LeAnn Rimes Gives Country Newcomers Her Digits

LeAnn Rimes recently hosted the Colgate Country Showdown, her fourth time to return to the event in that capacity. In spite of juggling a busy schedule, including writing and recording songs for her upcoming album, LeAnn says she wouldn't have it any other way.

"It's new talent," she tells Country Weekly, explaining why she took part again this year. "It's always nice to see new faces, and I was there once and I'm back and trying to help as much as I can. It's fun hosting. It's fun to see these bright-eyed kids. It's nice to see new talent."

The show, says LeAnn, is important even for the contestants who don't win.

"There have been so many people off of this show that haven't even won -- myself,Garth [Brooks], Martina [McBride] -- none of us won, I don't think, and we all went on to do something. so I think the thing is, you don't win, and then you become a big star."

LeAnn, who got her start singing in talent shows at the tender age of five, enjoys acting as mentor to the hopeful singers. "I think even with Taylor Swift and other people who have shot up so fast, I give them my number, because I know the feeling, and I know how the business changes. You go up and you go down, and if you're fortunate enough, you come up again, which is really hard to do. So I've always been very open to giving advice if I have it to give. But everybody's got a different path."

The show, which will be televised in the spring, also includes a tribute to Garth, who recently came out of retirement to begin a five-year run in Las Vegas. "Garth actually taped something for the show. Garth was a Showdown contestant. He didn't win, but he went on to do, I don't know, a few good things," she says jokingly. "He's kind of big. You might have heard of him ... He was kind enough to say something to the contestants, so that is pretty cool."

Other artists who competed in the Colgate Country Showdown before going on to greater success include Brad Paisley, Sara Evans, Miranda Lambert, Billy Ray Cyrus and Tim McGraw. This year's winner, North Carolina native Karla Davis, took home the grand prize of $100,000.