How Do You Fix A 'Give-A-Damn'?

Jo Dee Messina is a country music star whose appeal has crossed over to pop music fans. Inspired by performers like Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton, she rocketed to stardom with her debut album in 1996.

Since then, she has become the first woman in the history of Billboard's Country Singles chart to have three consecutive multiple-week, No. 1 hits.

On Friday's The Early Show, she performs songs from her fourth album, "Delicious Surprise."

"My greatest hope is that somewhere, somebody will hear this record, and find in it what I've found in music my entire life," says Messina. "Reassurance, understanding, inspiration, strength and compassion."

She says the record is grittier than her previous releases, but has refused to talk to reporters about the drinking, tragedies and heartbreak she has endured, saying in a recently published interview: "I feel I don't want to make a living out of tragedy."

Messina was raised by a single mother in Holliston, Mass., a blue-collar Boston suburb. The singer says she was performing in clubs in her hometown at the age of 13.

Her new single "My Give A Damn's Busted" has already become a hit. She is on tour through September.