Jana Kramer Feature-Virginian Pilot Newspaper

People really like Jana Kramer.

The comely country music newcomer is getting the kind of fan, and industry, support that suggests she isn't just the latest in a long line of Nashville's pretty faces.

Kramer recently was named top new female vocalist at the Academy of Country Music Awards - over critical darling Kacey Musgraves. The video for her hit "Why Ya Wanna" is up for two awards at the Country Music Television Awards show on Wednesday. And she's been nominated for a Teen Choice Award alongside Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood.

Then there's the summer gig opening for "The Voice" star Blake Shelton, whose tour starts at Farm Bureau Live in Virginia Beach on July 19.

Not bad, considering Kramer released her first record just under a year ago.

But then again, it's not like the 29-year-old Michigan native is a showbiz novice. Some fans may know her for her three-year run as fashionista Alex Dupre on TV's " One Tree Hill." Others may be familiar with her roles on NBC's " Friday Night Lights" or HBO's "Entourage."

"I do miss acting, and one day I'd like to balance both of them, but music has always been my first love," said Kramer, who performs Saturday at the Patriotic Festival at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront. "At this point I consider myself a country music singer who can act and not the other way around."

It's a fair assessment considering Kramer's eponymous debut album of country-pop has yielded two hit singles, with a third, "I Hope It Rains," climbing the charts.

Even so, trading TV for music was a leap of faith that some of the singer's own advisers were against.
"They said that a lot of actresses try country music and hardly any of them break through," Kramer said. "They didn't scare me.

"Besides, I don't like rejection. I knew that I was going to do this no matter how long it took or how hard I would have to work. Music is my passion."

With her good looks and charmed resume, it might be easy to assume that Kramer comes by her self-confidence naturally.

Not so.

"Ever since I was a little girl I used to do singing competitions and dreamed of being a singer, but I shied away from it for the longest time. I would always tell myself that I wasn't good enough."
But as she got older, Kramer started rewriting her internal dialogue.

"You have to believe in yourself and fight for what you want."

It's a self-empowerment mantra that has won Kramer a large fan base of young girls, whom she communicates with regularly on social media.

"I actually heard about the Teen Choice Awards from one of my fans on Twitter. To even be considered a role model for young girls is really sweet, and I want to continue to be someone they can look up to."

Lyrically, Kramer's songs range from heartbroken, tender ballads to festive feel-good anthems. In short, they tell good stories.

"That's exactly what I'm trying to do," she said. "I want to make people laugh and cry and just feel. I want to have an impact."