10/21: Kellie Pickler at Philips
Permalink By: Rodney Ho
I checked in Friday evening for Kellie Pickler’s opening set at the Rascal Flatts concert at Philips Arena just to see how she’s matured and improved on stage over the past year.
She sounded a little raspier than normal. Her voice lacks the depth of Carrie Underwood but it still provides plenty of texture and warmth. Plus, she still has charm in spades. Though much of what she said during the show sounded like stuff she spouts every concert, she did crack at one point, “I forgot to brush my teeth. Nobody should get too close to me!”
I sat about 50 feet away and with no video cameras offering closeups, I couldn’t get a take on her makeup. But from my distance, she looked good. She had a blond bob she’s worn for awhile now, a pink tank top that showed off her new pups without being tawdry, tight blue jeans and those signature red high heels.
Her seven-song set included six cuts from her “Small Town Girl” CD and one new song. (No covers!)
1- “Gotta Keep Moving”
“The Best Day of Your Life” - This is a song she and Taylor Swift co-wrote while touring with Brad Paisley over the summer. She said it was targeted at past bad boyfriends whose lives will only go downhill after breaking it off with her. It’s actually a pretty good tune.
“Things That Never Cross a Man’s Mind” - This is her third single off her CD and it was spun 11 times last week on Kicks. It’s got that honky-tonk flavor and should have no problem becoming her third top 30 hit. Kellie does lack that edgy grime that Gretchen Wilson could shellack on this tune and give it an extra kick. But it’s a solid song.
“Didn’t Know How Much I Loved You” - She said this is her favorite cut off her album. It’s a decent ballad.
“Small Town Girl” - This was the first song she ever wrote about Albermarle, N.C.
“I Wonder” - A truly touching tune about her estranged relationship with her mom that still works after multiple hearings.
“Red High Heels” -The song that kickstarted her CD a year ago and gave her her first top 15 hit on the country charts.
Amazingly, Kellie is the third-best selling artist so far from season five. Here are the eight finalists who have released CDs and their sales.
1- Daughtry 3.19 million - His third single is chugging along to another top 10 so I expect sales to easily exceed 3.5 million by year’s end.
Taylor 696K This one is going to struggle even to hit 700K at this point.
Kellie 637K - If that third single becomes even a modest hit, she has a chance to exceed Taylor’s total.
Elliott 422K His second single is “One Word.” “Wait For You” was a big surprise hit and we’ll see if he can strike gold again. He just received a “gold” designation, which means 500K delivered.
Kat 358K I get the impression no more singles are forthcoming on this CD so she’s not going to get much more in sales.
Bucky 285K He has a second single “It’s Good To Be Us” out after his first one “A Different World” made it to the top 10.
Mandisa 53K
Paris 20K
These are all Nielsen Soundscan sales estimates. The total sales are 5.66 million, a majority from Daughtry alone.
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