Texas-born Womack is rightfully being celebrated as a true country singer who is administering a much-needed shot of roots traditionalism into the pop-inflected "factory" sound typical of the contemporary Nashville music industry. High lonesome heartbreak can be heard on the bookends of I Hope You Dance.

Playback spoke to Lee Ann about the huge success of her last album while she was in the studio putting the finishing touches on her new album, tentatively titled after the single "Something Worth Leaving Behind," due to be released in late August.

Playback: Firstly, congratulations on your CMA Vocalist of the Year Award. I also heard your performance of "I Hope You Dance" at the ASCAP Country Awards was excellent.

Lee Ann Womack: Oh, thank you. That was a fun night. I was proud that they had asked me to perform the song there, and I'm always glad to get to do it with the songwriters, which makes it really special.

I'm sure it's nice to be recognized for something that you have been working hard for your whole life. Can you describe the feeling that came over you upon finding out that you won the CMA award?

I was torn up. I really, truly had wanted that particular award all my life. When I was growing up, my dad was a country disc jockey, so country music was a big part of our household. I remember watching Reba (McEntire) and all those women take home the awards every fall, thinking that someday I'll get a chance to be on the show, and maybe I'll get to win. If you could just imagine wanting something for so long, and then having it happen; it really made me realize that hard work pays off, and that dreams do come true.

You were talking about country music filling your household when you were growing up. When did it occur to you that you had a natural ability to sing and that singing was what you wanted to do with your life?

There was never really any defining moment when I decided what I wanted to do because I just grew up wanting to do that. I do remember going to my first concert which was Conway Twitty. My dad took me to see him. I remember the way I felt when I walked into that room in the Lufkin Civic Center in Lufkin Texas, a little bitty town. I remember what it felt like seeing the instruments all set up on stage and the bus idling in back. There was this electricity that I felt, and I still get that feeling even when it's my own bus and I'm about to get on it in the middle of the night to go somewhere. I really feel like this is what I was meant to do and I love it.

On I Hope You Dance, you recorded the work of some very distinguished and accomplished songwriters, including Buddy and Julie Miller, Rodney Crowell, Bruce Robison, Mark D. Sanders, Roxie Dean, and Don Shlitz. All of these writers have created some of the most emotionally moving and memorable songs over the last few years. What is it about a song that grabs your attention and makes you say to yourself: "I have to record this tune"?

Sometimes it will just be the feel or groove of a song, and I won't even pay much attention to the lyrics. Sometimes it's a great lyric that maybe says something that I really want to say. I have a song on the new record that Buddy and Julie wrote called "Orphan Train," and I just love what that song says. It has a great message -- one that I want to spread to people. I don't know if I can pinpoint exactly what it is that touches me. Sometimes it's a lyric, sometimes it's a melody or a groove. I definitely have never looked for what I thought were hits. I don't know what song is going to work on radio or what will be a hit, I just try to find songs that move me in some way. Either they make me angry, make me want to jump up and dance, or make me want to cry. There needs to be something about the song that really moves me. Those are the ones that I end up recording.

Let's talk about the song selection process. How do you go about looking for and choosing the right songs for your recording projects? Do you actively solicit new material or do songwriters approach you with their demos?

It happens both ways. My husband, Frank Lidell, was the A&R guy at my first label and he found a lot of the material for me. I had been around town for a while, so I knew how to go about finding them also. Often times I'll just find a writer like Buddy (Miller) or Rodney Crowell, somebody whose work I really like, and end up covering some of their songs. Frank is really responsible for finding songs, as is my other producer, Mark Wright.

When you listen to a song demo, how important is the sound quality and that the tune be fleshed out with the texture of a full backing band? Do you try to stay true to that version of the song or do you find yourself re-arranging the song to suit your style?

Well, I personally prefer demos that are just an acoustic guitar and a vocal. I'm a sucker for a really good singer like the guy who wrote "A Little Past Little Rock," Tony Lane. That demo was just an acoustic guitar and voice and it blew me away. That way I can hear what I might do with it. I prefer really stripped-down things.

I'd like to talk a little more about Buddy and Julie Miller. I'm also a huge fan. They've enjoyed a lot of success both as self-contained recording artists/performers and as songwriters who have placed a lot of cuts on other artists' records. What is it about their songwriting that is so appealing for so many artists/ singers?

They're able to take a complex message and make it seem really simple, and I think that's really hard to do. I love the earthiness and grittiness of both artists. It's hard for me to hear anything they do and not think that it's the best thing that I've ever heard! (laughs) I am a huge fan of their artistry as well as them personally; they're great people and really a joy to be around.

Photo by Andrew Eccles

During the song researching process, do you ever ask the writers about the circumstances that surrounded the creation of the song -- in order to be able to interpret it more effectively?

Usually the songs that I pick are pretty obvious, but I also try to draw from my own emotions and what the lyric means to me. One of the writers of "I Hope You Dance," Tia Sillers, was going through a divorce when she wrote that song. So I knew about that, but what I sang was really to my children and about the things that I wanted for them. A great lyric is universal enough to fit a lot of different situations.

For your last album, you had the opportunity to be in the studio with master musicians like Pat Flynn, Paul Franklin, Aubrey Haynie, Richard Bennett and Ricky Skaggs. With the addition of these talented pickers, the music sometimes acquired an old-time country and bluegrass tone. Do you see yourself utilizing this background texture more in the future, or is that more of a song-dependent type of thing?

It really is...I try to pick the musicians for each specific song. While the musicians vary from song to song, you'll find that we stick with a core group of people, maybe the same rhythm section for five or six songs. Maybe I do change it up more than a lot of people; it depends on how many harmony singers or utility instruments we might bring in to add the right flavor to a song.

Is there a song or two that you are especially excited about on your new album?

It's so hard for me to pick a favorite, I like each song for different reasons. Especially for me because I don't usually have something on the record that doesn't mean a lot to me. In the past I may have been guilty of recording a song because somebody wanted me to and they thought it would be a good way to get up the charts (laughs), but I've gotten away from that and each song is very special to me. I do have a couple of Buddy and Julie Miller songs on there, and they are always my favorites.

You did some recording with Willie Nelson, and you will be touring with him for part of the summer. Can you tell us what it's like to work with such a venerable living legend?

For a girl who grew up in Texas, working with Willie Nelson is definitely a dream come true. It's better than anything I could have ever imagined. Getting to be in the studio with him and making a video with him was a lot of fun. I was very, very happy and excited to go and do that and very proud to be listed with Willie on some of his music.

Are there any other contemporary musical heroes with whom you are interested in collaborating?

Oh, absolutely. I've already gotten to work with Alan Jackson, George Strait, Ricky Skaggs; Buddy and Julie come in and sing on my records. So I've already gotten to work with a lot of people that I love, and I will continue to do that because I enjoy being around people who love what they do. It makes me happy and I always learn something from them.