PROFILE | Jessica Andrews Optimistic spirit lifts singer above competition

Touring with Tim McGraw, Trisha Yearwood and Faith Hill sharpened the teen's skills.
By KRISTIN PURDY
BLUE JEAN ONLINE
Eighteen-year-old Jessica Andrews is climbing the country music charts and flooding the country music industry with her hit singles and gold album, "Who I Am."
Andrews made her debut on the "Prince of Egypt" soundtrack in 1998 with the song "I Will Be There For You," and was soon in competition with teens LeAnn Rimes and Lila McCann when they entered the country music scene. Almost immediately, Andrews found herself compared to the newcomers.
"I can't expect people not to compare," Andrews says. "People are going to put labels on everyone."
Competing in the fresh market of teen country, singers took time away from production and created larger obstacles, Andrews says, but her fans were supportive of her music.
Her optimistic spirit drove her to overcome all the comparisons and setbacks that she did not expect when she launched her professional career.
Andrews struggled, but emerged strong and triumphant after touring with Tim McGraw, Trisha Yearwood and Faith Hill.
& quot;For someone who has never been out on the road, I picked up on so many things and took it all in pretty quickly," she says. Touring with these country titans helped Andrews to hone her live-performance skills.
Released in February 2001, "Who I Am," her second album, contains 12 tracks that tell stories most listeners can identify with.
"I just go in [the recording studio] with the attitude that I want to find songs that I relate to, and hopefully other people will relate to. I give it everything I have," she says.
Talent shows through
Andrews' second album explores newfound love, regret, bliss, reluctance and self-worth. Andrews shifts among a variety of tempos on her album, and the music fluctuates along her wide vocal range and fluid country style.
"Karma" is Andrews' latest single and is steadily gaining popularity among critics and listeners. The song floats between the realms of pop and country.
It carries a funky beat unique to country music and sets the mood for the lyrics about a girl setting her standards in a relationship.
An established vocal artist and Academy of Country Music Award Winner (for 2000 Top New Female Vocalist), Andrews soars through the charts with each consecutive single release and hopes to keep doing so.
"I'm in this for the long run. I want people to love my music."
XKristin Purdy, 20, of Erie, Pa., is a senior editor for Blue Jean Online. Read more articles and reviews by young women at http://www.bluejeanonline.com, or check out the book "Blue Jean: What Young Women are Thinking, Saying and Doing."