Everybody has heroes, and for Miranda Lambert, the great Merle Haggard has been a biggie, so when she finally had a chance to meet him, she did what a lot of hero-meeting people tend to do: talk fast, and worry a bit that your long-admired guy or gal won’t live up to your expectations. Well, Miranda says Merle was everything she’d hoped — and she was thrilled to meet Beyoncé, too — but Miranda is trying to get used to the notion that now she has become an inspiration to others. (AUDIO INFO BELOW)

• Miranda just scored the first number-one hit of her career with “White Liar”! It’s just one of the truckload of terrific tracks on her acclaimed Revolution album.
• Look for Miranda on this Sunday’s GRAMMY Award telecast — she’s a presenter as well as a nominee for Best Female Country Vocal Performance for “Dead Flowers.”

  Miranda Lambert recalls meeting one of her heroes. (:33)
“I got to meet Merle Haggard. And most people don’t get to meet their heroes, you know? It’s very rare that people actually get to meet, face-to-face, their heroes, and that was really, really special. I said, like, 200 words in thirty seconds, just like, ‘blah, blah, blah, blah,’ everything I’ve ever wanted to say to him, and he signed my guitar, and he was so nice. And you know, I was honestly scared to meet him because, you know, meetin’ your hero is like, well, what if they’re in a bad mood? And then I’m crushed for the rest of my lifetime because they were mean. You know, it’s kind of like, ‘Oh, I hope he’s nice,’ but he was — he was awesome.”

  Miranda Lambert is trying to get used to the idea that there are people who think of her as an inspiration. (:22)
“My mom always tells me, she’s like, ‘You need to know how you feel when you…’ — I met Beyoncé, recently, too, and I love Beyoncé, and so, Mom goes, ‘You know how you felt? You need to remember that when people are meetin’ you, you know? That you’re their…’ ’cause I just don’t look at myself as somebody’s inspiration for whatever — you know what I mean? So, guess it can happen, but yeah, Mom always says, ‘Remember how you felt when you met Merle and Beyoncé, and that’s how your fans feel.'”