Disc jockey
At the age of nine, Rimes released her demo album in 1991 on an independent label. Disc jockey Bill Mack became aware of Rimes' album and was impressed by her voice, and soon began to cultivate a plan for Rimes to make her breakthrough in the country music industry. Rimes recorded Mack's self-penned "Blue" and released it as a single in 1996, and it became a major country hit, propelling Rimes to her breakthrough only at age 13.