Chicks Of Country

Kellie Pickler

Early Life

Kellie Dawn Pickler was born June 28th, 1986, at the Stanly Memorial Hospital in Albemarle, North Carolina, United States. Pickler lived in Albemarle with her grandfather, Clyde Pickler Sr., and grandmother Faye Pickler and her younger sibling Eric. Her father Clyde "Bo" Raymond Pickler Jr., who has battled drug and alcohol problems most of his life, served a 3 year 9 month prison sentence at Florida State Prison and her mother, Cynthia Morton, abandoned her at age two. She graduated in the class of 2004 from North Stanly High School in New London, NC, where she was a cheerleader and beauty queen. She sang On The Side of Angels by LeAnn Rimes at her graduation commencement from North Stanly in May, 2004. She worked as a waitress at a Sonic Drive In franchise and, in 2005, she made an appearance on WSOC-TV's Gimme the Mike! Charlotte contest. She finished in second place. She participated in the Miss America circuit and won the "Miss Stanly County" pageant at age 17 and subsequently competed for Miss North Carolina 2004. She dropped out and later focused on paralegal studies.

Career Highlights

In 2005 Pickler auditioned for Simon Fuller’s American Idol talent show in Greensboro, North Carolina. She sang both Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" and Martina McBride's "A Broken Wing". She was selected as one of 24 contestants who were sent to Hollywood to compete in the finals of the fifth season of the show. Pickler was on the show for ten weeks during which time she performed hits such as "Walkin' After Midnight" (Patsy Cline), "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Queen) and "Unchained Melody" (The Righteous Brothers) eventually finishing in sixth place. After her elimination, she appeared in numerous shows promoting the TV show and performed as part of the American Idol Pop Tarts tour ensemble, performing for three months throughout the United States.

Her debut album, Small Town Girl, was released on October 31st, 2006. The album debuted at # 1 on Billboard's Top Country Albums and at #9 on Billboard Top 200 selling over 79,000 copies in its first week. Her first single, "Red High Heels", debuted at # 99 on the Billboard Hot 100 on the week of the album's release. It also received a nomination for the CMT Video Awards for "Best Breakthrough Artist Video" and reached #1 on the GAC Top 20 Countdown on February 9th. Her second single, "I Wonder",was released in March 2007 and peaked at # 14 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs and # 75 on the Billboard Hot 100. Pickler performed the song at 2007 CMA Awards. It won "Performance of the Year" at the 2008 CMT Music Awards. "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind" was the third and final single released from the album. The song also peaked in the top 20 of the Billboard Hot Country Songs at #16. As of July 2008 the album had sold over 800,000 copies worldwide.

Her second studio album, self-titled Kellie Pickler, was released on September 30th, 2008, and debuted at # 9 on the Billboard 200 chart, her second consecutive top ten album, and her second consecutive # 1 on the Top Country Albums chart. The lead-off single, "Don't You Know You're Beautiful", which she debuted the at the 43rd annual Academy of Country Music awards, reached #21 on the Hot Country Songs charts. "Best Days of Your Life", a song she co-wrote with fellow country singer and close friend Taylor Swift, was released on December 1st, 2008 as the album's second single. The song debuted at #56 on Billboard Hot Country Songs and has since become her highest charting entry on the Billboard Hot 100 at # 48 following the song's performance on American Idol. By the end of 2008 the album had sold over 200,000 copies worldwide.

Kellie Pickler Discography
Albums

2006 Small Town Girl | 2008 Kellie Pickler

Singles

2006 "Red High Heels" | 2007 "I Wonder", "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind" | 2008 "Don't You Know You're Beautiful", "Best Days of Your Life"

Trivia

In January 2009 it was announced that Pickler had signed a multi-million dollar endorsement agreement to become a spokesperson for Sexy Hair products.
She received a key to the city from the mayor of Albemarle following her appearance on American Idol.
She has participated in two USO tours. The first, in December 2007 to perform for troops in Iraq and the second the following year to Afghanistan.
In 2007 she raised $50,000 for charity on "Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader?".
She has stated she considers Dolly Parton her idol and she is a fan of the music by Queen.
She sang at the opening of a Wal-Mart store in her hometown of Albemarle.

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