Kelly Pickler: "Small Town Girl"

[StolenPride]

Interesting Read.."Caution" It's pretty long

Link: http://media.www.dailyvidette.com/me...epublisher.com

Kelly Pickler: "Small Town Girl"

Katie Sparks
Issue date: 1/18/07

Only Kellie Pickler, a North Carolina native, could sing about red shoes and pull it off.

The 20-year-old country girl tested her singing abilities early on when she made a television appearance on the "Gimme the Mike!" contest and placed second. She then went on to participate in the Miss America pageant and placed first in the Miss Stanly County pageant at age 17.

By 2004, she had competed for the title of Miss North Carolina in order to win a scholarship to a cosmetology community college.

The young singer has come a long way since her troublesome childhood.

At age 2, Pickler was abandoned by both her mother and father and eventually raised by her grandparents.

In the fall of 2005, the young woman auditioned for the fifth season of the hit Fox reality television show "American Idol."

After nailing a rendition of Kelly Clarkson's "Since U Been Gone" and Martina McBride's "A Broken Wing," Pickler earned a well-deserved spot in Hollywood.

On April 26, 2006 Pickler ended up in the bottom two and was eliminated from the show.

She then went on to record her first album rightfully labeled "Small Town Girl," which made the top 10 on the Billboard Top 200 list in its first week debut.

Her first single, "Red High Heels," became an instant hit for country fans alike. Pickler tells of a time when moving on from a former ex-boyfriend became easier with the help from her passion of shoes, more specifically red high heels.

The song has an uplifting melody for anyone looking to gain their independence back from a suffocating relationship.

One of the more personal songs, "I Wonder," relates to Pickler's life devoid of a mother figure.

The passionate lyrics give listeners an idea of what the young girl had to endure during her childhood.

From the lack of mother-daughter bonding, shopping trips or a hand to hold, the singer successfully appeals to anyone's need for parental influence.

Pg. 2

The song for which the album is named after, "Small Town Girl," tells of Pickler's feelings about being from an unknown town, yet simply lacks a catchy melody in order to capture the listener. Instead of having a powerful tune, the lyrics coupled with the background instruments simply do not add up to a successful album-representing song.

"Didn't You Know How Much I Loved You" is one slow ballad that showcases Pickler's vocal range.

On the downside, the song's lyrics are too dramatic and end up making the singer sound like she is complaining.

One of the best songs on the album is "My Angel."

The song honors Pickler's past grandma and is relatable to any audience, but also is something that definitely stands out as unique in the track list.

Pickler and Carrie Underwood may have country roots in common, but the Carolina native's whiny voice just does not beat that of a wholesome Okalahoma girl.

This album has a more nurturing, cute side than a variety of emo-filled numbers like Underwood's "Some Hearts" album contained.

Hope You Enjoyed

[StolenPride]

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[ChrisKellieFan]

Good overall review. You might want to add the "Grade: B-". "Whiny" = soprano. I guess some people just don't know the difference or how to say it correctly.

[Smarty]

Nice review

[Countrygal919]

The copy editor needs to get on the ball there, lol. Even if you are going to spell Kellie's name wrong at least be consistent with it. I should print this off and take it to my editing professor for extra credit, lol.

Overall its a nice review though, thanks for sharing.

[ChrisKellieFan]

lol take him the ocala.com video too, they did the same thing

[lilMCpickler78]

Cool!

[kcboy231982]

cool beans.