In 2004, I discovered the debut self-titled album from country singer Julie Roberts. It’s traditional sound stood apart from much of the mediocre music that comes out of Nashville. I particularly liked her version of “Break Down Here,” and it is one of my favorite country songs of the last decade.
I liked the album so much that when her next album, Men and Mascara (2006) came out two years later, I picked it up when I saw it at a Tower Records going out of business. While it never grabbed me as much as her debut album, it was a solid sophomore effort, and I particularly liked the title track.
While Roberts generally recorded songs from other artists on her first two albums, she showed a good taste for music and a talent for interpretation, choosing songs by people such as the talented Julie Miller. The first album, Julie Roberts, had good sales and reviews, leading to national TV show appearances and nominations from the Academy of Country Music and a CMT Awards breakthrough artist nomination.
Her follow-up CD, Men and Mascara, did moderately well but was not as successful. It was a rough time for the music industry overall, and a few years later her record company Mercury Records dropped her. While I had wondered what had happened to Roberts, I did not know until being surprised while watching an episode of The Voice this week.
The years since her breakthrough debut album have not been kind to Julie Roberts. She has failed to surpass or even reclaim the success of her first album, even though she self-released another try in 2010. A 2010 flood in Nashville ruined her home and belongings. And then she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis while she was making her second album.
Which brings us to this week on The Voice, where Roberts hoped for a second chance in her career, much like the winner of season three, Cassadee Pope, did when she auditioned. While it was great to see Roberts again, she appeared not as a guest performer but as a contestant, singing for the four judges who face away from contestants and only opt to turn around if they choose to keep the singer on the show as part of their team.
Roberts selected a song by one of the judges she knew during better times, Blake Shelton’s “God Gave Me You.” As she sang, she hoped Shelton or at least one of the judges would hit the button on their chair to give her and her career a new chance. [2016 Update: Unfortunately, The Voice video segment with Julie Roberts is no longer available.]
Ultimately, none of the judges turned their chair around for Roberts, and Blake Shelton felt especially bad after he recognized the singer he had just rejected. Roberts probably made a mistake singing a song recorded by one of the judges because the judges can be more picky when they think a contestant is trying to win them over with the song selection, especially when it is a song with personal meaning to the judge.
Roberts does much better on other songs. And she probably would have been selected had she sang a song like “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain,” which is available along with other stripped down “Naked” recordings on her website.
This week, Julie Roberts released a statement on her website about her experience on The Voice. In it, she notes that the rejection “was heartbreaking for me on many levels but I believe with all my heart that God has other plans for my life that He is working on behind the scenes for me right now.” The good news is that she plans to record new music and head back out on the road. We wish her well with her life, her health, and her career.
[July 2013 Update: After her TV appearance, Julie Roberts signed a record contract with Sun Records and will release an album in October 2013.]
What is your favorite Julie Roberts song? Leave your two cents in the comments.
(Some related Chimesfreedom posts.)
Julie Roberts should about forget singing competition shows as a way to reignite her career and just get out on the road and reconnect with her fans by touring.
You’re probably right because with her talent she hopefully can make a comeback the old-fashioned way. Hopefully, though, the exposure from “The Voice” will prompt more fans to seek out her music and her shows. Thanks for the comment.
I was shocked to see her on The Voice. And I was really disappointed at her performance. Julie Roberts is one of the most played artists on my iTunes. I think if she had sang Break Down Here or Rain on a Tin Roof she would have had all four coaches turn around for her.
I wondered if nerves affected her performance or whether it was just the song choice. I agree that had she selected one of the songs you mention she likely would have prompted the judges to turn around. Thanks for the comment.
In the month after the Julie Roberts appearance on “The Voice,” the song “Broke Down Here” had more than 200,000 downloads. And in June, Sun Records signed her to a recording contract. Her album “Good Wine and Bad Decisions” will be released in October.
http://www.sunrecords.com/news/julie-roberts-re-launches-her-career-with-a-new-release-on-sun-record