Pit5 Music News Cache

By Deborah Evans Price Fri Oct 19, 6:53 PM ET

NASHVILLE (Billboard) - The week of an album's release is always a busy time for an artist, but the week leading up to November 13 is going to be especially crazy for Trisha Yearwood.

In addition to promoting the arrival of her Big Machine Records debut, "Heaven, Heartache and the Power of Love," Yearwood will be opening nine sold-out shows for her husband, Garth Brooks, in Kansas City, Mo.

Yearwood admitted that initially she was hesitant about pulling double duty.

"I'd been saying I couldn't open the show because I have my album coming out the 13th," she said. "Then I started thinking, 'I just don't want to miss it. He's retired and doesn't do shows. I'd love to be a part of it.' But all the things I'm doing for street week, I'm still doing."

During the Kansas City shows, Yearwood will perform for more than 150,000 fans, but even that pales in comparison to the millions of impressions she'll garner appearing on "Late Show With David Letterman," "Today" and "The View," not to mention the radio promotions and online initiatives Big Machine has lined up. During the week of the album's release, Yearwood will fly back and forth between the Kansas City shows and events in New York and Nashville.

The activity is complemented by the strong performance of the single/title track, which is No. 23 on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart this week. Beginning October 15, stations were able to offer a free download of the single for 30 days.

The new album is a diverse collection that runs the gamut from the playful Western yarn "Cowboys Are My Weakness," which she admits reminds her of Brooks, to the poignant "This Is Me You're Talking To," a strong contender for the yet-to-determined second single.

"I love songs that tell stories, but when you do those songs, you become the narrator," the Monticello, Ga., native said. "When you start singing, 'This happened to me,' instead of, 'This happened to her,' you instantly become a lot more vulnerable."

That sense of vulnerability makes itself felt on "Sing You Back to Me," which deeply affected Yearwood. "The song says, 'If I could write a song that would bring you back to me, it would be the only song I'd ever sing,"' said the artist, who lost her father in September 2005. "Listening to the demo, I would just cry and cry. It's so personal to me."

As for touring, Yearwood says she'll perform theater dates in February and March, then take time in April to promote a cookbook she has coming out through Random House that she wrote with her mom, Gwen, and her sister, Beth Bernard. Fair dates are in the works for next summer.

"Somewhere in the back of my mind, I felt like this album as a whole had to be undeniable," Yearwood said. "After 15 years, you've got to find a way to make people say, 'I know you've heard her sing for 15 years, but you need to hear this.' And that's a hard thing to do."

Reuters/Billboard