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http://www.azcentral.com/thingstodo/music/articles/2010/10/12/20101012lady-antebellum-hillary-scott.html
There's a lot to live up to when your first album rockets out of the gate to the top of the charts.For Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott, it meant taking a big breath, seeking wise counsel, making smart choices ... then heading right back to the top of the music world.
After briefly commanding the heights with 2008's self-titled debut, the Nashville trio has landed firmly in the stratosphere. "Need You Now" is one of 2010's blockbuster albums, neck and neck with Eminem's "Recovery" for top-selling record of the year. That's no small thanks to its title track, which dominated country and mainstream radio as the group's star blossomed.
"We've learned to work well in chaos," Scott says with a laugh.
Scott was a 23-year-old newbie when Lady Antebellum hit the scene in 2008. When she spoke with the Detroit Free Press that spring, she described a recent late-night scene at a Walmart, where she burst into happy tears as she watched the group's disc get stocked on shelves.
"There's never going to be another time like this in our career," she gushed at the time. "We're soaking it up as much as we can."
There's been plenty to soak up. The ensuing two years brought a crash course in stardom to Scott and her group mates, co vocalist Charles Kelley and guitarist Dave Haywood. The trio's ride has led it to the top of the pop charts, critics' A-lists and an inaugural headlining tour.
The group, which has piled up awards this year from the Academy of Country Music and CMT, is an early hot pick in the upcoming Grammy sweepstakes, where analysts expect a strong run for record, song and even album of the year.
It was February's Grammy show, in fact, that helped propel "Need You Now" into the greater pop consciousness after its lengthy run on the country side. The group's elegant rendition helped send the song to No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100 en route to more than 4 million sold.


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If you were scripting a country crossover hit in 2010, you'd likely dream up something just like the group's sophomore album: Take a photogenic coed group that writes its own stuff, divvy up the lead vocal duties and lather on the harmonies with a smattering of high-energy rockers ("Stars Tonight") among midtempo message songs ("Hello World") and emotional ballads
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Lady Antebellum's solid critical reception has been bolstered by its songwriting bona fides: Group members helped write all but three of the new album's 11 songs, and Scott says they've already penned nearly another full album of new material.
With "Need You Now" scoring big from South Africa to Switzerland, Scott and her group mates are wrapping their heads around their growing international success - rare for a modern U.S. country act - in what she calls "an overwhelming and humbling" year.
"You can't really take in everything, and part of me is sad about that, because of all the opportunities we've had," she says. "But I also really appreciate the fact that we can't process it all, because that's when it starts going to your head."
Self-discipline has been crucial. Scott says key decisions - like when to step up to headlining tour status - have been "very careful," prompted by an awareness that "it can hurt you pretty severely from a career standpoint if you go too big too early."
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"More than anything, we grew as people," she says of the past two years. By the time the new album came along, "we knew each other a lot better, so the comfort level was there to not be afraid to expose deepest emotions. That only comes with friendship, and building the trust that comes with it. I don't understand how there are bands that can exist and function without that strong friendship as a foundation, especially when you write your own music."