Song:I Wonder
Album:Small Town Girl
Country singer Kellie Pickler is best known for finishing sixth on season five of American Idol and later she won season 16 of Dancing With The Stars. She has had modest success in her recording career but she wasn't successful enough to stay with a major label. Her 2006 debut CD Small Town Girl is her biggest seller to date. She was born June 28, 1986 in Albemarle, NC which is near Charlotte. She was raised by her grandparents as her mom left the family and disappeared and her dad has served a couple of prison stretches. She was a cheerleader and beauty queen in high school and competed in the 2004 Miss North Carolina beauty pageant. She auditioned for American Idol in Greensboro, NC and finished sixth in the 2006 season. AI judge Simon Cowell said he preferred Kellie to the previous season's winner Carrie Underwood. The big difference between the two is Carrie was a seasoned performer before AI and Kellie had never performed in front of an audience before AI. This was the year Taylor Hicks won and his career went nowhere and he's singing on cruise ships. The producers liked Kellie enough to sign her to their label 19 Recordings and she recorded her debut CD while on the 2006 American Idols Live tour. Small Town Girl was produced by Sony Nashville exec Scott Chancey and released Oct. 2006. it was certified Gold and is Kellie's best selling CD to date. I Wonder was her second single and it reached #14 on the Country Singles chart. Kellie wrote I Wonder about her relationship with her mom with Chris Lindsey, his wife Aimee Mayo and Karyn Rochelle. Kellie has written several songs with this group. Kellie toured with Brad Paisley. Her 2008 CD Kellie Pickler sold half of what her first CD sold. The single Best Days Of Your Life reached #9 on the Country Singles chart but that was probably because Kellie wrote it with Taylor Swift and Taylor appeared on the record. Kellie's 2011 CD 100 Proof sold less than previous CDs. Her Sony contract was over and they chose not to renew it. She signed with the small label Black River Entertainment and her new CD The Woman I Am was released Nov. 11, 2013. Along with partner Derek Hough, Kellie was winner of season 16 of Dancing With The Stars May 2013. She is married to songwriter Kyle Jacobs and they write songs together. It remains to be seen how she will do on a small label but the pressure to sell CDs isn't as great. I've always said that American Idol is a double edged sword. It has created stars but some singers aren't meant to be stars and sometimes the show creates a false impression of stardom. That seems to be what happened to Kellie Pickler. But the show's effect is enough to allow her to record and tour. Here's the video for I Wonder by Kellie Pickler.
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