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American Morning

Tears of Joy for Tim McGraw After Grammy, Hit Single

Aired May 01, 2001 - 10:45   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MICHAEL OKWU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, everyone, I'm Michael Okwu in New York. As one-half of the hottest couple in country music and with rock-solid record sales, Tim McGraw has become Nashville royalty. But until recently, he was missing one thing: a Grammy. With that prize in his pocket and a new album in stores, McGraw's trying to prove "Grown Men Don't Cry."

CNN's Jodi Ross explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TIM MCGRAW, MUSICIAN (singing): I don't know why they say grown men don't cry.

JODI ROSS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): "They" obviously haven't met Tim McGraw. The country singing star has shed some tears both on stage and off.

MCGRAW: I've been crying for the last 15 or 20 minutes.

ROSS: How fitting that "Grown Men Don't Cry" is the fastest- rising single of his career and the first song from his new album in two years, "Set This Circus Down."

(on camera): Do you think that your life is somewhat of a circus?

MCGRAW: Absolutely. You know, what we do is a circus. We throw up a show every night and wake up in the next morning and tear it down or tear it down that night, wake up the next morning in another city and throw up another show.

ROSS: After today's miniconcert in New York City, Tim McGraw jets off to Nashville and does all of this all over again. Why, you ask? Well, for the fans, of course.

MCGRAW: We see fans all the time that were there during those days when nobody was listening to us, and so I think our fans have always been real loyal to us and respectful of what we do as we are of them.

FAITH HILL, MUSICIAN: This is my husband, Tim McGraw.

ROSS (voice-over): Married to Faith Hill, McGraw just won his first Grammy for their vocal collaboration on the song "Let's Make Love."

("LET'S MAKE LOVE")

ROSS (on camera): Are you still basking in the glow of being a Grammy winner? How long does that last?

MCGRAW: The next morning; on to other things. No, the Grammys are great. I was more excited for my wife than anything.

("SET THIS CIRCUS DOWN")

ROSS (voice-over): McGraw lent more than just his voice to the new album. He was a producer, as well as a designer for the artwork on the cover.

MCGRAW: To me, these days, when you can download music and arrange your own albums, and it's all great that you can do that, it's really cool that you can have music the way you want it, but part of the experience of a record is the whole package that comes along with it.

ROSS: McGraw finally has the whole package, too, and he says he's thankful.

MCGRAW: There's people who work their whole life and are a whole lot better person than I am that don't get a break, and I can't imagine how you can think that you deserve it.

Thank you, guys! Thank you!

ROSS: Jodi Ross, CNN Entertainment News, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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