Kellie Pickler

[Kim]

Kellie Pickler Wants to Get 'Dirty' on Third Album


Apr 22nd 2011
by Lorie Hollabaugh
theboot.com



Andrew H. Walker, Getty Images


Kellie Pickler has released two albums since her breakthrough days on 'American Idol,' but the down-home blonde says she doesn't feel like the music she's put out so far really captures the essence of who she is musically -- which can be frustrating at this stage of the game.

"The past couple of years that I've been in Nashville since I signed my record deal, I've struggled to figure out where my place is," Kellie tells the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "There's a lot more to Kellie Pickler than the first two albums let you in on."

A heart-to-heart with childhood buddy Summer Townsend Herlocker helped Kellie come to grips with this musical identity crisis, followed by help from famed producer Frank Liddell to hone in on who she truly is this time around. And though Kellie dreams of cutting some serious country music without constraints, she knows it's not as simple as that when it comes to getting played on the radio these days.

"I know what I love, but how can I do that with today's styles?" Kellie asks. "I want to go in and cut the most country, backwoods -- some dirty country music. But I've got a lot of people to answer to, and I've got to make certain people happy because you have companies investing a lot of money into you. I'm patient, and I'm paying my dues."

The happy newlywed is enjoying life with hubby Kyle Jacobs, and there's obviously no lack of romance or adventure in their new life together, as evidenced by their recent mishap in the skies! Earlier this month, Kellie tweeted that Kyle planned a country picnic for them followed by a hot air balloon ride, but things took a turn for the scary when the balloon landed rather unexpectedly! "We just landed in someone's backyard in a tree," tweeted Kellie. "But we are ALIVE!!!! I felt like I was in the movie 'Up!'"

Kellie enjoys visiting her husband's home state of Minnesota, but says she and her mother-in-law often tease each other about their respective accents.

"I don't feel like I have an accent," says the North Carolina native. "So I always mock everybody there. Kyle's mom Sharon and I pick at each other about it. She tries to talk like me and I talk like her. We do get a lot of laughs out of where I came from versus where Kyle came from. We grew up eating grass on opposite sides of the fence."

The spunky singer entertained a crowd of several hundred Wednesday night (April 20) at the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte as part of WSOC's Southern Girls Night Out benefit for the Make-a-Wish Foundation.

[Kim]

Kellie Pickler Reveals ‘Tough’ New Single, Makes ‘Beautiful Music’ With Husband Kyle Jacobs for Next Album


By: Ashley Iasimone
tasteofcountry.com


When Taste of Country recently ran into Kellie Pickler on the red carpet of Dressed to Kilt, she apologized that she couldn’t reveal much about her anticipated new single. “How much can I say? Nothin’!” she lamented. “We don’t know what the release day is gonna be yet because the record’s not finished. It will be this year … sooner than later!” As of this morning, though, she’s spilled some details to her fans. Pickler took to Twitter to tell followers the title of her new single: ‘Tough.’

“We’re ’bout to ship my new single ‘Tough’ to country radio,” Pickler tweeted, proving that the single’s unknown release date is indeed “sooner than later.” With a wink, she added, “Hope y’all like fiddle, steel, spoons, banjo … dirty country.”

Pickler may be getting ‘Tough’ and delving into the dirt, but the newlywed’s demeanor can only be described as lovely when the topic turns to her husband, Kyle Jacobs.

“My husband and I, we actually wrote together for the last project, and we’re writing a lot for this one, too,” she told Taste of Country with a smile. “It’s really neat that we both have the same passion, which is music, and we’re able to take our love into the studio and make beautiful music together [laughs].”

While we’re waiting to hear this bride-and-groom magic, Pickler — a former ‘American Idol‘ contestant — told us that she actually still hasn’t seen the show this season.

“I’ve not seen it, but I’ve heard wonderful things about it — that it’s great and that the talent’s actually the best that it’s ever been. I wish all of them the best of luck, and to just pick songs they love and to have fun because it’ll be over before you know it,” the singer advised.

Pickler is in the working stages of putting her upcoming album together and readying the release of ‘Tough,’ but she’s also been applying some serious courage to married life. Recently, Jacobs surprised her with a romantic (but slightly frightening) hot air balloon ride. Her recap of that rendezvous? “We just landed in someone’s back yard in a tree! But we are ALIVE!”

[Kim]

Kellie Pickler Reveals ’100 Proof’ Album Cover and Track Listing


BNA Nashville


Kellie Pickler‘s new album ’100 Proof’ has been pushed back to a Jan. 24 release, but the singer has already revealed the titles of the songs she’ll include. Previously, Pickler had promised a much more traditional sounding album than her first two, and to judge by the track listing, she’s living up to that promise.

The album will include her Top 30 single ‘Tough,’ as well as ‘Stop Cheatin’ on Me,’ ‘Rockaway‘ and ‘Where’s Tammy Wynette,’ three songs she’s performed in concerts recently.

Also included is ‘Mother’s Day,’ a song Pickler wrote with her husband Kyle Jacobs. “He came over and brought his guitar, and we went through all the feelings, all the emotions, all the thoughts that I have and go through on Mother’s Day, and why it’s so difficult for me, it’s one of those things where it’s like a slap in your face. We put as much as we could into three minutes of that. That was really therapeutic, and really amazing to get to write with him, especially when you hear the song and you get to the second verse — that was so special to write with him.”

Two other songs on this track listing could, presumably, touch on Pickler’s past. ‘Little House on the Highway’ and ‘The Letter (To Daddy)’ may describe her turbulent childhood in Albermale, N.C. The ‘I Wonder’ singer has said there is plenty of that type of music on ’100 Proof.’

Kellie Pickler ’100 Proof’ Track Listing:

1. ‘Where’s Tammy Wynette’
2. ‘Unlock That Honky Tonk’
3. ‘Stop Cheatin’ on Me’
4. ‘Long As I Never See You Again’
5. ‘Tough’
6. ‘Turn On the Radio And Dance’
7. ‘Mother’s Day’
8.’Rockaway (The Rockin’ Chair Song)’
9. ‘Little House on the Highway’
10. ’100 Proof’
11. ‘The Letter (To Daddy)’

[Kim]

Kellie Pickler – 2012 New Album Preview


Kellie Pickler’s 2012 new album ’100 Proof’ will finally trod into the arena on Jan. 24, and we couldn’t be more excited to wrap our ears around the package that she’s been talking about for a full year now. The record will be a little square version of the artist herself — her own sound and her own words that come together to give us a little slice of Miss Pickler.

The Inspiration

Like the album title suggests, on her forthcoming ’100 Proof’ record Kellie Pickler was inspired by … Kellie Pickler. The weaving of songs will tell the former ‘American Idol’ songstress’ life story, from her bumpy childhood to her new marriage and even the roller coaster ride that is her relationship with her mother on the song ‘Mother’s Day,’ which she wrote with her husband, Kyle Jacobs. “He came over and brought his guitar, and we went through all the feelings, all the emotions, all the thoughts that I have and go through on Mother’s Day, and why it’s so difficult for me,” Pickler revealed. “It’s one of those things where it’s like a slap in your face. We put as much as we could into three minutes of that. That was really therapeutic, and really amazing to get to write with him, especially when you hear the song and you get to the second verse — that was so special to write with him.”

The Songs

We’ve been lucky in the sense that we’ve already gotten a little taste — OK, a huge helping — of the tunes that will be featured on Pickler’s 2012 new album. Way back in May, the ‘American Idol’ famer turned country starlet unleashed ‘Tough,’ an autobiographical track which expresses how Pickler is trading in a soft shell for a little bit of armor. That was soon followed by a live debut of ‘Stop Cheating on Me,’ a song which describes a cheating man who we suspect is not her husband. Pickler also shared ‘Where’s Tammy Wynette When You Need Her’ and ‘Rockaway’ with her fans during shows in 2011, rounding out the sound image of her 2012 new album with an acoustic spin of her fiery party tune ‘Unlock That Honky Tonk’ and the love song/title track ’100 Proof’ just a few weeks ago.

What to Expect

It’s been nearly four years since Pickler dropped her 2008 self-titled album, and given that she’s only 25, it’s easy to assume that a lot has changed for the young star in those few years. The singer quipped that her time in the studio was an “incredible experience” and that she essentially found her niche while creating a completely new sound. “I really hope people dig the direction we are headed,” she spilled. “There’s lots of fiddle, lots of steel, and some of my favorite instruments. So I’m happy with where we are and where we are headed.”

From ’100 Proof,’ Pickler fans should expect an album that genuinely has been touched by the hands of the artist — something she says she never got the chance to do before now. “I think with this project, I’m very much more involved, or I’m actually involved — I wasn’t involved in the production process at all on the last two records, because I didn’t know anything about it and I really didn’t know what I could do and couldn’t do,” Pickler told Taste of Country earlier this year. “Now that I’ve given it a couple swings and I’ve got my feet dirty and kind of figured out, you know, what it is I want to do — which is real country music — I’m able to take those people that influenced me to be in the first place, like Tammy Wynette and Loretta Lynn, people like that that I grew up listening to … I want to put some of that flavor in it as well. You know, it’s not going to be like they would do it. It’s going to be like I would do it, but with little touches of some people that inspired me kind of in the mix.”

[grg_straitfan]

Kellie Pickler, 100 Proof: No shrinking violet, American Idol alumnus Pickler is not at all what she seemed when we first got a glimpse of her. I'm still waiting for her to write her definitive F-bomb song, but this album shows how she has come into developing into an interesting and strong country singer and performer. Before this, I mainly saw the performer in her and couldn't hear much in the songs. Now she's changing that. Drawing on songwriters of the caliber of Leslie Satcher, Dean Dillon and Liz Rose shows Pickler's song sense these days, and she co-wrote two songs here with Satcher. Satcher's fine song, "Tough," was an especially good choice for Pickler.

[Kim]

Kellie Pickler #1 On Renegade Radio / Nashville.com Hot 40 Countdown For the Second Week In A Row

Kellie Pickler holds steady at the top spot with “100 Proof” (19/BNA). Trace Adkins is looking good at the number two spot with “Million Dollar View”(Showdog/Universal) and Matt Kennon picks up the number three spot with “You Had To Pick On Me” (Roaddawg).

Check Nashville.com every Friday for the latest Renegade Radio / Nashville.com Hot 40 Countdown and don’t forget to listen to Renegade Radio Nashville and Captain Jack while you’re checking it out or just keep it on all the time like we do!

[Kim]

Kellie Pickler Soars With the Blue Angels



Craig Scaling, Visual Bliss Photography


Kellie Pickler bravely faced the competition on "American Idol," and has since taken off to unimaginable heights in her career, all the while climbing the country charts with hit albums and singles. But those adventures may ultimately pale in comparison to her latest.

On Wednesday morning (May 9) at the Smyrna Airport just south of Nashville, the singer strapped in to a United States Navy F/A-18 Hornet jet as Blue Angels #7 Pilot, Lt. Mark Tedrow (pictured with Kellie above), took her from ground level to 2,000 feet in just four seconds!

"I just landed! It was INCREDIBLE!!! Biggest adrenaline rush EVER!!" she tweeted yesterday afternoon. She soon added: THANK YOU @blueangels for the fastest most badass ride of my life!!!! Let's fly again soon!!!"

Back on solid ground at the airport after the 45-minute flight, Lt. Tedrow presented Kellie with a personalized lithograph to commemorate her flight.


Meghann Zolan, Jim Havey PR

The Blue Angels will be flying this weekend at the Great Tennessee Air Show at the Smyrna Airport. Their mission is to enhance Navy recruiting and credibly represent Navy and Marine Corps aviation to the United States and its Armed Forces to America and other countries as international ambassadors of good will. At each of their show sites they give three backseat flights to selected personnel, who fly with the #7 pilot in the two-seat jet. Two of those riders are selected from the Key Influencer (KI) program and one is a credentialed media representative. The KI program selects individuals that have a strong impact on recruiting youth and/or a specific target audience. Flying these candidates, in coordination with media presence, is intended to promote the Navy and Marine Corps as professional and exciting organizations in which to serve.


Craig Scaling, Visual Bliss Photography

The first Blue Angels team was established on April 24, 1946 by order of the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral Chester W. Nimitz. The first Blue Angels air show was held at Craig Field, in Jacksonville, Fla., on June 15, 1946. The name was chosen by the original team when they were planning a show in New York that year. One of them came across the name of the city's famous Blue Angel nightclub in New Yorker Magazine. An estimated 11 million spectators view the squadron during air shows each year. Additionally, the Blue Angels visit more than 50,000 people a show season (March through November) during school and hospital visits.

Kellie will be touring (at a more normal speed) throughout the summer.

[Kim]

Kellie Pickler Returns From Sixth USO Tour


Kellie Pickler sits in a mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicle simulator during a USO holiday tour stop at the Transit Center of Mansas, Kyrgyzstan. Credit: U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class, Tyrone C. Marshall Jr.

Kellie Pickler returned to the U.S. on December 19 from her sixth USO Tour overseas to perform for U.S. troops as part of Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey’s annual USO holiday tour. She was joined on the seven-day, four country tour throughout the Middle East by Ross Detwiler and Craig Stammen of the Washington Nationals, Matt Hendricks of the Washington Capitals and comedian Iliza Shlesinger.

“During the holidays, everyone wants to be home with their families and loved ones,” Kellie said before a performance at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. “I know it’s just as hard for [your] families back home, so they’re making a sacrifice as well. I just want to say thanks so much for all that you do, and thank you to your families as they make a huge sacrifice. This time of year is really hard so I hope that you know that we love you. The USO, all of us, we are praying for a safe return home for you all. We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.”

Kellie and fellow celebrities participated in hospital visits and USO meet and greets, each made to bring a touch of home to the servicemen and women. Stops included Bagram Air Base and Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan, U.S. Army Garrison Stuttgart in Germany and a visit with Sailors stationed aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis, among other locations.

[Kim]

Kellie Pickler Honors Deployed Servicewomen With Ladies Night Goodies



KelliePickler.com

Servicewomen in the Middle East had an extra special Valentine’s Day this year, thanks to goodwill efforts of country’s own Kellie Pickler.

When the ‘Tough’ singer heard about the monthly ladies night — coordinated to keep the women’s spirits high during their call of duty — she decided to send gift baskets filled with hard-to-get goodies, including nail polish, manicure kids, chocolate and chick flicks to make sure the women were pampered on the romantic holiday.

While the staunch USO Tour supporter couldn’t personally deliver the goods, Pickler did Skype with the gift recipients, offering some heartfelt words of encouragement.

“I am grateful to all of our servicemen and women for the sacrifices they make, but I have a special place in my heart for servicewomen,” Pickler says of her ladies night involvement. “They are some brave, beautiful and dedicated women. That’s why I wanted to do something special just for them this Valentine’s Day.”

She adds, “While our servicewomen are spending this time away from their family and loved ones I wanted them to be able to take a moment and pamper themselves.”

Pickler has already been involved with five USO tours, which are designed to send music and media’s biggest names overseas to offer American troops much-needed entertainment during their call of duty. The singer believes it’s every American’s civil duty to honor the troops, no matter their politic stance.

“It’s small things like saying ‘Thank you’ that make the biggest difference, because it shows appreciation and it shows that you respect what they’re doing,” says Pickler. “Regardless if you agree or disagree with what’s going on, it’s wrong to not say ‘Thank you’ and give them a hug and let them know that you appreciate what they’re doing.”

Pickler is currently hard at work on her forthcoming studio album, the follow-up to her critically-acclaimed 2011 project, ’100 Proof.’ The new collection will mark the singer’s Black River Entertainment debut.