But Rimes still has the big voice and huggable personality. And at 27, she's hardly over the hill. For three pairs of Thursdays and Fridays, she even has a room on the Strip, in the "Mystere" theater at Treasure Island.

Rimes filled about half of it on opening night Oct. 22 with some fans who stayed loyal for 13 years, including Las Vegan Ray White, who modestly calls himself her "No. 2 fan." Even though he has the singer's autograph tattooed on his arm, he figures somebody out there must have him beat.

Having all of the above on her side helped Rimes overcome a few negatives: recent tabloidy distractions in her personal life, an awkward fit on Cirque's stage and, most pressingly, sore feet.

As soon as the petite singer shed the impossibly high heels that, she said, made her look drunk, she bounced around barefoot on Cirque's spongy stage as though sprung from a trap.

A stage that's bare but for the musical instruments is fine for a music club such as the House of Blues, but it looked desolate in this venue designed for grander action. The singer had to hike many yards in front of her seven-piece band to work the U-shaped area separating her from the front row.

And because it wasn't a club where people dance and sway, the show seemed a little stuffy and formal until Rimes started to thaw the room with some ice-breaking chatter.

"She used to talk too much," No. 2 fan told me. "She's trying to change her image." Hopefully, she will relapse. To paraphrase the "Airplane!" movie, she picked the wrong day to give up working the room.

Though her heels were wobbly, Rimes' music is on solid ground. Her songwriting is catching up to her rich voice, always wise beyond its years. Her next album promises plenty of between-the-lines reading on the end of her marriage to Dean Sheremet and her new relationship with actor Eddie Cibrian, her co-star in a Lifetime movie romance.

Two straight-up rockers from the upcoming album kicked off the set, proving Rimes' high-octane voice is so suited to the blues and Jet-style party rock that it shouldn't be shackled by modern country formula. That said, it took four songs before "Probably Wouldn't Be This Way" let the audience hear every word, with the singer moving beyond her technical power to find nuance in the fade-out line, "Guess I'll have to see."

Her last significant hit, "What I Cannot Change," provided the evening's emotional high point, part of a sit-on-stools acoustic set that found the vibe of the low-key evening. It makes you wonder if, with time to adapt to these surroundings, Rimes won't try giving more time to the "unplugged" intimacy.

But coaxing the crowd to its feet to send them home with a rollicking "Folsom Prison Blues" was very Vegas. It reminded you that tweener or not, she's a showbiz veteran already, and an adaptable creature indeed.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.