Faith did two shows at the Hollywood Bowl. What an amazing reviews.
Faith Hill goes from awestruck to dazzling at the Bowl
July 18th, 2009, 2:11 pm · · posted by Ben Wener
For an artist who has won multiple Grammys, ACM, CMA and People’s Choice awards — and performed at the Oscars and the Super Bowl — it took the sheer scope and eminent grandeur of the Hollywood Bowl to truly awe Faith Hill.
At Friday’s first of two Bowl shows this weekend — her only dates this year, not counting appearances like her synergistic performance of Stevie Wonder’s “Signed, Sealed, Delivered (I’m Yours)” at Barack Obama’s inauguration in January — Hill initially appeared mystified by her presence onstage at the historical venue. But once she found her comfort zone, she put on a passionate display of her wondrous vocal range and down-home charm.
“I’m still a Mississippi girl,” she conceded. “The butterflies still get to me.”
As if fulfilling her own prophecy, Hill seemed disconcerted for the first few numbers. Clad in a regal pink-and-yellow floor-length gown — the statuesque 41-year-old sang mostly to the floor, her large eyes cast downward, one white-knuckled hand gripping the microphone stand at all times.
Four songs in, however, as her band leaped into “The Way You Love Me” (from 2000’s smash Breathe), she began to find her footing. Led by lively percussion, the song visibly energized Hill; spurred on by her exceptional backing vocalists, the five-time Grammy winner loosened up and engaged the crowd at the mostly-full Bowl.
Though she peppered her set with hits like “Wild One” (from her 1993 debut Take Me As I Am), 1997’s ACM Single of the Year “This Kiss” and the Oscar-nominated “There You’ll Be” (from Pearl Harbor), it was Hill’s cover choices that not only drew the most enthusiastic responses of the evening, they also found the singer at her most confident and comfortable.
Hill introduced a mid-set medley of Aretha Franklin’s “Dr. Feelgood” and Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” as songs that “aren’t mine but they are tonight.” She couldn’t have been more right.
The Hollywood Bowl Orchestra’s brass section added a healthy dose of trumped-up soul to the former, and Hill rose to the challenge that covering both songs demands. It was clear she felt these classics, and the set soared from there, moving into a stirring, piano-heavy rendition of Paul McCartney’s “Maybe I’m Amazed” and closing with a funkier, horn-driven reading of one of Janis Joplin’s signature tunes, “Piece of My Heart,” long a staple of Hill’s live shows.
As she stomped, pleaded and channeled her inner Janis, her prodigiously tight touring band accented the 1’s and 3’s, churning out a groove that more resembled Led Zeppelin’s “D’yer Mak’er” than the original. That number proved to be the showstopper, which made sense: there wasn’t much else Hill could have played after it that would have compared.
Interestingly, if you’d walked into the Hollywood Bowl Friday night ignorant of Faith Hill’s body of recorded work, you’d have never guessed from her performance that she’s one of country music’s true superstars. Only during the swampy “Mississippi Girl” did she flaunt country roots, instead clinging mostly to Celine Dion-sounding songs like the fluttery opener “If My Heart Had Wings” and the string-laden, multi-movement “Paris.”
The orchestra, conducted by David Campbell (who also arranged strings for the recorded version of “There You’ll Be”), was in lockstep with Hill’s band the entire night, mostly thanks to Campbell’s constant visual communication with Jimmy Nichols, the singer’s dexterous and dazzling keyboardist and musical director. Campbell’s arrangements were tasteful and appropriate, and nowhere was the orchestra’s presence felt more than on “Breathe,” where the ensemble replicated its soaring lead guitar lines, while Hill, front and center, fervently belted out her most successful single.
How could one of the world’s most popular country songstresses pull off a feat like this, here in Los Angeles, the epicenter of everything cool?
Credit Hill’s foresight in designing a set that played to its audience in the best possible way. Had she cranked out the exact same set list but swapped the orchestral arrangements for steel guitars and fiddles, the night would’ve likely flopped. Similarly, were she to play this kind of Bowl set — replete with cinematic swells and brassy accents — to a booze-fueled Stagecoach crowd, there’d likely be riots. It’s a performance that stands apart even from her frequent tours with husband Tim McGraw.
And it reminds that one doesn’t climb to the heights Faith Hill has reached by mere accident. She’s a superstar — a prescient one, at that — for many reasons, but only the best of them were on display at the Bowl.
Joined: 23 Aug 2007 Posts: 8684 Location: Proud Member of the Tartan Army
Faith Hill Celebrates Birthday With Special Memories
Faith Hill is 42 years old today, and on Oct. 6 she'll celebrate her 13th wedding anniversary with hubby Tim McGraw. As Tim, Faith and their three daughters and get ready to move into a new home, Faith's obviously feeling a bit nostalgic -- as witnessed by her thoughts on the recent discovery of ticket stubs to a show she performed with Johnny Cash in 1996.
That was certainly a year to remember, as Faith also shared the stage with her future spouse, on the aptly-named Spontaneous Combustion tour, just months before they would tie the knot.
"When I got the invitation to be on that tour I was like, 'Heck, yeah I wanna go on that tour!,' Faith recalls with a laugh. "But then we started to get a little smarter and think, 'How could this possibly work?' Two entertainers doing the same thing. There is not a great record for it in the history of life and love and entertainers sticking together."
Faith says that even though the track record for marital unions between fellow performers wasn't so strong, they did come up with at least one example -- George Burns and Gracie Allen, who were married for nearly 40 years, until Gracie's death.
And although 1996 was the first time they toured together,Tim and Faith first met -- and shared the concert stage -- at Country Radio Seminar's New Faces show in 1994.
theboot.com
Posted: Mon Sep 21, 2009 6:16 pm
YoungandRestless
Joined: 23 Aug 2007 Posts: 8684 Location: Proud Member of the Tartan Army
Faith Hill: I'm Just a 'Goofy' Mom
"I'm just doing all I can to stay above the water," Faith Hill told iVillage as she packed up the Tennessee house she's shared for the past six years with husband Tim McGraw and their three daughters -- Gracie, 12, Maggie, 11, and Audrey, 7 -- to move the following day. The 42-year-old country singer (who sings the theme song for NBC's Sunday Night Football) took some time out of her eventful day to chat about her "serious football family," the best mom advice she's ever received and how she feels about her daughters entering their teenage years.
We heard that you watch football because your husband loves it.
That's not the only reason I watch football. I was brought up on football. My mom is a huge New Orleans Saints fan. It was just part of our life. When Tim and I first met, I realized quickly I was moving into a serious, serious football family. So it's become part of our lifestyle and something that our kids enjoy as well. It's hard to imagine 12, 11 and 7-year-olds -- and girls to boot -- all really, really love watching football.
Do you think women should learn to watch football?
It's a personal thing, but it can be a lot of fun. I don't know a ton about the game, but I do know a little bit, enough to keep me interested and enough to really get involved when Tim's getting excited. It allows me to have time with my husband during football season. If I did not enjoy football, it would almost be like living alone.
Has Tim gotten involved in any of your hobbies in return?
Not as much as football. I'm a big organizer and he's not quite there yet. He's trying. In the middle of this move it's been funny -- I always ask him to clean out this pile and clean out that pile. It takes him about five minutes whereas it takes me a whole day. So maybe I should be more like him.
How much does Tim love that you're singing the Sunday Night Football song?
It's pretty cool. He thought it was an opportunity not to be passed on. It's something that he looks forward to every Sunday night. He calls for me, "Come in, you've got to see it!" I tell him I've see it many times. He gets very excited.
You make an effort to schedule tours and work around your kids' schedules.
Tim is able to go out and do more and I'm able to stay home more with the children. But he does as well when the school year begins. We really try to work hard to book our working schedule around the girls' school schedule. It's just really busy when you have three children in school. And I'm speaking to the choir when I talk about kids, but boy, it's really our busiest time because we have all three daughters in school now. From the afternoon when they arrive home and we pick them up at school until they go to bed at night, it's almost busier than when they're at school. It's crazy. Homework and dinner and bath and reading. It's another eight-hour day.
Why is it so important for you to be home with your daughters?
It's an incredible opportunity that we have the choice to do this and to be home. I've just been able to be a part of so much of their lives. And I just really enjoy it. It's more stressful for me not to be here, to be honest with you. There have been times when I've had to be away -- not for long periods of time, it's just a day or so -- and I just felt like I missed out on so much.
What's your best advice for busy moms who are trying to balance work and family?
I'm sure they could offer me advice. I don't think I'm one to offer any. I don't feel apart from a working mom who's raising children. I feel like we could all probably sit around a table and share lots of stories and learn from each other. I think for me, I honestly try and enjoy the time. It can get very stressful, especially when you're running from point A to point B. We've tried to cut that down quite a bit, by just having the children involved in one activity after school and not three or four. I love that time at night after the homework's done and we're eating dinner and we try to get in reading each night, which is so important. And then we try to get them to bed at a decent hour, by 8 or 8:30, which they're still young enough to do. Now our two oldest ones are in middle school and it will become tougher to do that as they get older because their workloads are just multiplied times ten. It's just a work in progress. It changes day to day. That's the ideal scenario, but listen, daily there could be a wrench thrown in the whole plan.
Are you nervous at all for you daughters to enter their teenage years?
I'm not nervous. I mean I have heard horror stories. And I mean every person I run into that has girls they say, "Oh, how old are they?" and I give them the age and they say, "Oh, you're just a couple of years away from hell." I've not experienced it but I'm taking notes and reading. One of the greatest bits of advice that I have never forgotten [was from an article] about how important it is for teenage girls to be friends with their mom's best friends. If something ever happened and they felt like they couldn't come to you because they were embarrassed or they could possibly get into trouble, they could go and tell your girlfriend. I've never forgotten that.
Do your daughters think you're cool?
Probably not. My daughters think I'm goofy and crazy. They love their parents, I can tell you that. I don't know that they think we're cool. You'd have to ask them that question.
What is your favorite thing to do as a family?
We just like hanging out, we really do. As long as we're together, it doesn't take much to satisfy us. We really just like hanging out around our house. It's been kind of bittersweet this morning because this is our last day in this house that we've been in for about six years. This has kind of been our interim place while we're building and we've just fallen in love with it. It's a really old house that was built in 1932 and it's just got a sweet vibe about it and it's a good-sized house. It's not too big and we're going to really miss it.
You've probably had lots of great memories there.
Lots of great memories. We've been waiting to move for three-and-a-half years. [We've been] building this house in the middle of tours and all that kind of stuff, so this is a very big thing for our family. Every home we've ever lived in has always been a place we knew we were going to move out of, so this is a special time for our family. After thirteen years of marriage! Now we're really excited. I've been trying hard to pack in a smart way. I have unpacked boxes in this house that I have not opened in ten years and I'm not over-exaggerating. That's how busy our lives have been. I tried to promise ourselves that I was not taking one thing to the new house that I had not seen or cleaned out.
You and Tim made a promise not to be apart for more than three days at time? Are you sticking to that promise?
We've managed to do well in that regard. We've broken it a few times. When we first started dating, got married and had kids and all that, that was the rule. But there's been a couple times we've had to break that just because it's impossible. It would have been more difficult to jump on a plane and get home as opposed to staying one extra day. But we try and stick together as often as we can. _________________ No sense beating our heads about the attitudes of those that cannot/will not change - just gives ya headache!
I love Tim and Faith and think they are the most talented couple in any genre of music. I think they have the brightest future in Country music. I am still waiting for that duet album that I always thought they would put out Long live T&F4 EVER _________________ LOVE EVERYBODY AS THEY ARE !
LISTEN TO WHOM EVER YOU PLEASE...
DON'T WORRY WHOM IT PLEASES !
G.L.O.R.I.A.N.A.
Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 9:53 pm
YoungandRestless
Joined: 23 Aug 2007 Posts: 8684 Location: Proud Member of the Tartan Army
CMT News
CMT Insider Interview: Faith Hill Discusses New "Parfum" - Says Fragrance Line Reflects Her Personality
November 3, 2009
Faith Hill still laughs about the first time she tried to pronounce the word "parfum," but she's clearly excited about her new women's fragrance that was recently introduced.
Faith Hill Parfums is a partnership with Coty Inc., the world's largest fragrance company.
"To be honest, I didn't really understand how involved putting a fragrance together could be -- or would be," Hill said during an interview with CMT Insider's Katie Cook. "Once I made the choice to actually do it, I just went for it. I just dove in and have really learned a lot about putting a scent together. It's kind of exciting. You'd bring stuff home and smell it, and we'd say yes or no."
Coty also markets McGraw, a men's fragrance developed with Hill's husband, Tim McGraw.
"My husband beat me to it so I thought I've got to keep up with him somehow," she laughed.
In formulating Faith Hill Parfums, she said she was attracted by familiar scents.
"I wanted it to represent my personality and what I like," she said. "And I wanted to actually wear it. I would hate to have done something that I would never put on in a 10-mile radius. I didn't want that to happen, so it was important that I was very involved.
"I wanted to bring about things that remind me of home ... in Mississippi and Tennessee. That's where the Southern magnolia comes in, the peony, the crisp pear, all those things. Very fresh and clean and also sensual at the same time." _________________ No sense beating our heads about the attitudes of those that cannot/will not change - just gives ya headache!
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Long live T&F4 EVER