Entertainment

ARLINGTON – Hours before she was to take the stage at Arlington High School on Wednesday night, Melissa Lawson took a moment to let it sink in.

The 32-year-old mother of five boys, wife to one understanding husband and top-four finalist on NBC's Nashville Star said being back in her hometown – and at her alma mater – "is so overwhelming and exciting, all at once. It's almost every emotion you could put into one little bucket."

One of those emotions is gratitude.

"It's just the realization that everyone coming tonight actually came to see me," says the singer, who put her career on hold when she started having children (Maverick, 8; Harlan, 7; Zaden, 4; Xander, 2; and Ryker, 11 months).

When she considers the support she's felt from fans, she has to fight back tears. "I want them to feel how grateful I am that they're voting for me."

Ms. Lawson knows that people appreciate the fact that she's, well, normal in many ways. She's a very busy mom, a wife, not 20 anymore and not a size 0. (But she has lost 69 pounds since January.) She was recently stopped by a woman at the airport, who gave her a hug and said, "I just hope you're as real as you appear to be on TV."

"I thought to myself, 'My gosh, I sure hope I come across as what I am,' " Ms. Lawson says. "What you see is pretty much what you get."

Husband Rick, who has worn both parenting hats since May 24 when his wife left for Nashville, says the two share a dream for her career, but it's not their most important job.

"We take their temperature," he says of the boys' ability to deal with their mom's fame. "If they're good, we're moving forward. If they stop being good, that's it. We're parents first."

That side of the singer was evident during rehearsals, as one of her younger boys crawled onstage and clung to her leg like a monkey. As moms will do, Ms. Lawson just kept working: "Let's start with the bridge," she told her band, seemingly happy to have someone attached to her appendage.

About an hour later, a crowd of more than 1,000 fans, family and members from Pantego Bible Church filed into the auditorium, bringing posters that read, "You go girl," "We are proud of you!" and "Awesome Melissa Lawson."

To a rousing standing ovation, Ms. Lawson started her set with "Something to Talk About" and ended an hour later with "Anyway."

As she reached the crescendo of the Martina McBride song, which talks about not giving up on dreams, the crowd also got louder, making one of those moments when singer and listener seem to be feeling the joy in equal amounts.

"I can't put into words what this experience and this journey have meant," she said afterward. "And we're just getting started, aren't we?"

Darla Atlas is a Fort Worth freelance writer.