Jo Dee Messina has been busy recently. In the past year and a half she has married, had a child, written and released a new CD and started a national tour. Friday, she will be performing in Sparks at John Ascuaga’s Nugget.

The feisty red-headed country girl is touring to tout her new album “Unmistakable: Love,” the first in a series of three albums to be released in 2010 with the “unmistakable” theme. Just like her Friday stage performance, Messina’s new albums will include a little of the new and a lot of the country diva’s classics.

“I think this is a great way to let the fans hear all the recordings made in the last six years,” Messina said on her official website, www.jodeemessina.com. “They not only get to experience the finished product, but also the complete collection of songs recorded along the way.”

The way for Messina has been long, but littered with success.

Some say her career started in 1996 with her connections with the right big-time Nashville record execs, the release of her self-titled album and the skyrocketing success of the single “Heads Carolina, Tails California.” AllMusic.com claims Messina’s strong country voice first caught the world’s attention years earlier at the age of 16, playing local clubs with her siblings making up the rhythm section.

One beginning makes Messina a down-home, stage-bred star. The other makes her an industry-groomed name. Luckily for Messina, both are true.

While making her way through the small-time stage circuit, first in her hometown of Holliston, Mass. and then in Nashville, Messina met the right people. According to her website, she was introduced to another struggling newcomer named Tim McGraw. Messina was signed about the same time as McGraw to a major record label, but then she was dropped. Another chance backstage meeting at a fan fair got her in contact with a Curb Records executive and she got a record deal on the spot.

With record friend Byron Gallimore and McGraw producing, Messina released her breakout hit, “Heads Carolina, Tails California,” an anthem to getting out of town and having a wild-ride adventure.

Her follow-up album, “I’m Alright,” rocketed Messina to her greatest successes with chart-topping empowerment tunes “Bye Bye,” “I’m Alright” and “Stand Beside Me.”

Curb has been her major label since then, pumping out and promoting nine CDs with one live recording thrown into the mix.

The bold and go-getting singer’s style has paid off ever since. Messina won the Academy of Country Music’s Top New Female Vocalist award, the Country Music Association’s Horizon award and she got a nod from Billboard for most played country female of 1999 from Billboard. Her 2000 “Burn” album entered the Country Albums chart at No. 1, went platinum and earned two Grammy Award nominations. Hits like “Lesson in Leavin’,” “Downtime,” “Bring on The Rain” and “My Give A Damn’s Busted” all hit the Top 10 in on various charts. Messina has charted nine No. 1 singles on the Billboard country music charts. She was also the first female country artist to score three multiple-week No. 1 songs from the same album.

To date, she has two platinum and three gold-certified albums by the Recording Industry Association of America.

In her spare time, of which she would seem to have very little, Messina runs marathons, raises money for St. Jude Children’s Hospital, spends time with her little family and continues to write her own material.

“I’m a work in process,” Messina said. “I am constantly learning. I’m constantly growing. You’re always evolving and it never ends. You’re never, ‘OK. I’m done. I’ve figured it all out.’ "

Messina will take the stage Friday at 8 p.m. on the Nugget’s Celebrity Showroom stage. Tickets cost $50 and can be purchased by calling (800) 648-1177 or by visiting janugget.com.