3:21 AM, Mar. 13, 2012
Article from Montgomery Advertiser
For TV personality Robin Meade, what you see on her show is the real thing — she stays true to herself.
The host of “Morning Express with Robin Meade” on HLN said she spent many years in the broadcast journalism industry trying to adapt to different supervisors and consultants who are looking for one thing: better ratings. But along the way, she said, she lost the real Robin.
“You lower your own self-esteem by saying, ‘I want to be liked. What you think of me is way more important than what I think of me.’ It’s not saying that you shouldn’t try to fit in some way at work, but I was to the extreme.”
That shape-shifting is what she believes led to paralyzing panic attacks, which began when she was working at a station in Chicago.
“I was just kind of motoring along in my career and loving it, but I started to have these panic attacks on the air. I thought I was going to not be able to do what I do for a living.”
Now that she has her own show — it’s been on for 10 years now — what you see is the real thing.
“I might laugh out loud, and that’s my true authentic self.”
Staying true to oneself — and developing good self-esteem — is what she’ll talk about during her speech at the annual Girl Scouts of Southern Alabama Women of Distinction luncheon on Thursday.
Meade’s easy, conversational style comes through even on a telephone interview from Atlanta, where she works and lives. Now, in addition to being the host of her show, she’s also a published author (her book, “Morning Sunshine! How to Radiate Confidence and Feel it Too,” will be for sale at the luncheon) and a musician. Her full-length country album, “Brand New Day,” was released last year, and features a remake of the Don Henley song “Dirty Laundry,” which she said is a “wink and a nudge” to what she does for a living.
Singing has always come naturally to the Ohio native, whose father was a minister.
“I thought everyone could sing, and it was normal to be up on stage. Someone said to me, ‘Don’t be nervous.’ It was a novel idea to me. I was like, you’re supposed to be nervous? So it was natural and I really enjoyed that, and don’t feel stress from performing.”
Through her work at HLN, she’s encountered several people from Nashville who worked in the recording industry, which eventually led to her recording career.
“I think when you feel passion about something, that just shows, even if you aren’t trying,” she said of performing.
A few years ago, she interviewed country star Kenny Chesney not long after his annulment from actress Renee Zellweger made headlines. The experience left him wary of reporters, but he felt comfortable enough with Meade — making people feel comfortable is something she takes pride in as an interviewer — that he asked her to join him on stage at his Atlanta concert.
She was thrilled to sing a couple of rounds on his song “When the Sun Goes Down,” and they’ve kept in contact ever since.
After that, Chesney’s record label asked Meade to host some events in Nashville. “I just kept coming back to Nashville. During all those visits, I would meet artists, and keep in contact with them.”
That’s how she met singer/songwriter/producer Victoria Shaw, who co-produced Lady Antebellum’s first big album and has recorded three albums of her own.
“I introduced myself, and asked if she would help me learn to write country songs,” Meade said. “Lucky for me, she said yes, because she could have been like, ‘Go back home, who are you?’
“But that’s what I’ve found about people in the South and in Nashville. They’re so generous with their time and talents.”
Several big stars helped her with the album, including Bo Bice, John Rich and Kix Brooks.
“The caliber of people, whether they were co-writers or session players, it was stunning to me who was willing to work on it. But I know they were willing to work on it because Victoria Shaw was attached to that project, and I thank my lucky stars.”
That sense of thankfulness and gratitude is something she carries with her today, she said, thanks to some advice she received from her parents over the years.
“One of them from my mother is, make sure you sign what people want. If they want to take a picture with you, you do that, because not everyone is going to want your picture all the time!
“In other words, the rest of your life, no one may give a care! So if they want you to sign their book, you sign it now!”
Article from Montgomery Advertiser
