![Kristin Chenoweth Knows She Has to ‘Pay Dues’ to Be in Country Music](http://townsquare.media/site/204/files/2011/09/Kristin-Chenoweth.jpg?w=980&q=75)
Kristin Chenoweth Knows She Has to ‘Pay Dues’ to Be in Country Music
Kristin Chenoweth isn't sure if fame helped or hurt her country credibility before releasing her 'Some Lessons Learned' album earlier this month. The actress/singer isn't really thinking like that. In the interview portion of her new AOL Sessions episode, the pint-sized 'I Want Somebody' singer says she's aware that she's not country music's messiah.
"I certainly don't want it to seem like [fakes a bad New York accent] 'Move ova, I'm here!'" Chenoweth tells AOL. "I have to pay my dues like everybody else." While it seems like she's exploring new territory with the project, she explains it's not really a genre switch for her. She grew up listening to country and gospel music, so singing these songs come as naturally as those she's performed on Broadway.
"It's the record I feel born to do, so it's not really switching genres to me, although it's not what I'm known for," she says.
Chenoweth performed five songs for AOL Sessions, including 'I Want Somebody,' 'I Didn't,' 'What Would Dolly Do,' 'Boy' and 'I Was Here.' One song she didn't play was 'Fathers and Daughters.' While she didn't write this fan favorite, her vocals on the album are inspired by the relationship she has with her father. She tells AOL he is the perfect example of what a father and a husband should be.
"I tell him all the time that he ruined it for me, which is why I'm single, because I keep comparing men to him," Chenoweth says before joking, "Daddy issues, that would be me." The singer and 'Glee' actress is also close to her mother, who she says has fought off cancer on three separate occasions.
See Kristin Chenoweth's Full AOL Sessions Performance
Watch Kristin Chenoweth's AOL Sessions Interview
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