Tour Diary, Entry 1:

As some of you may know, Sarah was invited to perform at the Grammys this year (Sunday, February 8, 2004), and that was my first day on the job as her backup singer. Not a bad first gig!

Highlights:

Sting passed by me backstage and he totally looked at me (might have been my big goofy grin);

I had a conversation about stage fright with Dave Grohl and Taylor from the Foo Fighters in the elevator;

As I was getting made up by Sarah's fabulous makeup artist Johnny in her dressing room, Emmylou Harris walked in to give Sarah a hug and look at pictures of her daughter. I got very excited and grabbed Johnny around the middle and he nearly dropped his blush brush;

I am a big fan of Alison Krauss, so needless to say I was thrilled that she was singing and playing violin on "Fallen" with the band. When we were rehearsing for camera on the Grammys stage they announced, "15 time Grammy winner Alison Krauss" and we were all amazed. By the time the show was underway she had won 3 more. One of Sarah's 2 guitarists Sean Ashby joked, "by the end of the song, she had 22 Grammys";

It was great to watch Prince and Beyonce running through the show opener. He wore a full-on red suit for the rehearsal. They both just emanate stardom. Later when Beyonce ran through "Dangerously In Love" in her blue gown but with no makeup at all, it was obvious she is one very beautiful girl. The dove landing on her hand on her final note was not in rehearsal. I laughed my head off when I saw that;

At the afterparty we went to, we sat near Ellen Degeneres, I saw Jack White, and Christina Aguilera's "Dancer # 3" kissed my face about 16 times during our conversation, whenever I said anything remotely in agreement.

The night I arrived in Los Angeles, I went to the Universal lot with Ashwin and David Kershaw to see Sarah shoot the last few shots of the video for her second single, "Stupid". Great to see her in action, she did one take of the whole song at the end of the day, and it was mesmerizing. Looking forward to seeing the finished video, and to singing on that song... I think "Stupid" will be a great concert moment.

It was a great trip. Next we will be going to New York to rehearse and possibly be on Letterman sometime in the second week of March (To Be Confirmed). Keep watching your TV listings! After that we will be rehearsing for the start of Sarah's tour in Australia and New Zealand! For the next few weeks I'll be singing the last few songs on my new (3rd solo) album with Thomas Payne, and he will start mixing, for a release before too long! It's coming along really well, we hope you will all like it as much as we do. Right before I left for my recent adventures, Thomas and I went on a radio tour to promote my single "Wichita Lineman" to AC radio. Let's hope we start hearing it on the airwaves soon, and if you do, please call the stations and request it again and again!

Thank you to my supportive fans for your words of encouragement in my joining Sarah's tour. Please keep checking in here for tour diary entries!

Best wishes and love to all,
KR.