Kellie Pickler sets September release of new CD
Friday, July 18, 2008 – Kellie Pickler did quite well with her "Small Town Girl" debut, and now she'll try to follow-up that with her self-titled, sophomore album on Sept. 30.
"I'm so excited and proud of the new album," said Pickler. "The material on the new album is part small town girl, but also a reflection of the experiences I've had over the last two years. I've matured, some, seen a lot more of the world, and naming the album Kellie Pickler says, 'this album is me, this is who I am and where I am.'"
The lead single, "Don't You Know You're Beautiful," is an uptempo, positive message about inner beauty and addresses the issues of body image and societal pressures on young women. Other songs include "Best Days Of Your Life," a song she co-wrote with Taylor Swift while on the road together last year. Swift also sang background vocals on the song.
The album will also feature "Rocks Instead Of Rice," a song Pickler wrote with "Before He Cheats" writers Chris Tompkins and Josh Kear and has been performing on the road this summer. It's a tongue in cheek look at a woman at the wedding of a former boyfriend and how much more gratifying the experience would be if the guests were throwing rocks instead of rice.
Produced by Chris Lindsey, this album involved Pickler more, according to her publicist. With "Small Town Girl," Pickler was on the American Idol Tour, cutting her participation. With "Kellie Pickler," she's worked with Lindsey on arrangements, instrumentation and song selection.
Pickler is touring this summer. She also will co-host and perform on the CMA Music Festival: Country's Night to Rock, which will air on Sept. 8 on ABC.
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Kellie Pickler
At this point, it's a law of television that the results of American Idol are not proportional to post-show success. Past winners are without record contracts, and, among the ranks of former sixth place finishers, Kellie Pickler (aka "Pickles") has gone from waitressing to amassing a handful of pop-country hits at only 22 years old. On her second effort, Pickler spreads her wings beyond vocals to songwriting half the 10 songs.
Things kick off with the mighty message song, »»» |
Small Town Girl
Don't blame Kellie Pickler, American Idol's country bumpkin who engaged millions of viewers and charmed the socks off the normally surly Simon Cowell, for the pre-fab shortcomings in her debut. Rather, fault a music industry salivating at a chance to reprise last year's multi-platinum debut by fellow Idol Carrie Underwood.
Except, Pickler's no Underwood. Pickler's lengthy run on Idol wasn't because she could sing, but because of her Dolly Parton-like appeal. »»» |
Editorial: Taylor Swift, the Grammys and playing in the dirt –
Sunday proved to be a night of extreme highs and lows for Taylor Swift. On the extremely positive side, the superstar garnered four Grammys, including Album of the Year for the very fine "Fearless." Swift has proven her mettle as a solid songwriter with lots of good tunes. Just how country it is is open to interpretation. Let's just say that she and traditional country singers have little in common. But in the context of what constitutes country today, Swift is probably no better or worse than most of the singers and performers out there. »»»
Concert Review: McBride, Adkins shine sometimes –
As Martina McBride pointed out, the pairing of the country singer with Trace Adkins on their current jaunt was surprising. After all, she's of diva-quality voice, petite, non-controversial unless you call singing songs that empower women controversial. Adkins, on the other hand, has not been afraid to speak his mind with a kick butt attitude.... »»»
Concert Review: Eilen Jewell wears her musical hats well –
Eilen Jewell wears a lot of musical hats. The Idaho native, who now lives in Boston, fronts the Eilen (ee-lin) Jewell Band, a pretty much traditional country band. She's a member the Sacred Shakers, an octet doing gospel country with a country beat. And she has yet another project, Butcher Holler, covering Loretta Lynn songs.... »»»
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