Heidi Newfield: Too Nice for Her Own Good?

Heidi Newfield on the Orange Carpet at the 43rd Annual ACM Awards, Sunday, May 18, 2008 in Las Vegas, NV. Photo by David Vespie.

April 6, 2009 — Heidi Newfield had five nominations for Sunday’s "44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards", and while she didn’t win anything, she didn’t really expect to: She repeatedly told people leading up to the big night in Las Vegas that she was a dark horse in each of the five categories.

That’s a typical point of view for Heidi, who makes a real effort to be cordial. That’s generally considered a good trait, though John Popper — the lead singer and harmonica player for the rock band Blues Traveler — told her back in 2005 that she’s too nice, and it’s setting her back.

"John was on a USO tour with us for 2½ weeks, so we got to know each other really well," Heidi told CNN. "Every night, he would come onstage and do a [harmonica] number with me. On the last night of the tour, we were in Germany, and we were at this pub, and Poppy said to me, ‘You love this, and it's clear you're a musician, but you need to learn to stop being so nice. You need to speak your mind and step up for yourself.’"

Heidi did take a step for herself when she broke away from Trick Pony at the end of 2006 to pursue a solo career. Her first album yielded a hit with "Johnny And June" — which she performed on the ACMs — in addition to all those ACM nominations, though she went through the whole ordeal still being as nice as possible.

"I don't think you ever, ever, ever have to be a diva or a prima donna to make it to a certain level," she said. "I think you can always treat people with respect and be nice, and I always plan on doing that. But what [John] said was right. When you start to believe in yourself, that's when there's no limit to what you can do."

Heidi’s first solo single was a Top 5 hit and got nods for Single Record, Song and Video of the Year in the ACMs. Her follow-up single, "Cry Cry (Til The Sun Shines)," is ranked at No. 27 on the USA Today Mediabase country singles chart.