Lambert seeks repeat success with new CD

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - She torched a cheating lover's home in "Kerosene" and loaded up a shotgun for an abusive man in "Gunpowder & Lead."

She named the title track to her latest album "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," for Pete's sake.

And yet Miranda Lambert, a striking blond with pouty lips, laughs at the suggestion she might be, well, the girlfriend from hell.

"I'm actually a nice person, most of the time," she says softly.

And despite the tough demeanor, she's actually feeling a touch fragile these days. She faces the pressure of following up a successful debut, and she's scared to death about it.

"If I don't do that well, I let everybody down. I let myself down," she said.

While her 2005 debut "Kerosene" went platinum, it didn't get much help from country radio. Her highest-charting single by far was the title cut, and it failed to make the Top 10 on Billboard's country music singles chart.

The edgy title track from her new album, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," stalled at No. 50. Her latest single, the more traditional "Famous in a Small Town," is just now registering on the charts.

"I think with the right single she's going to break. The question is does she have it yet," said Brian Jennings, program director at WGAR in Cleveland.

No one questions Lambert's talent. She's been writing and performing since she was a teenager. She's toured with superstars George Strait, Keith Urban and Toby Keith. Her performance at last year's Country Music Association awards was a jaw-dropper for the normally staid CMA, with Lambert smashing her guitar on stage like Pete Townsend.

On the new record, she again wrote or co-wrote most of the songs. And while she can still come across as the wild blonde whose idea of a night out involves tequila and gunplay, she shows a more vulnerable side with ballads like "Love Letters," "More Like Her" and "Easy From Now On."