Dateline: November 6, 2000

Four years ago (in 1996), a young girl by the name of LeAnn Rimes came onto the scene and paved the way for other teen artists in country music. Leann's first single, "Blue", went to number one and catapulted her into stardom.

In the four years she has been in the spotlight, she has won a total of 12 awards, co-authored a book entitled "Holiday In Your Heart", starred in a TV movie of the same name, released five albums and has even performed for the Pope. This year she also appeared in the movie "Coyote Ugly," whose soundtrack featured four new songs by Miss Rimes. Quite a feat considering she just turned eighteen on August 28th.

Since LeAnn paved the way for other young artists in country music, in future articles I will spotlight different performers that have followed her lead, as well as provide my opinions on this certain scene.