Happy 11th, Martina McBride!: Country music star Martina McBride is taking a four-day train trek to launch her new album Eleven, out Oct. 11, and mingle with fans in 11 cities along the way. USA TODAY tags along for the ride with a daily exclusive video.
After 20 years in the music business, Martina McBride, 45, is hotter—and busier—than ever. In honor of this month’s release of her eleventh studio album, aptly named Eleven, we spoke with her to bring you—you guessed it—eleven things you should know about this country music superstar.
1. Even superstars embarrass their kids.
“They don’t like when I dance,” says McBride, who has three daughters (ages 16, 13 and 5). “I think they’re OK with it when I’m on stage, but in the kitchen with their friends? Not so much.”
2. She's mastered the work love balance.
McBride’s husband of 23 years, John, is the sound engineer on her album as well as her business partner at their famed Nashville recording studio, Blackbird Studio. So how do they make it work? “I’m the rational one and he’s more of a dreamer, more impulsive,” she says. “We balance each other out.”
3. She's the mother of two teens.
“My husband said the other day, ‘OK, it just got hard.’ For me, the greatest challenge is being their parent and not their friend. I try to walk that fine line between letting them have enough freedom so that they don’t feel like they’re being held prisoner, but also keeping them close and safe.”
4. She loathes the gym.
“I really, really, really don’t like it,” says McBride, who admits that it wasn’t until she had her third child and turned 40 that she needed to work out. But, she concedes, “Our bodies change, they just do. It’s a natural evolution and you should embrace it. Working out for me is about feeling good, being healthy and setting a good example for my daughters.”
5. She loves Twitter.
“It’s great to get to show people a more personal side of you,” says McBride, who counts fellow country star—and notoriously loose-lipped—Blake Shelton as one of her favorite followers. “You never know what you’re going to get [from him]. It’s just fun.”
6. She likes a little Me Time.
“For me to unwind, I like to be by myself,” she says. “When the kids are at school and my husband is at work, my house is usually completely quiet and I just putter around and organize.”
7. She enjoys a cocktail now and then.
“If I’m wanting to have a good time, I’ll have tequila,” she says. “And if I want to have a relaxing night, I’ll drink red wine.”
8. Her most (pleasantly) surprising duet partner.
“I got to work with the lead singer of Train, Pat Monahan. I didn’t know much about him at all, but we really hit it off. He’s an amazing singer and person, and we realized we had a lot in common.” McBride and Monahan recorded a cover of his band’s song, “Marry Me,” on her new album.
9. She knows her way around a kitchen.
“I make a chicken and sausage gumbo that the girls like,” she says. “But our holiday meal is pot roast, mashed potatoes and gravy, which my mom taught me how to make.”
10. She wrote more than half of her new album.
“It was a new thing for me,” she says. “And I pushed some boundaries. I’m excited to see how people react to it.”
Don't miss Martina's "Mom's Pot Roast" recipe.
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