LeAnn Rimes in Tears During Emotional Patsy Cline Tribute (VIDEO)
LeAnn Rimes was reduced to tears at the American Country Awards on Tuesday during her stellar tribute performance for the late Patsy Cline.
The country music singer, 31, was overcome with emotion as the star-studded crowd gave her a standing ovation.
Rimes belted out a medley of her idol's hits including "Walkin' After Midnight," "Crazy," and "Sweet Dreams of You." The event honored the 50th anniversary of Cline's death.
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"I love you Patsy. Thank you," a sobbing Rimes said after her performance.
Rimes has always felt a close connection to the late country-music star, despite having never met her. At age 13 she recorded her first single "Blue," which was originally meant for Cline, but she died in a 1963 plane crash before she could hear it.
In 1999 she released her fourth studio album which included several covers of Cline's songs. Rimes opened up about her connection to the late singer.
"I've just been compared to this woman, to Patsy Cline, for so many years. Since I was a baby," Rimes told Fox. "To be asked to do something like this on the fiftieth anniversary of her death ... it means a lot, you know? I have a definite connection there that's like no other."
Rimes raised eyebrows when she appeared on the red carpet and on stage without her wedding ring. She and actor Eddie Cibrian, 40, were recently subject to divorce rumors, however they were quick to deny the reports in November.
"We laugh at 'em! That's what we do. You laugh it off. That's all you can do," Cibrian told E! News in response to a Star magazine report. "I don't get it. We're not that interesting, I promise."
Rimes and Cibrian, who wed in 2011, were at the center of controversy in 2009 when their extramarital affair came to light. The "Spitfire" singer was married to Dean Sheremet when she got involved with Cibrian, who was married to Brandi Glanville – the mother of his two sons.
