Randee St. NicholasTrisha Yearwood will be pushing the outside edges of her comfort zone, as she takes on several decidedly non-country tunes to play Mary, the mother of Jesus, in Fox’s live Palm Sunday musical, The Passion. She’ll perform Katy Perry’s “Unconditionally” and Whitney Houston’s “Your Love Is My Love” in the re-telling of the crucifixion using modern songs and wardrobe in current-day New Orleans.
“That’s the first song I sing in the show,” she tells Entertainment Tonight of the Whitney Houston tune. “Which, I probably should’ve said no! ‘OK, you want me to sing a Whitney Houston song?’ But I tried to just say, this is not about me, this is not about trying to do the Whitney licks ‘cause I could not if I wanted to. It’s about putting myself in that moment and trying to relay the message to the people.”
Not only is Trisha busy getting ready for the live production, she also happens to be in the middle of a world tour with husband Garth Brooks, who’s been cheering her on as she tackles the new material.
“He’s been really a great support in this. These sessions have not been easy for me. It’s been a little challenging and I’ll get home at night and I’ll be like, ‘I don’t know. I don’t know if I can do this.’ And he’s like ‘You got this!’”
The two-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year will do five songs in all, including a 2008 hit from alternative band Lifehouse.
“A lot of the dialogue is direct from scripture and the songs are so well-fit to the story,” Trisha says. “For instance, after Jesus is on the cross Mary sings a song called ‘Broken.’ It’s so perfect. I’m broken. This is breaking my heart. It makes sense in the moment.”
We shouldn’t expect to hear any of Trisha’s own hits, however. “’She’s in Love with the Boy’ did not fit!” she jokes.
You can catch your first glimpse of The Passion, which airs Sunday, March 20 on Fox, in a new promo now posted on YouTube.
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