Country Grammy winner plays to U. fans

The live music of Grammy award- winner Trisha Yearwood's hit single, "She's in Love With the Boy," rang through Logan 17 yesterday, where the country singer's loyal fans had gathered. Yearwood, who won a Grammy for a vocal collaboration with Aaron Neville, is on a year-long mission to promote the merits of a college education. "I felt like getting my education was important because the guarantees of being successful in the music industry are pretty small," she said. "Having the talent and desire doesn't necessarily get you a record deal." Yearwood received a degree in music business from Belmont College in Nashville -- which, she said, helped her launch a successful career. "I think it gave me an advantage in that I didn't walk into the door of a record label and have no clue as to how it worked," she said. "I worked at a record label as an intern so I saw the inner workings of the company. I had learned enough to know what questions to ask. I'm sure I appeared to be a lot more knowledgeable than I was." She said her main objective in speaking to students is to motivate them to follow their dreams. And with a college degree, people are much more likely to accomplish the impossible. "I feel like what I'm doing is one of those really farfetched impossible dream kind of things," she said. "But I wanted to do it. I want to be at the end of the next 20 years and know that I did what I love to do for a living. "Find what you love to do and try to find a way to make a living at it because you are going to be much happier," she added. Yearwood's presentation was introduced with a short biographical video. She then thrilled students with a live performance. Yearwood's appearance at the University is part of a tour sponsored by Discover Card. Yesterday, she performed at Valley Forge Music Fair. Fans were ecstatic with Yearwood's appearance. "I love country music. I'm especially fond of Trisha Yearwood," College sophomore Jessica Manlove said. "She's an amazing artist. I've been a fan since she first came out." Wharton sophomore Rich Archer, vice chairperson of Connaissance, which sponsored the event, said he was very impressed by Yearwood's delivery. "I thought she was really down-to-earth. She had a nice personality and was very humorous," he said. "It was really neat to hear her live because she sounded even better live than she does on her CDs. "Even when she was playing they messed up and she just laughed it off," he added. "She was very at ease."

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