Long before American Idol and The Voice existed, Star Search dominated the airwaves. The Ed McMahon-hosted competition show spawned more stars than any other talent show in history.

Pop stars Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake, Christina Aguilera, and the Backstreet Boys are among the stars who got their start on Star Search.

A number of comedians including Ray Romano and Bill Engvall can also credit the show for their early success. But, it’s the number of country stars who got their feet wet on the Star Search stage that surprised us.

Billy Dean, Ty Herndon, Phil Vassar, Sawyer Brown, and LeAnn Rimes are just a few of the country singers who once performed on Star Search.

Rimes was only 8 at the time of her Star Search appearance, but was already a well-rehearsed performer with four years of experience under her belt. The “Blue” singer won her first Star Search round against fellow junior vocalist Levi Garrett. She didn’t go on to win the overall title, but she did become the youngest Grammy Award winner of all time just 6 years later.

In 1996, at the age of 13, LeAnn Rimes released her debut album, Blue, and its title track.

Blue sold more than six million copies, setting Rimes on a path to superstardom. Three subsequent albums were also certified platinum, with Rimes selling more than 37 million records over the course of her career to date.

LeAnn Rimes cemented herself as one of the greatest talents of her generation. In addition to shattering records as a vocalist, Rimes has made appearances as an actress in made for television movies (Holiday In Your Heart, Northern Lights, and more). Most recently, she was featured on the Australian and UK versions of The Voice.

In 2020, LeAnn returned to her singing competition roots when she appeared on Season 4 of The Masked Singer. Rimes, who was disguised as The Sun, won the season and became the first and only country singer to do so.

LeAnn Rimes competed as The Sun on Season 4 of “The Masked Singer”

(Photo credit: The Masked Singer/Facebook)

Watch a young LeAnn Rimes perform Marty Robbins’ “Don’t Worry” in her Star Search debut in 1991 below.