Kellie Pickler

Kellie Dawn Pickler (born June 28, 1986) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actress and television personality.

Pickler gained fame as a contestant on the fifth season of American Idol and finished in sixth place.

Kellie Pickler was born June 28, 1986, at Stanly Memorial Hospital in Albemarle, North Carolina, to Cynthia Morton and Clyde "Bo" Raymond Pickler Jr. Her mother left when Kellie was two years old, then returned and took custody of her for two years.

Eventually, the court returned Kellie to her grandparents when she was 12 and they raised her to adulthood because her father was absent in her life.

Pickler says the major influences in her life are her grandfather, Clyde Raymond Pickler Sr., a former electrician, and grandmother, Faye Pickler.

Pickler graduated in 2004 from North Stanly High School in New London, North Carolina where she was a cheerleader.

She sang "On the Side of Angels" by LeAnn Rimes at her high school graduation.

The 19-year-old Pickler auditioned for American Idol in the fall of 2005 in Greensboro, North Carolina.

She sang both Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" and Martina McBride's "A Broken Wing".

The judges sent her to Hollywood.

Pickler advanced through the semi-final rounds in February.

On March 9, she reached the Top 12.

Pickler was among judge Simon Cowell's favorites.

He once predicted Pickler would be in the final three, and said he preferred her over the previous season's winner, Carrie Underwood.

Recognized for her "quirky" personality and Southern charm, Pickler gained attention on the show by saying that she had hardly ever performed before real audiences, and by mispronouncing words.

She was compared to Jessica Simpson in a March 27-story in US Weekly magazine titled "Kellie: The Next Jessica Simpson", due to her "sweet Southern style and ditzy demeanor".

Pickler has stated in the past a previous ignorance of common popular culture before her Idol fame.

After her elimination, she appeared in numerous shows promoting the TV show and performed the song "Walkin' After Midnight" in some of her appearances.

In 2006, she signed to 19 Recordings and BNA Records as a recording artist.

Her debut album, Small Town Girl, was released later that year and has sold over 900,000 copies.

The album, which was certified gold by the RIAA, produced three singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts: "Red High Heels" at No. 15, "I Wonder" at No. 14, and "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind" at No. 16.

On May 6, 2006, she returned to Albemarle, North Carolina, for a parade and a reunion with her father.

She received a key to the city from the mayor of Albemarle.

The mayor also proclaimed the day as "Kellie Pickler Day".

Pickler also received numerous awards from local and statewide government officials praising her accomplishments as a contestant on the American Idol television show.

Pickler pursued her recording aspirations in Nashville, Tennessee, shortly thereafter.

On July 17, 2006, she signed a record deal with 19 Recordings/BNA Records.

She later announced it herself on The View.

She was part of the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2006, performing for three months in various cities.

During that period, Pickler worked on her album in collaboration with top industry experts in different cities wherever the tour took her.

Her first single, "Red High Heels", debuted on September 13, 2006, and its music video was officially released on October 26, 2006.

It received a nomination for the CMT Video Awards for "Breakthrough Video of the Year".

Her debut album, Small Town Girl, released on October 31, 2006, topped Billboard's Top Country Albums and landed at number nine on the Billboard 200 selling over 79,000 copies in its first week, making Pickler the highest-selling first-week sales for a new artist in 2006.

The album includes five songs that Pickler co-wrote with songwriters Chris Lindsey, Aimee Mayo, and Karyn Rochelle.

On January 18, 2007, Pickler co-hosted The View and was presented with a gold record by Rosie O'Donnell, certifying that her album has reached the 500,000 sales mark.

Pickler released her self-titled second album in 2008 that produced four singles: "Don't You Know You're Beautiful" at No. 21, "Best Days of Your Life" at No. 9 (which she co-wrote with Taylor Swift), "Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You" at No. 14, and "Makin' Me Fall in Love Again" at No. 30.

Following the closure of BNA Records, she moved to Black River Entertainment.

Pickler was married to Nashville songwriter and record producer Kyle Jacobs from 2011 until his suicide in 2023.

On May 21, 2013, Pickler and her partner, Derek Hough, were declared the winners of the sixteenth season of Dancing with the Stars. In 2016, she was inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame.

From 2017 to 2019, she co-hosted the nationally syndicated daytime TV talk show Pickler & Ben with comedian Ben Aaron.