Serving my apprenticeship

It took me a long while to get established [Crow taught primary school children, recorded advertising jingles and worked as a backing singer before securing a recording contract] but I wouldn’t have had it any other way. I can’t imagine what it’s like for these young, ready-made stars that reality TV creates. The extreme high of getting noticed, then the fact that it can be all over for you in a nanosecond… A nightmare. I got in under the wire, just before the industry stopped developing artists and giving them time to grow, and I’m so enormously grateful for that.

Realising big birthdays bring benefits

The run-up to 40 was tumultuous for me, with so much going on in my life and my career. I admit the prospect of that landmark birthday was very daunting.

All the radio was playing at the time was 17-year-old girls, which pressured me to ask myself: do I want to keep doing this and, if so, how do I continue to grow? And it’s not like the old days when it was thought good to preserve a bit of mystery. By then, as now, it was show everything, tell everything and keep yourself out there at all costs, ’cos if you step out of the limelight for even a minute it’s over for you. But somehow at 40 I was able to just let go of all that anxiety and to relax. I can’t begin to tell you how incredibly liberating that was.

Reacting to a wake-up call

Like many people, I’d gotten really good at letting external events run my life. We distract ourselves from difficult or painful issues by staying busy, busy, busy, using whatever means we choose as an anaesthetic. Discovering I had cancer [of the breast, diagnosed two years ago and treated] stopped all of that evasion for me. It demanded that I turn inwards, confront my emotions and then work my way through them. It’s not the route by which I would have chosen to refocus, but I know that it’s been good for me. The previous ten years had been nothing but work, work, work. The time since then has been about finally establishing some balance.

Going back to my roots

I grew up in the Midwest and found myself wanting to move back. I’ve settled now on a farm outside Nashville and it’s a fantastic place to be. To some people it’s like I’ve put myself beyond civilisation but I’m in New York, Los Angeles or wherever often enough never to miss city life when I’m home. Plus I’m a mum now [last May Crow announced she had adopted a two-week-old baby boy whom she named Wyatt], so the relocation makes even more sense. My son has been full of energy and curiosity from the very first moment he could lift his head and it’s going to be a great place for him to grow. There’s no paparazzi out there either. He’s going to be able to have a nicely normal childhood. I’m absolutely determined about that.

Regretting rien

I choose not to have regrets. OK, I am sorry that I cut my hair short a few years ago, but that apart… I’m happier than I’ve ever been before with where I am in my life. A partner might be nice [in 2006 she and cyclist Lance Armstrong announced that their three-year relationship was over] but I fear the bar has been set too high for me by my parents. They’re still married after so, so many years and, even better than that, still really like each other. Who’s going to help me measure up to that?

Now That You’re Gone is out on May 12 as a digital-only single

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