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Stanly News and Press article
Published: January 02, 2007 07:18 am
Pickler top story for ’06
Kellie hits the big time
By Jim Lisk, Staff Writer
Sunday, December 31, 2006 — 2006 was a year that proves dreams do come true.
Just ask Kellie Pickler.
From a 19-year old wanna-be to a country music recording star in just 12 months time, Pickler’s incredible year and emergence as a household name across America once again breathes truth into the fantasy and gives hopes of a better day to us all.
From her October 2005 audition in Greensboro to appear on “American Idol,” through her run to the sixth-place finish on the most watched TV show in the country, to signing a recording contract with Sony BMG, to the release of her first CD “Small Town Girl,” Pickler’s dream fulfilling year has carried her to a new home in Nashville and to the stage of the Grand Ole Opry.
But as she sings on her CD, which sold 80,000 copies the first week and was No. 1 on the country charts, “I’ll always be a small town girl.”
Not only has 2006 been a “dream come true year” for Pickler, in her remarkable run, she rallied the entire community behind her as a sense of pride collectively filled all.
Local residents and Kellie fans from far and wide came as “Kellie Mania” closed down First and Main Streets each week for a block party to watch her every performance on the “American Idol” stage.
The streets were filled with young and old, the elite to everyday folk as all came to root for our “Small Town Girl.”
Then on April 26th, Kellie was voted off American Idol, then came home to a glorious “Welcome Home” party on May 6.
The streets were lined with an estimated 13,000 people as Kellie rode through downtown Albemarle to a stage at The Square, where she gave her legion of fans all they could have dreamed of, including an electrifying rendition of the National Anthem.
There were national, state and local political leaders as well as people from every walk of life who came to share in Pickler’s rise to stardom.
For those beloved fans, she signed autographs for hours at Court House Square Park, then a couple months later set sail on a whirlwind 61-stop tour that carried her to every major U.S. city as part of the “American Idol Tour.”
As many said on those nights when Albemarle closed down to check out her weekly performance in Hollywood, “Kellie’s done more to put Albemarle on the map than anybody else has ever done.”
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