With her incredible vocal prowess and talent for choosing meaningful songs, Martina McBride became one of the top female country stars of the mid-'90s. After Garth Brooks hired the still-unknown McBride as his opening act, the beautiful singer got lots of attention, but her first commercial success came with her second album, THE WAY THAT I AM. Critical success followed soon after. McBride became the go-to gal for songs of female empowerment. In the late '90s, she crossed over to the pop charts, first by collaborating with Jim Brickman and Bob Seger, and then on her own.