Katie Armiger Becomes Celine Dion’s NYC Neighbor

Katie Armiger has enjoyed several milestones since releasing her first album three years ago, including gracing the cover of teen magazine Justine and becoming the highest-charting independent female artist of 2009. Now, she can officially say she is in the company of one of music's biggest pop icons: Celine Dion.

"I was in New York for the 'CBS Early Show' and I got to perform on top of the Empire State Building," Katie explains to The Boot. "They take pictures of singers, actors -- everyone who's been up there. It's a huge picture, and they put mine next to Celine Dion because she had just been up there. I didn't even know what to say or think."

Katie is unfortunately becoming a little too familiar with losing her wits when talking to artists she admires. The 19-year-old got to meet one of her own country music heroes recently, and found that words failed her when she needed them most. "Martina McBride is my idol," she reveals. "When I got to meet her, I walked up to her and I was like, 'I ... I love you,'" Katie recalls, mimicking the moment in a soft, shy voice. "She was like, 'Aw, thank you. I love you, too.'"

The talented teen, who has already shared the stage with Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean and Craig Morgan, is currently hard at work promoting her third album, 'Confessions of a Nice Girl.' "I will be doing a radio tour for the album," she says. "We're going everywhere. We finished the album last month, so we're getting it out there; we will be flying, driving all over."

The Texas native admits making 'Confessions,' and subsequently working to get the music to her fans all over the country, taught her a lot about herself. "I have learned so much over the last year and one of the most important things I've learned is that you just have to believe in yourself," she says. "It's been an unbelievable year filled with so many challenges and through those challenges I continue to learn more about myself, especially as an artist. This album speaks to those challenges in a way that I hope listeners can relate."

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