Newly signed artists: often timid, pliable souls so happy to have a record deal that they can be easily molded into someone else's vision.

Sony Music Nashville chairman/CEO Gary Overton knew during his first conversation with Miranda Lambert she wasn't that kind of girl. "I remember having a lunch with her at the Palm before she made her first record for Sony," says Overton, who was heading EMI Music Publishing's Nashville division at the time. He was trying to sign Lambert as a songwriter.

"She said, 'I can tell you this: They're not going to tell me what music to record. I'm going to do it my way.' I said, 'Well, that's kind of not the way it happens on Music Row,' and she goes, 'Well, that's the way it's going to happen with me, or I'll just go back to Texas and make my living. I'm not going to change my music or anything else.'"

"I was telling everybody that at that point," says Lambert, whose fourth album, "Four the Record," is due Nov. 1. "I probably just didn't know any better, being that young, and brand-new in town. But I'm glad I made that stance, because people took it seriously -and they still do. I'm still doing music my way, and it's working."

"It's working" is an understatement. In a format where female acts have generally languished in recent years, Lambert has exploded-thanks to a distinctive voice, impressive songwriting chops and an incendiary stage presence. Her 2005 Epic debut, "Kerosene," has sold more than 1 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan. Lambert's 2007 "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" scanned 1.1 million, and 2009's "Revolution" has sold 1.4 million. All three albums debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums chart.

"Revolution" spawned the hits "White Liar," "Only Prettier," "Heart Like Mine" and "The House That Built Me," a poignant Tom Douglas/Allen Shamblin-penned ballad that swept nearly every major awards show, earning song of the year honors from the Country Music Assn. and Academy of Country Music as well as the Grammy Award for best female country vocal performance. She's the reigning CMA female vocalist and has won the last two ACM top female vocalist honors. "Revolution" was named album of the year by both the CMA and ACM.

So expectations are high. But Lambert refuses to let her successful past paralyze her creative future.

"I went into it without a plan," she says. "I figured that I'm not going to make 'Revolution' again, and I really shouldn't. Part of being an artist is evolving and reinventing yourself, so I went into the studio with an open mind and let the songs lead the way. That's why there's everything on this record from rock to blues to country-all my musical influences. I listened to a lot of Jerry Jeff Walker, David Allan Coe, Willie [Nelson] and Waylon [Jennings] growing up."

Raised in Lindale, Texas, Lambert's youth was not only steeped in music that would provide a bedrock foundation for her unique brand of country, her parents were private investigators. This provided young Miranda with a bird's-eye view of the town's most interesting characters and situations. "I definitely think that influenced me," Lambert says. "So between my real life and what I've lived through, and what I've seen my parents live through, it all mixes together and makes my style unique."

As a teen, she honed her skills on the competitive Texas music circuit. She gained her first national exposure on country talent competition "Nashville Star," placing third on the show in 2003. "It definitely helped me," she says. "I don't think I'd be talking to you right now if it weren't for 'Nashville Star.' It gave me a launching pad, and I'm thankful for opportunities like that. If it weren't for 'American Idol,' we wouldn't have Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood to make the music industry look great."

In 2003, Lambert signed with Epic Records. Her debut single, "Me and Charlie Talking," released in the fall of 2004, peaked at No. 27 on Hot Country Songs the following March. Though the title track and highest-charting single of debut album "Kerosene" only peaked at No. 15, the album debuted at No. 1 and went platinum.

Her sophomore album, "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," produced four singles-the title track, "Famous in a Small Town," "Gunpowder & Lead" and "More Like Her," which peaked at Nos. 50, 14, 7 and 17, respectively. Despite the lack of a top five hit, the album debuted at No. 1 and was certified platinum. "Revolution" was a game-changer for Lambert. "I had chart success," she says. "I'd never had a top five before "Revolution." I had good sales and got on big tours, but definitely having a couple of No. 1s under my belt really kicked things into gear."

First single "Dead Flowers" only hit No. 37, but "White Liar" peaked at No. 2. "The House That Built Me" topped the chart for four weeks. "Only Prettier" peaked at No. 12, and "Heart Like Mine" became her second No. 1. "It was kind of a slow build," says Lambert, who turns 28 on Nov. 10. "It took a while for people to grasp what I was about because I'm a little left-of-center and I do have kind of a feisty image. But I feel like now people understand where I'm coming from. It has taken three records to get there fully, but now radio and fans have embraced what it is about me that's different-and now they like it."

Lambert's vocal style makes her music decidedly country, but in terms of her lyrical content and production, there's a definite edge. "Whatever I do is country with my accent and the way I sing," she says, "but my records have so much more to them. There's a lot of different influences. I'm kind of all over the map."

Lambert thinks diversity is part of her appeal, and that approach plays a big part in "Four the Record." "This album has something for everyone," she says. "You can't just listen to the first single, 'Baggage Claim,' and go, 'That's what the album sounds like.' Different people will have different favorite songs and that's what I like about it. I can reach the mass audience if I come from different perspectives on every song."

"It's spectacular," Sony Music Nashville's Overton says. "The cool thing was, she knows that a song like 'The House That Built Me' is a one-time song. If you're lucky enough to have one come along in your career, it's wonderful. She didn't try to find a song that's similar to that, like a lot of artists try to do. She was like, 'I'm not trying to re-create that. I'm going to keep moving and find some other great songs, or write them.' I think that was important."

"Baggage Claim" is No. 9 on Hot Country Songs and climbing. Lambert penned the tune with Natalie Hemby and Luke Laird, and contributes her songwriting skills to six of the 14 tracks. Lambert co-wrote four songs and penned two tunes solo, "Dear Diamond" and "Safe."

"I'm really proud of 'Dear Diamond,'" Lambert says. "I had this vision. I wanted Patty Loveless to sing on it because I was in Switzerland doing a festival last September and Patty was there. We got to spend some time together. She was already one of my heroes, but I definitely left there loving her even more. So as soon as I wrote it I was like, 'I want Patty to sing on this song,' and she did. It was a dream come true. It's really special to me."

Lambert and her husband, Blake Shelton, duet on "Better in the Long Run," penned by Charles Kelley, Ashley Monroe and Gordie Sampson. She and Shelton co-wrote the poignant "Over You," about the death of his older brother. "He got into a car accident when he was 24 and Blake was 14," she says. "He was sharing with me about that experience and we wrote that song. It's very personal and really close to both of our hearts."

Of course, Lambert is also known for sassy uptempo tunes that include fire -and firearms -and "Four the Record" doesn't disappoint in that department. "Fastest Girl in Town" opens with the lines, "You got the bullets, I got the gun/I got a hankerin' for getting into something/I hit the bottle, you hit the gas/I heard your '65 can really haul some ass."

"I wrote that one with Angaleena [Presley]," Lambert says of her Pistol Annies bandmate (see story, above), "and to me, that's classic Miranda. That's a song everyone would expect to hear from me. It's one of my favorites."

Next: Will Marriage Soften Miranda? Don't Hold Your Breath