Singer back on stage after 3-month hiatus

Tom Gardner

Saturday, Sept. 30, 2000 | 9:04 a.m.

RENO, Nev. - A jubilant LeAnn Rimes ended her health-imposed stage silence with a return to a concert schedule that was put on hold at the end of June because of a swollen right vocal cord.

"God, it feels so good to be back," she said after her third number Friday night. "I am back now and I'm here for good."

The two-time Grammy Award-winning singer had to cancel 30 appearances that were scheduled to start in mid July. She conceded two months ago that her ailments went beyond a sore throat.

"I've had four cases of tonsillitis in the past three or four months," she told The Associated Press. "I also had a case of mono which I'm now coming out of. I think I've had mono for a little over a year now. It kept on going and then it went into my vocal cord."

She blamed part of her problems on the overuse of her voice during an intense tour schedule of some 400 concerts in the three years following her debut hit "Blue" in 1996.

"Being sick almost was a blessing in disguise because I've had a chance to grow," she said before launching into Blue, which she recorded when she was 13.

Friday's appearance at the Silver Legacy marked a limited seven-show return to the concert stage. She will appear next Saturday in Las Vegas with Christina Aguilera and Seal in Tiger Jam III for the Tiger Woods Foundation at Mandalay Bay.

While stepping back from the demand of a concert, she returned to the studio this summer to record four songs for the "Coyote Ugly" sound track, an album that quickly went gold.

Her current single is "I Need You" from the CBS miniseries "Jesus," which she will perform Wednesday on the Country Music Association awards program, also on CBS. She said on Friday it's her one song she turns up when it comes on the radio.

Her next album - her sixth - is due for release early next year and will mix her edgy country sound with rhythm & blues and some '70s-style rock 'n' roll flavor, much of it written or co-written by her.

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On the Net:

The Web site for LeAnn Rimes is: http://www.rimestimes.com