ASCAP, the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, will present Grammy Award-winning singer, songwriter, actress and author LeAnn Rimes with the ASCAP Golden Note Award in a special ASCAP Experience session broadcast @ASCAP on YouTube on October 12 at 3PM ET/ 12PM PT. With congratulatory video tributes from Reba McEntire, Diane Warren, Rob Thomas, Mickey Guyton, San Francisco Gay Men’s Choir, David Gray and Aloe Blacc, the award presentation by ASCAP Chairman of the Board and President Paul Williams will segue into an exclusive conversation with Variety’s Chris Willman.
In “The Story So Far: Celebrating 25+ Years of LeAnn Rimes,” Rimes, marking the 25th anniversary of her debut album Blue, will talk with Willman about her remarkable life in music so far and how her artistry and her humanitarian work intertwine, including her recently released album, god’s work.
“From the moment we first heard her immortal recording of “Blue” – back when she was just 13 years old – we knew that LeAnn was a voice for the ages,” said ASCAP President and Chairman Paul Williams. “In the 25 years since, we have watched her navigate her evolving career with grace, artistry and humanity. Her passion, clarity and emotion have won her fans around the world and truly set her apart as a songwriter.”
The ASCAP Golden Note Award is presented to genre-spanning songwriters, composers and artists who have achieved extraordinary career milestones. Previous recipients include Tom Petty, Blondie, Garth Brooks, Lee Ann Womack, Alicia Keys, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Duran Duran, Jeff Lynne, Lionel Richie, Alan Jackson, Greg Kurstin and JD Souther, among others.
This award joins Rimes’ extraordinary collection of accolades, spanning back to her early teenage years. She has won 2 Grammy Awards; 12 Billboard Music Awards; 2 World Music Awards; 3 Academy of Country Music Awards; 2 Country Music Association Awards and one Dove Award. In 1997, at age 14 she became the youngest solo artist ever to win a Grammy, and in the same year became the first country artist to win Artist of the Year at the Billboard Music Awards. In the time since, Rimes has developed into a multifaceted artist venturing into pop, dance, Christian, “world Americana” and even chant music, while selling over 48 million albums worldwide. Her highly anticipated 19th album, god’s work, which is her most genre-bending project to date, was released September 16 on EverLe Records.
Passionate about using her voice to help heal the world, LeAnn was honored with the Ally of Equality Award by the Human Rights Campaign for her over 20 years of support of equal rights, the 2019 HOPE Award for Depression Advocacy, and the 2009 ACM Humanitarian Award, among other recognitions. She continues to channel her voice in new ways, releasing CHANT: The Human & The Holy (EverLe Records / Thirty Tigers) in 2020, which spent 5 weeks at #1 on the iTunes New Age Chart, as well as her iHeartRadio mental health and wholeness podcast, Wholly Human, that brings her lifestyle blog, Soul of EverLe, to life.
The October 12 session with Rimes is the latest in a banner year for ASCAP Experience. So far in 2022, this year’s ASCAP Experience sessions have been viewed more than 40,000 times. Sessions have included music creators from Ashanti to Latin superstar Camilo to Oscar-nominated Encanto composer Germaine Franco; from K-Pop stars Amber Liu and Justin Park to Ariana Grande hitmaker Tommy Brown and Justin Bieber collaborator Poo Bear, for discussions on a wide variety of music-related topics. Last year, ASCAP Experience saw a 39% increase in attendance and a 53% increase in RSVPs compared to the previous year, and 2022 is on track to break attendance records once again.
