In just five years, million-selling country sensation Martina McBride has accumulated a repertoire of astonishing power and depth. This year, with her new album Evolution, Martina showcases her singing like never before. The petite brunette has already proved she knows a hit song when she hears it; now she cuts loose with vocals that prove she has few peers as a stylist.

"For this album, we threw the mix wide open," says Martina, who co-produced the collection."We recorded in such a way that I could sing more like I sing live. We experimented a lot; we used different microphones than I've ever tried before."The result is that the vocals sound real warm. Without bragging, I think it's the best I've eversounded on a record. I think it's the closest we've ever come to recording the true sound of my voice."

Even before its release, Evolution has already spawned two top-10 hits. "Valentine," a romantic lyric recorded with pop pianist Jim Brickman, became a major Adult-Contemporary radio favorite earlier this year. Then "Still Holding On," the soaring "power ballad" she recorded as a duet with country superstar Clint Black, triumphed on the summertime country hit parade. Elsewhere on the new collection, Martina McBride's solo performances paint a rainbow of emotional colors, from the sunshine yellow of "Happy Girl" to the smoky, lavender blue of "I Won't Close My Eyes." On the poetic "Some Say I'm Running" her vocal textures are matched by equally evocative production work. Martina swirls in the melody of "Here In My Heart," her soprano trumpeting above the hypnotic layered rhythms of the instrumental mix.

The singer glows with feeling on "One Day You Will," the tender lilt of her phrasing perfectly reflecting the song's abiding-love message, while RLG labelmate Jason Sellers shadows her in harmony. In two of her most subtly shaded performances, she trades passages with instrumentalists throughout "Be That Way" and "Wrong Again," bringing out the emotional richness of both songs' lyrics. There are few in Nashville who can toss off uptempo tunes with the verve that Martina McBride brings to the chiming, harmony-laced country rockers "Keeping My Distance" and "I Don't Want To See You."

She sounds like a flaming arrow of truth when she opens up to a full-throttle wail on "Whatever You Say." And the chilling gospel intensity of "A Broken Wing" is surely a career milestone of a recording.The last named is the latest on her impressive string of strongly pro-woman performances."The Time Has Come," her 1992 debut single for RCA, announced the arrival of a stylist who would stand her ground for positive, affirming female lyrics from that moment on. In addition, its video was the first in country music that was closed captioned for the hearing impaired. "Cheap Whiskey," also from her first album, was a shattering indictment of alcoholism which also inspired a landmark video. This one carried a moving don't-drink-and-drive message.

She launched her second collection with 1993's "My Baby Loves Me," her first top-5 hit. Young girls began approaching Martina and thanking her for her record's love-me-for-myself message. The adorably cute accompanying clip alternated luminous footage of the azure-eyed Martina with shots of everyday couples miming the lyrics.

But it was that second album's "Independence Day" that made the world really sit up and take notice of Martina McBride. This stunning lyric of domestic violence resulted in an emotionally devastating video that earned her a shelf full of awards. More importantly, it put her in front of thousands of teen girls in schools throughout the U.S. with a message of self-worth and caution about abusive relationships.

"I won't sing some of those lyrics that I hear on the charts," says Martina McBride firmly. "Some of it is so shallow. If that's what it takes to be No. 1, then I don't want to be there. At the end of the day, I want to look back and be happy with what I've sung. I don't ever want to have to listen to one of my albums and have any regrets."

She needn't worry. Martina's third collection furthered her reputation for flawless song selection. "Safe In The Arms Of Love," her No. 1 hit "Wild Angels," and the rest of its tracks kept her right on course as an artist with integrity yet with keen commercial instincts.

Martina McBride comes by those instincts naturally. She is a product of the American heartland who was born on a Kansas farm and grew up singing country music from the moment she could tiptoe up to a mike. She and her husband John came from the Midwest to Music City in 1990 with little more than dreams and optimism.

Both have become true American success stories. He founded one of the largest and most important sound companies in the U.S. and became the production manager of the epic Garth Brooks tours. She earned gold and platinum record awards, was nominated for a Grammy, won accolades from the Country Music Association, gleamed as the award-winning star of the 1995 TNN/Music City News telecast, out-polled an entire community of celebrities to win the 1996 Nashville Music Award for Best Country Album, and was given every country singer's dream, an invitation to join the cast of the Grand Ole Opry.

"I'm happy with the way everything has progressed," she comments modestly. "I don't think there's ever been a time in my life when I have felt more calm, more at peace, or more content."With The Time Has Come I have to admit I was really green; I really didn't know what I was doing. With the second album, The Way That I Am, I was ready for it and eager. You can hear it, I think. When I did Wild Angels, I'd just had my daughter Delaney and I was just blissful. With this one, Evolution, I feel like my music is really coming from a focused place. I spent a lot more time on this one. It's the most concentrated on a project I've ever been. I took time off the road and had nothing to do except go to work on it every day."

Having been with her every step of the way, Martina's co-producer Paul Worley can attest to her work ethic. "Martina is the kind of artist that makes you grow as a producer," says Worley. "She constantly challenges all of those around her to be the best that they have ever been, and she challenges no one more than herself. She is also a great and true friend, one of the best people I've ever met." On Evolution, we are on a journey with Martina McBride. This fiery vocalist has certainly lived up to the title of "I'm Little But I'm Loud," a tune she recorded at age seven that opens the collection. And by the time Evolution closes with her two-year-old piping up with a tiny refrain of "A Broken Wing," you feel that you've traveled with a true companion, a kindred spirit of song.