LeAnn Rimes: I 'lost it and started crying' before healing relationship with mom

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Leann Rimes opens up on new chapter for her music, life

It's been 20 years since Rimes won a Grammy for 'best new artist' at age 14

LeAnn Rimes' relationship with her mom has always been complicated.

"My mom and I have had a really rough relationship," Rimes told Fox News. "She basically lost me to the world when I was 13... I've kept her on the outside."

So when Rimes sat down to write songs for her now-released album "Remnants," the country singer knew she wanted to write a song about her mom in hopes it would help them heal.

"We wrote ['Mother']...and two weeks later something happened with my stepson," Rimes explained. "Something just clicked and I lost it and started crying and I sent my mom a text said, 'I understand and I'm so sorry.'"

She added, "That song has been a really big healer for my mom and me."

Rimes told us her new music is the most "authentic and real" she has ever been since releasing her first single "Blue" in 1996.

"I've been making music for more than half my life which is insane," she said. "It's a blessing and a very interesting place to be at 34. I feel like after all of those records, I'm making the best music of my life and exposing myself and being really authentic."

While Rimes wants to share the real her with the world, she has to be careful to keep some things private.

"Growing up in this business and going through many difficult things publicly has not been easy," the 34-year-old shared. "Now, I feel like I'm more...raw and real in my humanity and at the same time I'm able to keep a little bit more of a private life."

When she chooses to put herself out there, Rimes says she's an "open book." She feels comfortable being so open with her fans because they share their lives -- good and bad -- with her.

"There's been so many fans that, they shared their struggles with me and very openly and I have so many dedicated fans, I know their back story and what they've gone through and how they've overcome it."