50 facts about singer Kellie Pickler

50 things you didn't know about country music artist and television personality, Kellie Pickler.

1. Kellie Dawn Pickler is an American country music artist and television personality.

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

3. In 2006, she signed to 19 Recordings and BNA Records as a recording artist, releasing her debut album, Small Town Girl, later that year. As of 2014, it has sold over 900,000 copies.

4. The album, which was certified gold by the RIAA, produced three singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts: "Red High Heels" at number fifteen, "I Wonder" at number fourteen, and "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind" at number sixteen.

5. released her self-titled second album in Fall 2008 and has produced the singles "Don't You Know You're Beautiful" at number twenty-one, "Best Days of Your Life" at number nine (which she co-wrote with Taylor Swift and her first Top 10 hit), "Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You" at number fourteen, and "Makin' Me Fall in Love Again" at number thirty.

6. In 2012, she was ranked as the 14th best American Idol alumna.

7. Kellie Pickler also parted ways with her former record label. In October 2012, she signed with Black River Entertainment.

8. On May 21, 2013, Pickler and her partner Derek Hough were declared the winners of sixteenth season of Dancing with the Stars.

9. Kellie Pickler was born at Stanly Memorial Hospital in Albemarle, North Carolina, a small town near Charlotte, to Cynthia Morton and Clyde "Bo" Raymond Pickler, Jr.

10. Her mother left when Kellie was two years old, then returned and took custody of her for two years.

11. After this, the court returned Kellie to her grandparents when she was 12 and they raised her to adulthood because her father was in and out of jail.

12. Kellie Pickler After this, the court returned Kellie to her grandparents when she was 12 and they raised her to adulthood because her father was in and out of jail.

13. Kellie Pickler graduated in 2004 from North Stanly High School in New London, North Carolina.

14. Kellie Pickler was a cheerleader and beauty queen.

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

16. Kellie Pickler worked as a waitress at a Sonic Drive-In franchise.

17. In 2005, she made an appearance on WSOC-TV's Gimme the Mike! Charlotte contest. She finished in second place.

18. Kellie Pickler participated in the Miss America circuit and won the "Miss Stanly County" pageant at age 17 and subsequently competed for Miss North Carolina 2004.

19. 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.

20. Kellie 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.

21. 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.

22. Kellie Pickler 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".

23. Kellie Pickler has stated several times that she was not heavily exposed to modern pop culture.

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

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

26. She received a key to the city from the mayor of Albemarle. The mayor also proclaimed the day as "Kellie Pickler Day".

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

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

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

30. 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.

31. Her first single, "Red High Heels", debuted on September 13, 2006, and its music video was officially released on October 20, 2006. It received a nomination for the CMT Video Awards for "Breakthrough Video of the Year".

32. 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.

33. 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.

34. Kellie Pickler was nominated for "Top New Female Vocalist" for the 42nd Academy of Country Music Awards.

35. Kellie Pickler was also part of Brad Paisley's "Bonfires & Amplifiers" concert tour from April 2007 through October as one of the opening acts. The tour was booked in at least 37 cities across North America including a couple of stops in Canada.

36. Kellie Pickler appeared in country music artist Brad Paisley's music video "Online" in 2007.

37. On September 2007, Pickler released a version of "Santa Baby" for a Christmas country compilation.

38. A month later, at the ASCAP Awards in Nashville, Pickler received a songwriter award for co-writing "Red High Heels".

39. Kellie Pickler performed "I Wonder", at the 2007 CMA Awards. During the performance, she was visibly overcome with emotion and struggled to even finish the song before bursting into tears. The performance received a standing ovation.

40. Kellie Pickler was also nominated for the Horizon Award.

41. While "Things That Never Cross a Man's Mind" was climbing the country charts (it eventually reached number sixteen), Pickler returned to the studio to record her second studio album for 19 Recordings/BNA Records. She performed the debut single, "Don't You Know You're Beautiful" at the ACM Awards on May 18, 2008 and received a good response from the audience.

42. Kellie Pickler was nominated for "Top New Female Vocalist", but the award went to Taylor Swift.

43. "Don't You Know You're Beautiful" was released to radio in June 2008 and was a Top 25 hit for Pickler, peaking eventually at number twenty-one.

44. On May 21, 2013, Pickler and Derek Hough were announced the winners of the sixteenth season of Dancing with the Stars. She performed a well received super sized freestyle, scoring a perfect 30 and garnered effusive praise from the dance judges.

45. On February 26, 2007, she met her personal "idol" and strongest influence, Dolly Parton. The surprise was arranged by Sony BMG Nashville chairman Joe Galante.

46. Pickler's best friend has been Summer Miller, who Pickler met when they were teen pageant hopefuls.

47. Kellie Pickler is close friends with Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift, the latter of whom co-wrote Pickler's second single "Best Days of Your Life" from her album Kellie Pickler, with her American Idol roommate Katharine McPhee, for whom she was a bridesmaid at McPhee's 2008 wedding.

48. In June 2008, she joined Carrie Underwood, a long-time vegetarian, in giving up eating meat. Pickler says she first decided to go vegetarian for health reasons, but a TV ad that vegetarian Pamela Anderson did for animal rights group PETA piqued her curiosity.

49. After two and a half years of dating, Pickler became engaged to songwriter Kyle Jacobs on June 15, 2010, the day of her late grandmother's birthday, after he proposed on a beach at sunset.

50. On September 4, 2012, Pickler shaved her head on Good Morning America in support of her friend, Summer Holt Miller, who started chemotherapy after breast surgery.

Source: Wikipedia.org