to school and to extracurricular activities.
McBride’s daughters are among the cast members in her Christmas show. “It’s been a great experience for them to feel like they contribute every night,” she says.
“There’s no question about where my priorities are,” she adds. “I just love where I am right now in my career.”
The birthday bunch
Singer John Edwards (The Spinners) is 60. Singer Jimmy Buffett is 58. Country singer-actress Barbara Mandrell is 56. Actress Sissy Spacek is 55. Singer Annie Lennox is 50. Country singer Steve Wariner is 50. Singer Shane McGowan (The Popes, the Pogues) is 47. Actress Klea Scott (“Robbery Homicide Division”) is 36. Singer Dido is 33. Singer Mac Powell (Third Day) is 32. Country singer Alecia Elliott is 22.