By Peter Covino
Entertainment Editor

With three children and a husband, it’s no wonder country music fans haven’t heard much from singer Sara Evans lately.

All that is about to change this week as Evans, the 2006 Academy of Country Music Vocalist of the Year, releases a new single on iTunes and appears at the Silver Spurs Arena at Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee on Friday. She will appear with special guest Craig Campbell.

“I love coming to Florida. I have a lot of friends there,” Evans said Monday in a phone interview from her home in Birmingham, Ala. Evans is married to former University of Alabama quarterback Jay Barker.

Evans is back on the road singing “A Little Bit Stronger,” a song she fell in love with as soon as she heard it — so much so, she went back to the studio to add it to a new album she has slated to come out in 2011.

Written by Hillary Scott, of Lady Antebellum, Evans said the song is about a bad breakup.

“It’s an emotional song, that is sad but uplifting as well,” she said.

Evans said it is good to be back on the road again.

“I love touring,” she said, adding that her three children were practically raised on the tour bus.

The current tour includes stops throughout the Southeast, including Ocala and Kissimmee.

Evans is only 39, but she has been performing in nightclubs near her hometown in Missouri and other venues since she was 16. She moved to Nashville in 1992 and began recording in earnest in 1995.

She has been named one of People Magazine’s 50 Most Beautiful People and won new fans as the first-ever country star to compete in ABC’s “Dancing with the Stars.” She enjoys a prolific recording career with more than 5 million records sold and four chart-topping number one country singles, including the self-penned “Born To Fly.”

Other TV appearances have included a special guest stint on "Nashville Star" and an appearance on the game show "Password" in June 2008.

She also made an appearance judging on HGTV’s “Design Star,” where she chose which of two redesigned rooms at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center was most like her own style.

Her albums include “Three Chords and the Truth” (1997); “No Place that Far” (1998); “Born to Fly” (200); “Restless” (2003); “Real Fine Place” (2005); and “Greatest Hits” (2007).

“Born to Fly” won video of the year, single of the year, song of the year and album of the year at the Country Music Association Awards.

Evans’ traditional country style (she also writes most of her own material) has been compared to Faith Hill and LeAnn Rimes.

Personally, Evans said she has always been a big fan of Reba McEntire and Pasty Cline, among many other country stars.

“When I was about 13, “Sweet Dreams” (the Patsy Cline biography film with Jessica Lange) came out and I just watched it over and over,” she said.

Twitter fans can “converse” with Evans at her Twitter site, Saraevansmusic (http://twitter.com/saraevansmusic).

“I enjoying Tweeting,” she said, “but sometimes I forget to post.”

Tickets are on sale and available through Ticketmaster by calling 800-754-3000 or at Ticketmaster.com, at local Walmart locations and the Silver Spurs Arena Box Office. Ticket prices are $65, $49.50 and $35.