Martina McBride is a four-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year. A three-time ACM Female Vocalist of the Year, who has sold more than 18 million albums. And according to both Nielsen-BDS and Mediabase, Martina McBride is also country radio’s “most-played female artist” of the past 11 years.
The 45-year-old country soprano said that her new album, Eleven, is the most personal album of her long career, featuring her new anthem about surviving cancer, “I’m Gonna Love You Through It.” The song tells the story of a husband and father whose wife gets diagnosed with breast cancer at 38. “I know that you’re afraid and I am, too,” the lyrics say. “But you’ll never be alone, I promise you.”
While there are many hard-luck country songs about cancer — Tim McGraw’s “Live Like You Were Dying” comes to mind — there are far fewer that address the caregivers. “I thought it was really honest,” McBride said. “It really lifts caregivers up, and gives them a voice. For me, it’s the same as ‘Independence Day.’ ”
“Independence Day,” of course, is one of McBride’s most recognizable hits, released in 1994. Reportedly turned down by Reba McEntire, the song about domestic violence was a topical choice for McBride at a time when topical songs weren’t generally played on country radio. The song became her signature, and spurred her to become one of the most outspoken activists in Nashville. She’s the spokeswoman for the National Domestic Violence Hotline, the National Network to End Domestic Violence, and the Tulsa Domestic Violence and Intervention Services. In addition, she has also raised money for Tennessee’s TWCA’s, the Kid’s Wish Network, and muscular dystrophy research.
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