Jo Dee Messina

Country fans who like their women weak and their music vanilla will not care for what Jo Dee Messina offers on the 12 songs that make up ‘Me.’ The album — funded by a Kickstarter campaign — is full of attitude.

Fans who follow Jo Dee Messina on Facebook or Twitter may have found themselves asking why she crammed recording a new album into 2013 -- a year that was emotionally devastating and exhausting for her.

Alex Preston is one of 12 remaining singers on this 13th season of 'American Idol.' He hasn't shown country aspirations, but he's connected to Nashville. Preston is Jo Dee Messina's cousin -- and she is a superfan through and through.

It's right back to work for Gary Allan and his loyal fans. After edging out George Strait's new single 'I Believe' earlier this week, 'It Ain't the Whiskey' will spend the weekend battling 'Peace Sign,' the first single in three years from Jo Dee Messina. With two more wins, Allan will have yet another song in the Showdown Hall of Fame.

Fans chose 'Peace Sign' as the lead single from Jo Dee Messina's upcoming new album, her first since 2005. The uptempo, guitar-driven track finds the redhead once again telling off a no-good lover, except this one just tried dumping her via email.

Jo Dee Messina has always been the kind of country singer who tells it like it is. And that's exactly what the 'My Give a Damn's Busted' hitmaker did when she went public with the information that she's in talks with 'Dancing With the Stars.'

Months after having open heart surgery, Jo Dee Messina's mother, Mary, is back in the hospital. The singer has kept fans up to date on her mom's condition since April, when she was first admitted. It's been a long emotional journey for the family.

Jo Dee Messina's stage manager was killed outside his Tennessee home in November 2012. Now, authorities in Florida have arrested his fiancee. Connie Sanders King was found covered in blood outside the home after the shootings. She is facing first-degree murder charges.

Country singers everywhere should be might envious of Jo Dee Messina's dedicated fanbase right about now. Seeking an influx of capital to release a new record, Messina launched a Kickstarter project to raise $100,000 in 30 days. Her fans answered the call -- and then some.

Everyone knows that Jo Dee Messina is one of those fiercely independent, tell-it-like-it-is country music stars. But it's hard to believe that Messina has never had the chance to make an album the way she really wants it to be. Now, after 18 years in the industry, Messina hopes to finally have that chance.