Wed Sep 27, 2006 9:28 am

Profile: Surviving the Sophomore Curse

BMNN wrote: on Sep. 27, 2006:
/CMA Close Up News Service/ - by Lorie Hollabaugh
Real or imagined, the dreaded "sophomore curse" is a fear of nearly every artist who enters the studio to record a second album. The curse often weighs heavy on artists' minds as they prepare to prove to the world that their initial success was not a fluke.

Artists are given a much shorter time to produce a successful album now than years ago and are sometimes cut from a record label roster before they have a chance to prove themselves.

Occasionally a new artist comes along with such a strong sense of who they are that they won't budge for anyone, even if it means losing their chance at a record deal. Miranda Lambert is such an artist. Lambert rose to fame on the debut season of "Nashville Star," and though she took third place to Buddy Jewell, she was offered a deal with Sony Music Nashville, now SONY BMG. From the start, she was firm about the album she wanted to make and stuck to her guns, recording her own songs in her own way.

The gamble paid off for Lambert, whose debut CD went Gold and produced hits including "Kerosene." In August, she received two CMA Awards nominations, Horizon Award and Music Video of the Year for "Kerosene," directed by Trey Fanjoy. But Lambert's success wasn't instantaneous.

"Her first two singles failed to catch on at radio," Stark said. "One of the turning points was her fiery performance of 'Kerosene' on the 2005 CMA Awards in New York, which pinned back quite a few ears."

Also helping boost her popularity was her opening slot on the George Strait tour, as well as a recent spread in Blender magazine and the opening of the Miranda Lambert Store and Fan Club Headquarters in her Lindale, Texas hometown. But even with momentum on her side, a new single set for release in October, a new tour with Dierks Bentley this fall and a new album scheduled for release early next year, Lambert admits to fears about the "sophomore curse."

"It's scary, especially if your first one is really successful," she said. "But I just did what I did last time - recorded the music I believed in. They let me have all the freedom in the world again, so hopefully it'll work. I'm worried, but I know I've made a great record. I just hope everybody else thinks so too."

As far as image goes, Lambert says she is trying to be a bit more fashion forward.

"I'm growing up, and I'm not going to stay this sweet-faced, 19-year-old like I was on 'Nashville Star.' I learned a lot, and the road makes you a bit harder, so I'm growing up as a regular girl, as well as an artist. It's not an easy life. You don't get a lot of sleep, and every night is basically a party. I'm playing at bars, you know. It's a hard life, but I love it."