Jo Dee Messina 'Steps' Into Reality Show
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By David [email protected]
The CBS show premiered April 8, but Messina's performance doesn't air until April 15.
In a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon, Messina said the show comprises six weeks, with four different competitors each week. The show doesn't have any judges, but the audience calls in to vote for a favorite performer. Each week, contestants are voted off the show based on numbers of calls.
"It's live," said Messina. "There are no judges. Vote for me as many times as possible!"
For her "secret" talent, Messina said she will be stepping. Stepping is a form of percussive dance in which the participant's body is used as an instrument to produce rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word and hand claps. Some forms of stepping use props.
The reality show competition, Messina said, takes a huge amount of her time. She has to fly to Los Angeles, get off the plane and train, and then fly home or to her next touring gig. She said the back and forth travel can be brutal.
Her expectations for her own performance are high, Messina said. She is working with a professional stepping choreographer for her performance.
The reality show isn't the only work Messina has on her plate. Last month, she released her fourth studio album, "Delicious Surprise."
If someone listens to all her albums in a row, Messina said, there is definitely an evolution. With her latest album though, she said her specific goal was to catch a live sound.
People often tell Messina that she sounds better live than on an album. With that in mind, Messina wanted "Delicious Surprise" to sound like she and her band were jamming. The first single, "I'm Done," is a perfect example of that, she said.
The whole album took only five to six months from writing to recording. But getting it released is a different story because of record company release dates. With the record company timeline, Messina said, to her fans it may look like two to three years since she last recorded.
The music on her albums reflects what is going on in Messina's life at the moment, she said.
Picking a favorite track off the album isn't easy. She said the title cut is one of her favorites, but everything she wrote or co-wrote for the album was a lot of fun.
"I'm Done" was written by Messina. On previous albums, the first single was written by other songwriters. "... There's really something for everyone" on the new album, she said.
On tour, Messina said, most of her show will be older songs until the new album has been out long enough for people to know tracks from it. Her shows are about the fans.
"The people, the fans, I love them. I have the greatest fans in the whole wide world," Messina said.
Recently, she was in Colorado and had a fever of 103 degrees. The doctor was called in the day before the show and gave her some shots. On the day of the show, she reserved as much of her energy as she could.
Messina was contracted for an hour show. But once the show started, Messina said everyone had such a good time, she performed for about two hours.
According to her official Web site, Messina was born in Holliston, Mass. She was first attracted to country music after hearing the recordings of Alabama and Hank Williams Jr.
At age 6, Messina had her first public performance and from there on she was hooked. At 19, Messina moved to Nashville.
In 1996, she released her self-titled debut album, produced by Byron Gallimore and Tim McGraw. The album gave Messina two Top 10 hits and set the stage for her breakthrough, "I'm Alright." Released in 1998, the first three single releases from the album all went to No. 1 - "Bye Bye," "I'm Alright," and "Stand Beside Me," as well as a fourth single, "Lesson In Leavin'," which peaked and stayed at No. 2 for seven consecutive weeks. In 1999, Jo Dee released "Burn," her first No. 1 album.
Messina went on to release her favorite Christmas songs on "A Joyful Noise," released in 2002, and later a Greatest Hits collection that debuted at No. 1 on the charts, her second No. 1 album.
Messina performs April 19 at the Wagon Wheel Theatre, Warsaw. Show times are 7 and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $49, $59 and $69. For tickets, call 574-267-8041, 866-823-2618, or visit online at www.wagonwheeltheatre.com
On the Net: www.jodeemessina.com[[In-content Ad]]
The CBS show premiered April 8, but Messina's performance doesn't air until April 15.
In a telephone interview Tuesday afternoon, Messina said the show comprises six weeks, with four different competitors each week. The show doesn't have any judges, but the audience calls in to vote for a favorite performer. Each week, contestants are voted off the show based on numbers of calls.
"It's live," said Messina. "There are no judges. Vote for me as many times as possible!"
For her "secret" talent, Messina said she will be stepping. Stepping is a form of percussive dance in which the participant's body is used as an instrument to produce rhythms and sounds through a mixture of footsteps, spoken word and hand claps. Some forms of stepping use props.
The reality show competition, Messina said, takes a huge amount of her time. She has to fly to Los Angeles, get off the plane and train, and then fly home or to her next touring gig. She said the back and forth travel can be brutal.
Her expectations for her own performance are high, Messina said. She is working with a professional stepping choreographer for her performance.
The reality show isn't the only work Messina has on her plate. Last month, she released her fourth studio album, "Delicious Surprise."
If someone listens to all her albums in a row, Messina said, there is definitely an evolution. With her latest album though, she said her specific goal was to catch a live sound.
People often tell Messina that she sounds better live than on an album. With that in mind, Messina wanted "Delicious Surprise" to sound like she and her band were jamming. The first single, "I'm Done," is a perfect example of that, she said.
The whole album took only five to six months from writing to recording. But getting it released is a different story because of record company release dates. With the record company timeline, Messina said, to her fans it may look like two to three years since she last recorded.
The music on her albums reflects what is going on in Messina's life at the moment, she said.
Picking a favorite track off the album isn't easy. She said the title cut is one of her favorites, but everything she wrote or co-wrote for the album was a lot of fun.
"I'm Done" was written by Messina. On previous albums, the first single was written by other songwriters. "... There's really something for everyone" on the new album, she said.
On tour, Messina said, most of her show will be older songs until the new album has been out long enough for people to know tracks from it. Her shows are about the fans.
"The people, the fans, I love them. I have the greatest fans in the whole wide world," Messina said.
Recently, she was in Colorado and had a fever of 103 degrees. The doctor was called in the day before the show and gave her some shots. On the day of the show, she reserved as much of her energy as she could.
Messina was contracted for an hour show. But once the show started, Messina said everyone had such a good time, she performed for about two hours.
According to her official Web site, Messina was born in Holliston, Mass. She was first attracted to country music after hearing the recordings of Alabama and Hank Williams Jr.
At age 6, Messina had her first public performance and from there on she was hooked. At 19, Messina moved to Nashville.
In 1996, she released her self-titled debut album, produced by Byron Gallimore and Tim McGraw. The album gave Messina two Top 10 hits and set the stage for her breakthrough, "I'm Alright." Released in 1998, the first three single releases from the album all went to No. 1 - "Bye Bye," "I'm Alright," and "Stand Beside Me," as well as a fourth single, "Lesson In Leavin'," which peaked and stayed at No. 2 for seven consecutive weeks. In 1999, Jo Dee released "Burn," her first No. 1 album.
Messina went on to release her favorite Christmas songs on "A Joyful Noise," released in 2002, and later a Greatest Hits collection that debuted at No. 1 on the charts, her second No. 1 album.
Messina performs April 19 at the Wagon Wheel Theatre, Warsaw. Show times are 7 and 9:30 p.m. Tickets are $49, $59 and $69. For tickets, call 574-267-8041, 866-823-2618, or visit online at www.wagonwheeltheatre.com
On the Net: www.jodeemessina.com[[In-content Ad]]
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