From Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman.

Martina McBride makes a new start
After two decades in the music business, the country vocal powerhouse, who will open for George Strait Thursday at Tulsa’s BOK Center, has a new label, a new album and a new top 10 hit.

After two decades in the music business, Martina McBride is relishing her new beginnings.

The country vocal powerhouse has a new label, a new album and a new top 10 hit, plus she recently embarked on a new tour with living legend George Strait. The next stop on her trek with Strait is set for Thursday night at Tulsa’s BOK Center.

“We have a new album, so we’re gonna be putting quite a few songs from the new album in the show. And that’s always exciting for us to play new music,” McBride said in a phone interview from Nashville, Tenn., before the tour launched Jan. 28 in Lafayette, La.

In 2010, McBride, 45, exited RCA Records, which had been her label home since her 1992 debut album “The Time Has Come.” Like fellow big-voiced songstress Reba McEntire, she inked a deal with a branch of the Big Machine Records family, Republic Nashville.

With “Eleven,” her first album on Republic Nashville but the 11^th studio effort of her career, she partnered for the first time with co-producer Byron Gallimore, known for his work with Sugarland, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Through the record’s 11 tracks, they explored different musical styles, including Southern soul, retro-pop and island country.

“I definitely set out to try to create a new sound. That’s just one of the things I like to do artistically is try to push the boundaries a little bit. You don’t want to make the same record over and over again,” Just to keep it interesting for me as well as my fans … I set out to do that,” she said.

“And then I felt a lot of support from the label and management to just go in and really create, to spend the time on the record. I didn’t feel rushed and I didn’t feel pressured and I didn’t feel like I was fenced in to make any particular type of record. I felt a lot of freedom to be artistic, and it was just a great environment to work in.”

The Kansas native also wrote more for “Eleven” than her previous albums. She co-wrote six of the 11 tracks, making her latest album one of her most personal.

“It wasn’t really planned but I just did have more time and I made a decision really just to devote myself to it and see what became of it,” she said.

“I had really only written with the Warren Brothers, who wrote ‘Anyway’ and a couple of songs for (my) other albums, so they were sort of like my comfort zone. And I turned down a bunch of people that wanted to write; then I started thinking, ‘This is silly; I want to see what happens.’ And it turned out to be a great experience.”

But McBride reunited with Brett and Brad Warren to pen the album’s first single, “Teenage Daughters,” about the joys and angst of parenting. She and her husband, sound engineer John McBride, have three girls.

“We started writing about something else and then I just started talking about what a trip it is to have a teenage daughter, not in a bad way really. It’s nothing that she’s doing. It’s just, you know, you have to come to grips with the change in your relationship as far as her getting more independent and making her own decisions,” she said.

“Part of it was just me sort of going, ‘Oh my God … how’d this happen? How do I have a 17-year-old?’”

While she didn’t write it, her second single, “I’m Gonna Love You Through It,” also touches on familial themes. The uplifting anthem tells the story of a cancer patient who receives strong emotional support from her husband, family and friends, ultimately beating the illness. McBride earned a Grammy nomination for best country solo performance with the song, which also happens to be her 25^th top 10 single.

“That song is really powerful and emotional, and I knew it would be. I mean, I thought it would be the kind of song that would make a difference to someone who is going through cancer or has known someone who has gone through cancer or has supported someone through cancer. And not only cancer, but “I’m hearing from a lot of people that it really fits. You know, that chorus fits a lot of life situations and challenges,” she said.

“Sometimes I sing songs about my life, but I mostly sing songs that I think people are going to be able to relate to. I sing songs for my fans and other people. So it’s been a really interesting ride with that song, hearing all the stories and the way that it’s meant so much to so many people.”

Along with her new music, McBride will play several of her past hits such as “My Baby Loves Me,” “This One’s for the Girls” and “Independence Day” when she opens for King George Thursday in Tulsa.

“It’s just exciting and an honor and flattering to be chosen to be part of that tour, of the all the acts that he could’ve chosen. I want to hold up my end of the deal and make him proud that he made a good decision,” she said. “I’m just gonna out there and have a great time.”

IN CONCERT

George Strait and Martina McBride

When: 7:30 p.m. Thursday. Doors open at 6 p.m.

Where: BOK Center, 200 S Denver, Tulsa.

Information: (866) 726-5287 or www.bokcenter.com.

-BAM

Putnam City High School graduate Audra Mae and her new band The Almighty Sound today released their self-titled, full-length debut album.

Oklahoma City native The World Famous Tony Williams also released today a new album, “King or the Fool.” Kanye West, John Legend and The Kid Daytona are among the well-known artists featured on various tracks, and West, who is Williams’ cousin, produced several tracks on the album.

In addition, the underrated psychological drama “Take Shelter” is new on DVD. I highly recommend the film, but be prepared to be outraged that Michael Shannon didn’t get an Oscar nominated.

Here is a list of new CDs, DVDs and books out this week, from Amazon.com and VideoETA.com:

CDs

Audra Mae and The Almighty Sound, “Audra Mae and The Almighty Sound.”

The World Famous Tony Williams, “The King or the Fool.”

Amos Lee, “As the Crow Flies.”

Hillsong, “Live in Miami” (CD/DVD set).

Audrey Assad, “Heart.”

Heartless Bastards, “Arrow.”

Le’Andria Johnson, “Evolution of Le’Andria Johnson.”

Band of Skulls, “Sweet Sour.”

Madonna and Abel Korzeniowski, “W.E. (Music from the Motion Picture).”

Punch Brothers, “Who’s Feeling Young Now?”

Santana, “Anthology 68-69: The Early San Francisco Years.”

DVDs

All Things Fall Apart

Beavis & Butt-Head: Volume 4

The Dead

Elite Squad: The Enemy Within

Family Matters: The Complete Second Season

The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence

The Interrupters

Mama, I Want to Sing

Mozart’s Sister

Paranormal Activity 3

The Rum Diary

Storage Wars: Volume 2

Take Shelter

Tiny Furniture

Books

The Wolf Gift by Anne Rice

I’ve Got Your Number: A Novel by Sophie Kinsella

The Principles of Knitting by June Hemmons Hiatt

Enemies: A History of the FBI by Tim Weiner

The Start-up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career by Reid Hoffman, Ben Casnocha

Private Games by James Patterson, Mark Sullivan

-BAM