Martina McBride Says ‘Bad’ Music Sometimes Works

Martina McBride has nine platinum albums and 18 Top 10 singles to her credit, not to mention a slew of major industry awards. The singer who's been at it for nearly 20 years says she might have finally figured it out. And what is the lesson she's learned? That the music business doesn't make sense.

"All you can do is do your best to make music you love and put it out there," Martina tells the Kansas City Star. "After that, a million variables can affect whether it's a success or not. People say it's all about the music. That's not true. A lot of good music never gets heard. A lot of bad stuff becomes successful. You just never know."

While most artists might tend to stick with what has always worked for them, the Grammy-nominated singer says she continues to reinvent herself.

Releasing her latest album, 'Shine,' last year, Martina broke away from her longtime producer Paul Worley, in an attempt to continue to evolve and challenge herself. "I wanted it to be different from my other albums," she explains. "There wasn't necessarily anything specific we wanted to avoid, but I wanted it to have a different feel. So I worked with a producer I'd wanted to work with for a long time, Dann Huff. He's a great producer, an amazing musician and a great singer."

Even though her successful career began long before e-mail and cell phones were mainstream, Martina has embraced modern times by using social networking to her advantage. "I am on Twitter, and I enjoy it," she says. "I'm not sure how much of a difference it makes. For me, it's another way to reach fans and show maybe more of a personal side. We're on Facebook and MySpace, but to be honest with you, I don't know much about those ... I do my own Twitter, and it's fun."

Co-headlining the Shine All Night tour with Trace Adkins, Martina says hitting the road might be the best part of her career. "Touring has always been very important to me," she explains. "It's about having fun and doing what I love to do, which is to sing." And while more and more fans are joining the digital music era, the powerhouse vocalist has no plans of abandoning her live shows. "In some ways touring is more important than ever because it's the one thing you can't download. If you want to see something live, you have to be there. you have to show up. I love that."

Recently adding Sarah Buxton as opening act for the rest of the Shine All Night tour, Martina has been spending her spare time renovating her home. The tour runs through spring of 2010.