LeAnn Rimes made a name for herself at a young age as a huge voice in country music, and she’s now looking to step into another arena with her very first Hallmark Christmas movie.
This holiday season, Rimes will star in the Hallmark movie It’s Christmas, Eve, with the singer also serving as an executive producer on the film. Speaking to PopCulture.com, Rimes shared that she helped create the movie from its inception, incorporating causes that were important to her like music education and blended families.
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“It was awesome,” she said of the creative process behind the film. “I think that as a musician, I truly enjoy creating something from nothing, as a songwriter, as a creator. It really came together so seamlessly and perfectly.”
In the film, Rimes plays Eve, a school superintendent who rediscovers her love of music as she falls for the head of the school music department. While Rimes noted that the character has a tendency to run from hard times in her life, there are some aspects of Eve that Rimes can relate to.
“I think we all have that in us, that wanting to run away from the pain and not having to deal with it head on,” she explained. “She comes back home, in this film, she really kinda has to say all those things that she wasn’t ready to face yet. It really opens her up, and I definitely have been in that place before. So I did relate to a lot of pieces of her, the vulnerable pieces of her, is really what it is.”
Hallmark holiday movies have become somewhat of a culture staple in recent years, and Rimes shared that she’s thrilled to be joining the family behind the films.
“They really are a family, a fantastic family,” she said. “They’re such a great brand — I couldn’t ask for better partners when it comes to creating. They were incredibly collaborative, really really good people. They definitely live up to what you would expect from them.”
As for her own Christmas traditions, the Mississippi native shared that she and husband Eddie Cibrian generally keep things low-key.
“My husband and I are both only children, so it’s small, really small family,” she shared. “So it’s just our parents, and they have us and the kids. His family is Cuban, so his mom does a big Cuban feast on Christmas Eve, so we go with them, eat, and then we stay here at the house. Just super chill. Most of the time I just try to stay in my pajamas for as long as I can.”
“I’m one of those that loves to get up early, and I usually am the one that’s waking them up, so like, ‘let’s do some presents,’” she added. “I haven’t lost that piece yet, definitely on Christmas morning I turn into this 10 year old.”
In addition to the film, Rimes also worked on the soundtrack, which features three new songs as well as some holiday classics.
“It’s very joyful,” she said of the record. “It’s very heartfelt. Christmas music, either I want to make people get up and dance and move, or I want to make your heart break.”
It’s Christmas, Eve premieres on the Hallmark Channel on Nov. 10.
Photo Credit: Hallmark Channel
