TORONTO -- Crossover country music star Faith Hill grew up idolizing Elvis Presley.
That's appropriate.
Both artists were born in Mississippi. The first album Hill ever bought was one of Presley's. And the first concert she ever saw? Why Elvis, of course.
Now Hill finds herself in the position of possibly unseating The King, whose posthumously released album Elvis: 30 #1 Hits remains at the top of the charts in both Canada and the U.S.
Her previous album, 1999's Breathe, debuted at No. 1.
"I never thought it would ever come to this," said Hill yesterday, a vision of blond, sexy wholesomeness in her off-white turtleneck, jeans and high-heeled boots.
The 35-year-old was in Toronto to promote the release this week of her new album, Cry, after having taken a three-year break from the music industry.
During that downtime, she and her husband -- fellow country music star Tim McGraw -- had their third daughter, Audrey (now 10 months old). But now Hill finds herself smack dab back in the public eye.
This morning she appears on NBC's Today Show. She'll perform her next single on the Country Music Awards on Nov. 6. And she has her own NBC-TV special airing late next month.
"I enjoyed the time home, definitely," Hill said. "But I was excited about making a new record and putting some new music out, so the timing is good. I had some great time at home, and now I'm back full-force."
So is another crossover country music diva, Canada's own Shania Twain, whose album Up! hits record stores on Nov. 19.
Hill says she doesn't see Twain as a competitor.
"I don't see it that way because I think we're so different," said Hill, who has sold more than 25 million albums since 1993. "Our careers are very different. I've had enormous success and I've sold a lot of albums, but this is a woman who has sold many more albums than me. To think that I could compare myself to her ..."
Given that Twain's last album alone, 1997's Come On Over, sold a record 30 million copies worldwide, Hill may have a point.
Hill yesterday sported one obvious symbol of her and husband McGraw's success: a 10-carat, 'fancy yellow,' canary diamond wedding ring. Enthralled, all I did was ask her about it.
"I've never taken it off to show anybody," she said with a laugh as she let me hold it. "You're the first person! I can't believe I just did that! It's such a girl thing!"
Incidentally, Hill will also find herself competing against McGraw, whose new album, Tim McGraw & The Dancehall Doctors, is due in stores Nov. 26.
McGraw already has found himself embroiled in a controversy over the first single, Red Rag Top, which some radio stations in the Bible Belt of the southern U.S. are refusing to play because of a reference to abortion in the lyrics.
"The song is not about abortion," Hill said. "It's telling the story of this person's life as he's reflecting back on it. It was just this one segment that was pulled out, which created all this controversy. And just because you like the song does not mean you agree with abortion. It does not mean it's your choice or not.
"Some places won't play it ever, because they believe so strongly that it sends a bad message. But, for the most part, the fans are choosing it. It's a great song."
